Top-tier course design. Every disc golf shot is needed. Nearly every shot, from the tees or the fairway, has two or more possible lines that require consideration.

Not the prettiest plot of land. Not a lot of shade for long stretches

In a way this course is what disc golf is all about. It's on a scrubby triangle of land in between several housing and apartment developments, going unused because it was too steep and ravine-y to be good for building on. It's not an attractive park at all but thanks to an absolutely genius course design it's now a destination people want to be at. The course makes so much out of so little. It's not my favorite Austin course but it's just as memorable as any thanks to Houck's vision

This is my home course, approximately 5 minutes from my house, and my game has improved exponentially by playing this course almost every day before work.
Pros:
John Houck did an excellent job of using the limited space to create a wide variety of lines and shots. From a couple of bomber holes to deceptively tricky 200 foot holes, this course requires every shot in your bag.
Since it's so short, I can jog the course and play the hole thing in under an hour. I've actually dropped 15 pounds since I started playing this course daily.
Nice benches, level concrete tee pads, and trash cans abound
Even this course is in the middle of a neighborhood, with an apartment complex and HEB less than a quarter mile away, it feels like you are in the middle of the woods and out of the city on many of the holes.

Cons: This is nit picky, but there are a few holes that feel really repetitive, particularly 7, 13 , 14 and 15.
Not much shade once between hole 3 - 16, so if you go in the summer, prepare to get owned by the sun.
Some of the fairways are basically rock gardens and will really chew up some plastic. However, this can be a pro as well because it's and excellent way to beat in a new disc.

Such a great course for a quick round. If you want some nice variety, play this course, then head down to Davis Springs which is about 6 minutes away, or brushy creek sports park, also 6 minutes away. There are several fantastic Houck designed courses within 15 minutes from this course which can make for an epic day of golfing!

I hate to repeat the other reviews, but they're all pretty spot on. This is another great John Houck designed course that forces you to use a variety of shots. Beautiful area to walk as you go in and out of the trees for the front 9, and then a fun back 9 that opens up with some elevation changes. It can be somewhat punishing if you get off your line, but you can usually still scramble for par or bogey without too much frustration.

-Great hole variety that caters to different skill levels: a few tunnel shots, anhyzer lines, as well as open air shots.

-multiple lines available on a lot of the holes, so lets you play to your strengths. For example: Hole 10 is a nice tunnel shot you'd probably want to use a mid-range on, but someone with a big spike hyzer could also swing it out wide and park it.

-Good mix of elevation changes and raised greens without it feeling too artificial. Keeps you on your toes for your putts, as you have to be very aware of your approach angles.

Seems like this is a major water drainage area for a housing development, so anytime you've got rain you're going to have some muddy/soggy spots that will linger. Bring your mud shoes and a towel!

When you're walking from hole 4 to 5, keep your head on a swivel, as you'll be crossing through the fairway for 12 and 13, and they might not be able to see you from their teepads. Other than that weird crisscross, the course has a pretty good flow to it. Definitely had to use the map on Udisc for my first time out.

This was my first time playing Cat Hollow, and I absolutely loved it. It's the kind of course you can just enjoy throwing on, even if you're not having the best round, score-wise.

If you're familiar with Rivery Park in Georgetown, this course feels very similar (same designer); Cat Hollow just has more open field shots and is a little bit more forgiving if you get off your line.

Definitely worth a play if you're passing through; and absolutely worth playing regularly if you're in the area.

Nice tee boxes With newer tee signs than what are in the pictures.

Good baskets that are a consistent height.
most baskets have erosion control around and under them in the form of crushed granite and large stones marking a "green"

The course is kept mowed

The course has a wide variety of shots from tight controlled tunnels to wide open bombs.

Elevation changes on most of the holes.

Nothing here is a 100% gimme shot

This is a great place to work on mid range accuracy.

The course really does reward accurate drives and solid putting. It also punishes Bad drives.

