The only pro I can think of is the 3 disc golfers I ran into were friendly and helpful in locating a few of the tee pads

Where do I start. There is absolutely no signage at this course. Some of the tee pads are broken apart and some have large weeds encroaching on them. The park is so narrow, 100-200 feet at its widest, that baskets are put on top of each other and fairways cross each other. Couldn't find tee pads for 16 and 17. The course does not appear to be maintained by anyone.

This is a multi use park. Plenty of walkers and bikers using the path required extra wait time. People sit down within feet of the baskets requiring you to skip the hole or coax them to move.

I played in the afternoon and the breeze was a steady 10-20mph.

Friends that I'm staying with in Oakland did confirm that this is a notorious gay hook up park. That was confirmed by the sketchy characters that we saw leaving the park, ducking into the shule, and lurking in the parking lot.

If you absolutely have to play some disc golf I would recomend visiting one of the other parks in the area. I won't play this course again.

The course itself and the different shots are pretty cool. Cool bay breeze. Very green.

People everywhere, horrible signing or directions to baskets. Some tee pads not marked. Kinda just pick what looks fun. Great chance of losing a disc or two. Some local hoodstars or girls with short hair and Birkenstocks may distract you.

the 3 Amigos are out there retrieving discs from the water and re-selling them 5 for $20.
This guy at my local course found there stash, recognized names on discs and snatched up like 15 of em. Brought em back and gave me my Champion Wraith back.
Damn it feels good to be a Chainster.

As a course, it makes players use a variety of throws. Nice setting on the water.

1. Gets congested with pedestrians, bicyclists, BBQers and people just hanging out on the grass. Once, a man saw me ready to throw, then laid his blanket down right in front of 18 basket, looked at me again, swithced on his radio, and sat down.
2. Sketchy, creepy guys use this park as a d/lo hook-up spot.
4.Disc swallowing water.

With so many other courses in the Bay Area, there's no need to frequent this one. The local golfers are really friendly though. Don't go alone (see "Cons").

A tight course that has a lot of water and wind in play. The shule is also tough.
The layout asks for accuracy and a mixed bag of shots not to mention confidence to throw across or out over water and get back to land. Plenty of trees. Concrete/blacktop tees. Interesting pin placements; behind big trees, on the shoreline too bad there are not more and they moved more often.
Really cool and friendly locals.

Not very long. Pins don't move very much. This course is in a park and you will NEED to wait for walkers, runners, cyclists etc.The signs are long gone so either walk through the course, get a map from the website or hook up with a local.
The trees can keep discs, the water is somewhat nasty do not throw anything you cannot lose without a quick shrug. Don't bother to swim or wade.
Yes the south end has a "cruising scene" and there is evidence of it; don't go too far right on #10, 11, 12 or you will be in creepsville.

This course gets over looked and many Bay Area players will not play it. I think they are missing out. AP is NOT forgiving, it is challenging and has a great local disc golfer scene. You will need left and right turning drives, confidence to throw over water and past some challenging trees. Bring extra discs. A really fun weekly league in Weds 5PM until October then it moves to Sat 11AM.
I may give it a slightly higher rating because I love AP.

What I like and how this course stacks up:
1) Holes with good risk/reward -- B
2) Holes that have rewarding birdie opportunities -- B
3) More wooded than open - lots of variety of shots required caused by hole shape and topography -- B-
4) Natural beauty (Appalachian beauty preferred) and seclusion -- A
5) Multi-shot holes with defined landing zones, good risk/reward and multiple options to play them -- NA

I ranked this course subjectively based on my own personal enjoyment factor...more accurately my "personal addiction factor". Since I have played a decent number of courses (115 18-hole, 50 9-hole as of early 2009), my hope is that players/explorers who have similar tastes will find my ratings list helpful as they chose courses to play and explore.

Over time, I expect to fill some of my reviews in with more descriptive verbiage...if what I say adds anything to what has already been written. For now, my list is more important to me than the verbiage of my reviews.

I fully expect others with different tastes/philosophies to disagree with me. See my profile for my rating philosophy.

good tee pads, forced throws over water and hazards, and 18 mach 3 baskets. this course will force you to play outside of your comfort zone, fighting the wind and the very tight layout of this course will prove to be a challenge for experienced players. several holes require a throw over water or offer a very small landing zone. course maps are provided in a box on the first tee pad and bathrooms/water fountain are located about 150' from the first pad.

wow this course was crowded with lots of non dg traffic. there was a birthday party going on 25' down in the middle of the #1 fairway. there were some layout issues due to the tight confines of the park. lots of panhandling going on but it's Berkeley, so it should be expected as there are lots of people doing this.

i played this course twice to make sure that i got it all. it is a very fun course that will play different form all the other courses i have played. something different equals, a pair of street urchins approach me ad ask if they can smoke something other than MJ and cigs with us and ask for my lighter. i concede and give them my lighter and tell them that we don't partake in that sort of fun time and try to send her on her way. after the two urchins smoked something that rhymes with back one of them returned my lighter and said thanks.

this place is tons of fun bet very different. i guess the best mindset to play this course with is that of anything can happen at anytime in Berkeley.

Berkeley has a fun local course that is both challenging and relaxing. Relatively easy to follow the course. A bit technical for a shorter course. Beautiful view of SF and Golden Gate Bridge. Rarely ever crowded with players.

Non-golfer traffic is high, but most know your there and get out of the way. Windy days make this a very difficult course. A few good water hazards can force you to use, and lose, older discs. I've lost my share in the drink.

Good course on a nice day. Pros out weigh the cons.

Challenges you with the wind, lots of water shots, great Chief spots in the bushes, well maintained

Lots of foot traffic from walkers and bikers, so long delays waiting for people to get out of the way, really skinny course so lots of running into other groups playing the back nine, local gay hookup spot, so watch your ass when you go into the bushes. I have walked in on something I wish I wouldnt have seen before, Also, the wind can take your disk and and the trees are very thick, so you lose a lot of discs

If you lose your discs, you can always buy a cheap one on 18 from people that snatch them from the water for cheap.

Decent variety of left-right and right-left fairways, several very challenging holes. Highlights include hole 2, which is a narrow tunnel for the first 100' and then opens into a field, with a creek 20 feet before the basket, and hole 10, a 240' hole with the first 220' over water.

Busy pedestrian path runs right through 90% of holes. The portion of the park near holes 9/10/11/12 is a local 'cruiser's hangout', beware going into the bushes to look for discs. The water is fairly gross- have heard stories of infection from people cutting legs when entering to retrieve a disc.

Water comes into play on half of the holes, including two with forced carries of 220' plus. In the afternoon, the wind can pick up fiercely. Don't plan on throwing any cherished or hard to replace discs here. Can purchase discs for $3-$5 from a variety of local folks, who fish discs out of the water and the thick bushes on the inland side of the course.

Nearby

Bilt along the water, not very wide and trees that are hungry for your discs.

Prepare to loose your disks