Pros:
I first played Squirrel Lake the day after the concrete pads were installed, since then the park has gone through an almost complete transformation. The course, and my love-hate relationship with it, has not.
You may see the fairway lengths and the amount of holes and show up with low expectations, but this is a beast of a 12-Hole course that will tear you apart if you're unprepared. You know how a lot of wooded courses have that one fairway with a window so small you wonder how you're ever going to park the green? Well, welcome to Squirrel Lake, where 11 holes are all trying hard to compete to become that hole. None of the fairways are ridiculously long, but they are going to require either pinpoint accuracy, creative lines to make it down the fairway, or an incredible amount of luck.
Every hole has a concrete pad, tee sign, and DISCatcher basket. While I wish the Tee Signs were a little more modern, they have all the information really needed: distance, par, and sometimes distance until the fairway turns. You can usually see the basket from the tee, but some have blind turns so, like I said new tee signs would be an added bonus.
While not on the level of a mountainous course, some of the holes at Squirrel Lake do have a noticeable amount of elevation change in play.
The course is in a nice, little park that has been getting a slow makeover since the course was built. It is no longer a small playground and gravel parking lot next to a pond surrounded by a disc golf course. It has a real park feel with really nice permanent structures that can be used for picnicking. There are a few benches, but they are pretty spread out. And the park is really clean, very little litter. On hole 6 you can open up a bit, before slipping right back into the woods to end the hole. Hole 6, by the way, has a L shaped tee combining with 4's, which is a very unique way of utilizing space and saving money.
Cons:
I personally appreciate this course for what it is, but could see some argue that the fairways are a little too tight. If you don't know the local routes for this course, you will probably feel like you are playing Plinko down the fairway, with your fingers crossed you park the green.
The course is really crammed in there. The design of this course is made so that these holes can only just coexist with each other. There is no room for expansion, and if for some reason a hole is removed, the course will likely just lose a hole. The biggest issue I have is the backtracking nature to get to the tees. After hole 9, you actually walk up hole 10's fairway about 30 feet to get to the tee.
When it was new, Hole 6 was a phenomenal hole. It was your one chance to open up and let one rip on a nice hyzer line. Since then the park has seen improvements, and there is a new walking path, fence, and widened road to accommodate overflow parking. This really creates a potentially hazardous fairway when the park is busy. Which it unfortunately can be. I used to come here and would be the only person I saw in the park the entire time I was there for a round or two. Now I struggle to get into the lot (because it is a pretty small one).
Other Thoughts:
I am updating Squirrel Lake to a 3.0 rating. Over the years the park has evolved, and despite the changes that encroached onto hole 6's fairway, the course has mostly remained untouched. The rough has cleared out, but the course remains overwhelmingly technical. I think that this course is still a blast to play and an extremely unique experience. Just make sure you keep an eye out for pedestrians when throwing Hole 6.
Favorite Holes: 2, 6, & 10