Five fair holes with a bit of challenge.

For a course this short, it's easier to write in prose than bullet points. The course here at Bill Wood Park plays in a partial circle beside and behind the park's baseball fields through some unused grassy space. The five baskets are in fine shape, and all but (1) have tee signs including number and distance. There are no navigation issues as each basket is visible from the tee and each tee is visible from the previous basket. Maintenance didn't seem to be an issue when I played.

The holes themselves are reasonably fun to play. For example, (1) is a 300' downhill semi-tunnel shot, (2) plays along the natural curve of a hill with trees rewarding a miss, and (5) allows you to open up and go for the 2. Most greens are on a slope to make putting more intentional. (3) and (4) could churn out aces not infrequently. If I had a child playing ball in a league here, I would be thrilled at the opportunity to throw a bit during a practice or such.

It's short. Done before you can say, "If Bill Wood could he would throw good," three times fast.

There's nothing stunning about these 5 holes. None is objectionable, but none is stellar, either. With only 5 holes to work with, it's nearly impossible to accomplish a meaningful variety of shapes and styles. I was finally getting an appetite to throw a complete round when I started hole (5) and realized it was my last tee shot. This aspect, more than any other, drags the course's rating down.

There are some notable omissions here, too. No tee pads, no extras like practice baskets, and no indication of the start of the course. It ends on almost the complete opposite side of the park from where it begins, and it's not feasible to play the course backwards due to safety hazards between holes.

Two other cons: drainage and safety. Hole (5) was a soft and muddy mess when I played it. There are also some safety hazards with this park. The bleachers and field are in danger on (1), the road comes into play on (5), and the field is also reachable with a bad drive on (4). On a busy day, I don't know how playable the course would be if families were playing or picnicking in the green space.

If we were to rate courses based on how well they filled their purpose of installation, Bill Wood Park would earn a 4.5. It's nearly a perfect little 5-hole addition to a park for families to play while other members are busy. However, I rate each course within the spectrum of all other courses, and by that measure Bill Wood's timid number of holes and lack of variety earn it a Poor.

(0.969 Rating) A small sports complex course needing an investment for four more baskets.
- QUICK PLAY - I found this aspect to be the best part. Five holes that maybe takes 15 minutes of your time.
- CHAINS - DISCatchers
- MAINTENANCE - The grounds were very maintained like most sports complex courses.
- BEGINNER FRIENDLY - Near ideal game-play for first timers. No overgrowth in play and losing a disc will only occur if a player forgets to pick up.
- PARK AMENITIES - Restroom facilities and a drinking fountain are in the park. I think I saw vending machines and there's a nice sized playground area for kids.

Missing too much of everything.
- FIVE HOLES - Only having five holes here really hurts the rating for this course. I was looking all-round after finishing my putt on basket (5) in hopes to see the gleam of another basket edge in another section of the park. Without question there is room for 4 more baskets in this medium sized park and perhaps even enough space for a full 18.
- LACK OF CHALLENGE - Of what's here, it's cupcake and uninspiring. I get the idea of making a course beginner friendly, but throwing the bar so low will hook very few players from what I've seen. Yes there is some length, including a 400 foot plus open shot on (5), but there is almost zero technical challenge of trying to sculpt shots to leave better outcomes. Other than hole (1), the remaining four can basically be attacked from every angle. There's nothing here that gets the imagination juices flowing.
- HOLE VARIETY - Probably above average among five hole courses, but then again I'd be comparing Bill Wood against other 5 hole courses. Some decent hole length variation and some nice rolling elevation change in the 15 to 20 foot range. Still far sub-par when compared to the average course.
- AMENITIES AND EXTRAS - The budget to put this course in was not that much. Maybe $2,500. There are 5 DISCatchers and 5 simple tee signs (one missing). That's the extent of the disc golf related work thus far.
- NAVIGATION - It is passable. Unfortunately for me, tee sign (1) was missing and this course is not even two years old. No directional cues while out on the course. Most next tee signs are near the prior basket so it can be figured out with only a few extra minutes of recon.
- NO LOOP...YET? - Part of me believes that the reason (5) ends more than 1000 feet away from the parking lot, is that they have plans for 4 more holes. So yeah, it sucked to walk a long ways back to the car for just 5 holes.
- NATURAL BEAUTY - I scored this aspect around 20 percentile due to the open nature of the course and the sports complex setting. The well maintained grounds was a plus as noted in the pros.

Bill Wood Park never gets out of second gear. My arm wasn't even loose yet by the time I made it to the last hole. The course really needs at least four more baskets. As is, I'd likely only play here if I lived in Madison and i probably would have never picked up the sport if this was the first place I saw baskets. It's hard for me to take a course seriously when it's not even a full nine. No need for even the day-tripper to stop here when traveling between Augusta and Atlanta. The five DGCR members who have marked playing here, are all baggers imo.