Baskets are great, tees are concrete and large enough for how short the course is. 10/10

You would have to really try hard to lose a disc. 10/10

Several holes have multiple gaps you can throw through with paths to the basket. Decisionmaking 8/10

The obstacles on this course are used well for the most part. Holes 1 and 9 are short and pretty open and boring, but the rest have at least some obstacles to provide a mild challenge. 7/10

Course was well mowed. There aren't really tee signs showing the holes, but there are posts showing hole numbers and distances. No benches or trash cans. Course Maintenance 7/10

Tee posts help help to find the next tee and the course is pretty intuitive for the most part, especially because of how small it is. Navigation between holes 7/10

Baskets have numbers on the top to help with navigation. Tee pads generally point toward the basket. No hole maps to assist with navigation and on most tees you can see multiple baskets because of how close together the entire course is. Navigation on holes 6/10

No alternate pin positions, though there are a couple of alternate tees on holes 5 and 7. The alternates also do little to change the holes other than adding 30 to 50 feet of distance. 1/10

The course is pretty flat for the most part. There are a couple of ridges that are utilized on holes 2, 6, and 9. 2/10 on elevation

There's not a huge variety of shot paths required on this course, Hole 3 favors a right to left shot, while hole 6 favors a left to right. A few holes have options for either a left to right or right to left (see decisionmaking in pros). Shot paths 3/10

Many holes are either right around 300' (4, 5, 7, and 8) or right around 180 ft' (1, 2, 6, 9). The 3rd hole is significantly longer than the rest. 3/10 on variety of distances.

This is a good beginner course because of its lack of length, its park setting, and lack of hazards. However, the course will provide little challenge to intermediate or advanced players other than the third hole. 3/10 on challenging all levels

Challenge of the course: 1/10

Hole 3 is sweet, but there's nothing special about the rest. This course is good for a quick nine or a warmup before playing Ewing, but it is certainly not the destination course that many in the Des Moines area are.

- Centralized location. Set near the State Capitol building off of the main hub of 14th Street in Des Moines, Crivaro is very much an "on the way" course. If you're done with your round at Grandview and want to get in another at Ewing (or vice-versa), Crivaro is smack dab in the middle of your route. Plenty of amenities nearby to fill up on gas, fast food, smokes, drinks, and if you know the right people, some black tar heroin. (Kidding about that last, but the location does kind of strike me as a little sketchy.)

- Good equipment. 9 Mach III baskets are peppered throughout the course, even painted exactly like they are on the Steady Ed Memorial course at the International Disc Golf Center in Appling, Georgia. They catch pretty well, the concrete teepads are grippy and level, and there's plenty of parking. The grass is well maintained in the warmer months as well, making Crivaro somewhat of an oasis among the concrete and blacktop you'll see along the way to and from the better courses in Des Moines.

- Starter course. If you have someone you're trying to introduce to the game, Crivaro is a great place to do it. Holes are short enough (and many have alternate tees) so beginners won't get frustrated, while those newbies who have some Frisbee skills are provided a few holes to air it out without feeling like they're playing on the bunny slopes. A starter DX set from any manufacturer is more than enough for a rank beginner to shoot par on this course. More experienced players will find many ace runs at Crivaro from both the long and short tees. The length of the course and its proximity to a major road with streetlights also makes it a great course for glow during the seasons with shorter days.

- Other activities available. If you want to bring the family and have a cookout, there's a pavilion with restrooms as well as grills available to burn your meat. There's also plenty for the non-golfers to do in the form of a basketball court, swing sets and jungle gyms while you breeze through the 9 or 18 holes. Your round won't take long on this short pitch and putt.

- Loud. As I said, 14th Street is a major thoroughfare in Des Moines so traffic is apt to be pretty crazy on that street during your round, regardless of what time you play. 18-wheelers, horns, and bumper-to-bumper traffic can be heard fairly loudly on every hole, so if you like to listen to music while you play your Bluetooth speaker probably won't be enough to drown it out. Better to bring headphones. Suffice it to say that Crivaro is not the course to expect a peaceful round to get one with nature.

- No benches. Though it isn't a long course, its proximity to everything else in the city makes Crivaro a fairly popular park so it can get busy. Its length and location draws beginners and (bless their hearts) bored people sitting around who say to each other, "Hey, wouldn't it be hilarious if we went Frisbee golfing?!" That said, playing here you may end up waiting on people who are trying out the sport with their 40g Met Life Frisbees and grandma's pie tins. Just saying it'd be nice to have something to sit on while you wait your turn watching an eight and 80-year old take 15 minutes to take a 9 on the 110 foot par 3.

- No topless Hooters girls frolicking along the #8 fairway.

All in all, Crivaro is a passable on-the-way course that every town in America needs and can most certainly afford. It gets plenty of usage and is a quick, painless place to introduce new players to the game...especially those on the fence about it who are hesitant to even give disc golf a try. It's a quick 9 (or however many you want to play) that offers a little something for players of all levels, but it's most definitely not a destination course. With Ewing, Grandview, Walnut Ridge, Big Creek and Pickard all being within 20 minutes or so you're better off heading there, but when you have little time and are jonesing for a game this course will scratch that itch. In short, Crivaro is the fat girl at the club at 2am: You wouldn't even consider her if you had time to work the cheerleaders, but when last call comes around your powers of positive thinking start to kick in and all of the sudden the fat girl doesn't look too bad.

Really nice maintained course. It was winter but the lawn was mowed and limbs cleared. Easy to park and access the park. I went on a Wednesday and no players were there. Trees gave some concern but no under brush to worry about. DGA baskets are good quality.

Bathrooms closed on off season. This is a basketball and water park. Tee distance course details could be better delineated. A new road is being constructed on #1 so it was out of play. Needs new teebox.

I liked the course as I visited the town and wanted some disc golf time out. Easy to find. Shot -1 par for the 2 games I played.

Short course. Good to work on midrange game. Most of the 9 holes are under 300 feet, and most are short enough to reach with a putter. There are 2 longer holes that are a rip to get a deuce on. Bathrooms and open air shelters are near the course, but don't come into play. It is a good course for night golf as 14th street and park lights illuminate most of the course.

Often there are people on the course that are having picnics and make holes unplayable. It is a popular place during the summer. There is also a basketball court near one pin. There really isn't a lot of challenge to the course.

Ewing Park is a short drive from the course. Go there if you want a enjoyable round at a first class disc golf course.