Pros:
-About half park-style holes through mature trees and half wooded holes. Good mix of left and right turning holes.
-Nice concrete tee pads and Discatchers in fine shape.
-Kiosk between parking area and first tee with scorecards and a bulletin board.
-Several par 4's and one par 5. (See cons for more info)
-Fairways in the woods are fair. Some are pretty tight, but overall these are the kinds of fairways I would put in if I were designing a course.
-Scorecard map helped immensely with navigation
-Some fun holes here: Hole 5 is a tight RHFH s-curve shot. Hole 7's basket is perched 10 feet to the left of and 18 feet short of the lake. This adds a little pressure to each shot including your putt. Hole 8 is uphill all the way down a long hiking path before opening up 150 feet short of the pin which is guarded by a couple of trees and a couple of man-made objects. I can't remember for sure, but I think once I had a putt obstructed by a park sign. Hole 17 is a really fun par 4 through the woods with a meandering fairway that seemingly doglegs three times.
-Ace runs. 8 chances to run at the pin if you can throw 300, though many of them are difficult to access. Legit ace runs on holes 2, 3, 13 and 15.
-Multiple pins on 11 of the holes change distance, angles of attack, and pars in several instances.
-Wooded holes have little to no underbrush with a couple of notable exceptions. Hole 16 really doesn't have a fairway and had some deep leaves and sticks even in May.
-Restrooms between holes 10 and 11.
Cons:
-Plays too close to other park amenities and may present safety issues or holes may be unplayable. I've only played this course a couple of times, but I have seen tents 20 feet off of number 10's fairway. Hole 11 plays along a narrow corridor between a park road and a baseball field. I came upon a hiker near the tee pad for hole 8. A really wild shot on hole 4 could go into the horse arena. Holes would be unplayable if an event is being held.
-Tee signs are the old Plexiglas style but aren't terribly accurate. There aren't a lot of blind holes, but on hole 3 the sign indicated I needed a sharp hyzer when it is really almost a straight shot. The sign on hole 17 was similarly misleading.
-Par 4 and 5 holes are just longer but don't require hitting a particular landing zone or doglegs. This makes them play easy even for a rec level player like me. On hole 4, I scooped a forehand (it's a work in progress) into a tree branch 140 feet off the tee and still parked it for a birdie with my next throw. Birdied hole 11 both times I have played it with 2 below average shots and then a great approach. I hit the cage for eagle on 9 with a 60% power Spider.
-Navigation isn't intuitive. Several tee pads are close together and it would be easy to get off track without the map. Transitions from 1-2, 5-6, and 12-13 are the worst offenders.
-Course just isn't picturesque. Some of the wooded holes are neat, but I have never caught myself admiring the scenery on this course. On the only water hole, you can't really even see the water until you get very near to the pin. I remember walking through spiderwebs more than anything else in the woods.
-There isn't much elevation to speak of. I can only think of holes 2, 8, and 16 being uphill and 18 plays down and then back up. No dramatic downhill shots at all.
Other Thoughts:
This is a pleasant course with some fun holes but no wow factor. Par is soft as this is now 1 of 3 18-hole courses I have ever shot par or below out of 33 such courses played. It's sister course on the other side of the park has lots of teeth, however. The course is well kept. It is strange having 3 uphill holes and really no downhill holes, or at least nothing that stands out. Depending on what else is going on in the park when you arrive, you could have a really fun relaxing round or a very frustrating and abbreviated one. All in all, a solid but unspectacular course that won't challenge accomplished players. It could make a nice warm-up to the Lakes course for more advanced players though.