No mulch, although a few places could use some.
Any weaknesses in a player's game will be made apparent here. The course requires power, shot-shaping, accuracy, strategy, escaping from trouble, and putting on risky greens.

This course is a great practice course and usually a quick round.

Layout is a little tricky. Play with a local or get a map.
Cedars

To avoid a common heard complaint and to avoid crossing fairways from hole 4 to hole 5 simply walk over to the hiking/jogging path. From there you can walk down to hole 5s tee box without ever crossing fairways.
From 14 to 15 stay right till fence and look, if anyone is on 3s tee they will usually wave you by. I have played the course more times than i can count and have never encountered a problem at these crossings.

Nice, easy holes for beginners but also more difficult throws for more experienced players.
Lots of shade through out the course.
Benches to sit on by the tee boxes on most of the holes.
Located by a park with a field you can practice your drives on before the game.
Very manageable course par.
Holes can be quite fun if you know what you are doing.
Usually not too hot outside.
Not many places to loose your disk if you make a bad throw.

Maps by tee boxes don't really help.
Holes 8 and 17 are alot tougher then they appear- you really have to master these holes.
A few places where you must be careful of other people throwing (going from hole 4 to 5 and going from hole 14 to 15).
Hole 18 can be quite confusing if you don't know where the basket is (it's through the opening in front of the tee box then to the left and behind the next set of trees that has been partially cleared out).
There can be huge groups that you have to wait on sometimes.

This course is by far my favorite. I've played most of the courses in the area and this course gives a great variation of holes for all levels and all throwing types. There are some holes that are straight forward, some that a have some distance on them, and some that have some technical throws you have to make. Hole 17 is probably the most discouraging hole on the course- the beginning is pretty narrow, the middle is really wide, but then the basket is on the other side of some very tall and wide trees which makes it very difficult to land the disk by the basket unless you have a perfect shot. I deffinatly think that hole 17 should be a par 4 though. Just be ready for that hole though. Once again, great course with a great variety of holes.

This is the busiest course in North Austin (technically, a suburb of Austin). This course appeals to a wide range of player capabilities. It is a good course for a novice who wants to graduate from one of the pitch and putt courses. Most of the holes are around 200' - 300', can be seen from the teepad and can be birdied. There is a nice mix of hyzers, anhyzers, straight shots... combined with tunnel shots and open fairways.

On the other hand, this course will also appeal to a more experienced player, because if you are going to birdy these holes (consistantly) you are going to need accuracy and finesse. In all there are probably 12 holes that should be easily made in 2 shots and 3 holes are probably true par 4's.

The course is set in a flood plain with some minor elevation/erosion control landscaping incorporated nicely into the design and also makes use of paths cut through cedar brush for tunnel shots. The combination of environments makes for a course with a good mix and variety of shots.

Overall, the course is in good condition... trash cans and benches at most holes, the innova baskets are in good shape and tee pads were recently added. Most of the tee pads were not placed in the traditional ruts previously used, some were set back a few feet while others were shifted a few feet to the left or right (making tee shots slightly tougher) .

Note: Some major changes were also made:
Hole 10 basket was moved back almost 100' and placed on the side of the hill, in front of old 11 tee box(now a par 4).
Hole 11 tee box was moved further down, with no straight shot at the basket (either a anhyzer or hyzer).
Hole 17 now plays to old 18's basket location, making the hole almost 100' longer (now a par 4?).
Hole 18 is completely new, roughly a 275' hyzer shot (in the opposite direction of what it used to be).

I would still consider Hole 5 to be the signature hole. A 600', par 4, anhyzer shot out of the woods with a tree line always on your right and open space out left. A good par 4 that can be occasionaly done in 3 but don't be surprised when you take a 5 or higher.

With the addition of a parking lot a couple years ago and the recent attention/upgrades by the mud district... this course can only get better.
There are also several groups/clubs that run regular events at this course (on week days and weekends)... including night golf.

