Pros:
- 18 Metal Baskets in good repair with a level mount.
- Nice level concrete tees on every hole.
- Nice practice basket and course map at the entrance.
- Decent use of the available elevation.
- Most holes are very beginner or casual friendly. If that's what you're looking for, this course is a solid choice.
- Layout is pretty easy to follow.
- Flags on the top of the few baskets that are not visible from the tee.
- Nice little metal bars with nubs by the tee boxes that are(I assume) for scraping mud off your shoes.
- Seems to be pretty well maintained. Wood chips around all the baskets which is nice since a lot of the course and greens are hard pan dirt. Didn't really see any trash to speak of.
- Depending on skill level, there are a lot of ace runs out there.
- Free to play.
Cons:
- Pretty blah golf. Most of the trees are 8-10' tall so there really is almost no line shaping or precision required. I've played some "lynx style" courses before and generally, unless there's a bunch of elevation in play or a lot of man made OB or both, they just don't present much challenge. From the spray paint lines I saw on a number of holes, I'd guess artificial OB is how local leagues and tourneys spice this course up.
- With the land the course is on, a number of holes feel pretty repetitive. Lots of 220' to 320' range. Slight uphill, slight downhill. The others that don't fit in that range are are couple 350'ish and a couple 450'ish holes. Really not a lot of variety is possible with the land being used. Only 2 holes stuck out as unique/fun on the course, for me. #'s 15 & 16 which play over a little row of bushes that line the small creek and then back across the other direction.
- Some of the tee pads seem to point on what should be the preferred line, except, as I mentioned earlier, the very short trees don't really force a line. This basically leaves the golfer lining up the tee diagonally. Perhaps they're set in this manner to account for 10+ years of future tree growth. Not sure, but I wasn't a huge fan of those tees.
- Prairie dogs. These cute little terrorists leave ankle breaking holes like land mines. Fortunately they have not infested the entire or even the majority of the course. Hopefully they stay to the small area they're in and don't make a push for a hostile takeover. Keep your eyes open if you start to see them and watch your step.
Other Thoughts:
This is a decent town course for the casual to intermediate player. For more experienced players, or those who like a test of skills, this will not offer challenge or variety beyond a "birdie or die" type round and the few bomber holes. All the right things have been added to the course as far as infrastructure. The tees and baskets are perfectly playable but the land is just really lackluster. With the small trees there's almost no shade out there so be prepared if you're playing in the heat. Lots of prairie grass but it wasn't out of control when I was there. Either enough use and/or some maintenance has kept it mostly in check. Could definitely see wanting gators if the grass was thick to avoid throwing away socks afterwards. There is an outhouse centrally located on the course, along the side of what appears to be a park maintenance building. I didn't list it in Cons as I have nothing but personal experience to draw on but a number of the hole distances seemed more than a bit off. I can't step up to a course cold, saw off a forehand n00b hyzer, and come up 40' short on a 410' hole(#1). After a few holes, I stopped relying heavily on the hole distances like I normally would at a new course. When I played, it was rated around a 3.1 and while not too far off of my rating opinion I think I set my expectations a little high. Overall, a very serviceable course but nothing to get excited about and I will not play it again on my returns trips to the area.