Pros:
* beautiful park with incredible geology (lots of fossils, karst topography, a huge escarpment with 100+ mile view on a clear day)
* decent variety of left, right, open, choked, long, short holes.
* good use of terrain.
* this place just screams "BUILD A DISC GOLF COURSE HERE!" and someone listened.
Cons:
* no tee signs
* no next tee directional aids at the baskets
* dangerous basket/tee locations
* some poorly thought out flow issues (front nine)
* tee pads (such as they are) are uneven, bordering on unplayable at times
* course upkeep is spotty
Other Thoughts:
Bag used/needed: carried 17 discs, used 12
Impression:
On a scale of 0 (horrible) to 5 (heavenly):
Scenery: 5
Ease of navigation: 1
Tee pads: 2
Baskets (catchability): 4
Baskets (location): 3
Variety: 4
Bomb factor: 4
Risk/reward opportunities: 1
Fairness: 4
Use of terrain: 4
Amenities: 3 (average between the golf area 2 and the park as a whole 5)
Beginner friendliness: 2 1/2 (average between the front nine and the back nine)
Non-disc golfer opportunities for fun: 5 (unless you hate hiking, then 4)
REVIEWER'S THOUGHTS...
Boy, this is a beautiful location. And boy, does this course need a zealot, some wild-eyed disc golf freak who lives near it and plays it a couple of times every week. It needs someone willing to put in the time and effort to push the powers that be into redesigning the front 9, adding tee signs, adding REAL tee pads, etc etc etc... a disc golf fanatic who will teach the park maintenance people how to care for and feed a disc golf course so it will grow into a mature faciility. The potential is huge here, with a little bit of tweaking it could be a destination course worthy of an A-tier event. As it stands right now, experts will be frustrated by the front nine (too short, too illogical), beginners will be frustrated by the back nine (too long), and both groups will be frustrated just trying to navigate around the course. It took me three tries to find all 18 holes and to play them in order, and I am the son of a surveyor and woods tracker (would it really be all that hard to put in a tee sign and next tee arrow?). As noted by other reviewers, the front nine has some safety issues, and there is that massive cliff you could throw a disc over, but the chances of having to be there in the first place could be easily rectified with a redesign...
Having said all of this, I do make a point of stopping up here every few months because the park is just such a nice place to hang out. I look for fossils, ride my mountain bike, have a picnic, set up a hammock, and somewhere in there I take a walk around a disc golf course with an excellent variety of long, short, left, and right throws.
It doesn't suck.
About the reviewer: I've been playing for over 20 years, and playing seriously since 2007. I throw RHBH predominantly, with a wide arsenal of other shots that I use when I need them; my drives average about 320 feet +/- 30 feet on flat ground. My PDGA rating hovers a little above 900, which means on good days I shoot a few below par, on bad days a few above.
About my preferences: In my opinion the perfect disc golf course is an interesting walk in a natural space, with a wide variety of challenging but fair opportunities that test ALL of your shot making skills regardless of which hand you favor for throwing discs. I am happiest when I have to think my way from tee to basket hole after hole after hole weighing risks versus rewards. In my opinion the worst disc golf courses have nothing to offer but holes that a) only test of how far you can throw b) only favor one particular type of throw on the majority of holes c) feature "plinko" lines choked with obstacles where luck is more important than skill d) are so short that a putter is all you need e) are so wide open that the only challenge is one of judging distance f) force you to lose a few discs if you dare to play g) feature lines that discs were never meant to travel, such as those $@#!$ <300 ft holes in the woods that have two 90 degree doglegs bending in opposite directions like a badly drawn letter N. I am saddest when I feel bored or cheated by holes and/or by an entire course.