The only major con I can see... would be traffic. This course is busy can take longer than expected to play.

Minor issues: players have to walk through 13 fairway to get from hole 4 to tee 5. and a bad shot on 5 could put you by 6 basket.

This is really just a neighborhood course that is really way better than it should be... but it is NOT a championship calliber course. For that it would need way more parking, some sort of water hazard and little more distance added to most holes.
There are several courses nearby that have a higher course par, longer holes, require more finesse.... etc. but for what it is (a nice little/friendly neighborhood course), Cat Hollow is an over-achiever.

Scoring Opportunities. I like getting birdies and I love shooting under par. 'Cat Hollow' has plenty of birdie holes with some technical ones mixed in there and a few holes where you need to bring the lumber to get it there. I appreciate a hard course as much as the next guy...but I play DG because it's fun.

All in all this makes for a well rounded course.

Navigating the course is fairly straight forward...you might have a little trouble getting to the 5th tee. It's a a big sweeping blind right hander.

As mentioned by several reviews the tee pads are pretty janky. It also gets crowded at peak times.

Go to 'Cat Hallow' and have fun! If you want a challenge head to Wilco or Brushy Creek sports park.

There is a lot to like about this course. Even on the shorted holes there is some risk involved like flying the green on 2 and missing left on 15 & 16. I love the risk reward offered on 17 & 18 and, contrary to some of the other reviews here, I LOVE "Birdie Alley" on the back side as an opportunity to make up for mistakes made prior to #13. They help me to keep my head in the game knowing I have a chance on the back 9 to pull out a good round if I have a few slips on the front. I like that the course rewards me with rounds under par when I manage it well (best is -6) and punishes me when I make some mental/mechanical errors (worst is uhh...let's say over par LOL). The 3 longest holes offer a chance to really air it out and MAN does it feel good when you get a good release on one or all of them...nothing feels quite like a monster drive.

Although 4&5 cross up with 12&13, the area is pretty open and I have never seen an instance where a player threw into traffic and it caused an issue. There are opportunities all over the course to see other players air it out, which is always fun. Ace runs on 1,2,3,7,9,13,14,15 and 18 all require precision and (while this is a lot of ace runs on one course...which I like), most of them will penalize you pretty heavily if you make an aggressive run at them and miss.

Which leads me to my favorite thing about this course - there is risk/reward on just about every hole.

Excellent use of what elevation changes are present. John designed the course with wind in mind and it definitely comes into play on 3, 4, 10, 11 and 13, 15, 16 (although the wind sometimes feels stronger than it actually is). I like that this kind of nuance is something you can only learn from playing many rounds out there.

I can get in 2 rounds in under 2 hours if there is light traffic and I can ALWAYS find a player/group to join up with when I head out there as a single.

There are nice benches on 10 of the holes and the newly installed recycling bins are a welcome addition.

As of last weekend, the rock pile beside the new parking lot (SWEET!) is now in the line-of-site on 18 making it much more challenging.

The only cons on this course are the Tee Boxes...which suck. If there aren't rocks protruding through them, they are rutted DEEP. Concrete pads are something the city needs to look at here FOR SURE!

The new parking lot screams of locals complaining about all the parking on the street. The park is located on the inside of a long sweeping curve in the road so I think it is a good idea but I would have MUCH rather seen them address a much bigger safety concern on the course by installing and/or at least re-grading the Tee Pads. In my humble opinion, I think the risk of someone twisting an ankle when teeing off far outweighs the possibility of someone getting hit by a passing car on the street.

This is however and will probably always be my favorite course in the north of town.

Great variety of shots like blind right and left hooks, blind over a man-made dam, tight tunnels, two great tees from the top of hills.

Not as naturally beautiful as some courses due to it being on a man made drainage ditch between two neighborhoods. Too many local cooler draggers. The trashcans are usually overflowing with empties.

You better take water and wear a hat. There's not much shade to be found on the back nine.