-Concrete tees
-Multiple tees / multiple basket locations
-Good mix of open / wooded, long / short
-Baskets catch OK
-Multiple lines on many holes
-Good use of terrain with a couple of elevated baskets and one with a sharp right turn at the end and down
-Handmade wood signage is OK
-Finding the course is easy / plentiful parking
-Many benches / trashcans

-Older DGA baskets tough to see at times
-Map would help knowing where to throw at times
-Near a river, gets extremely buggy
-Can be extremely busy at times

Deerwood Park DGA is located near the Cedar River on the SW corner of Evansdale, IA. A very easy course to get to means a popular place on a nice afternoon or weekend. Being near the river means a lot of bugs (I had no bug repellent the first time here and was chased after 9 holes). The rest of my quibbles are minor. While I applaud whomever created the carved wood signage, an updated set of signs would add, along with a map. The older baskets can be tough to see in the wooded areas. Tee pads are nice, concrete, good length, and the alternates do give a differing line to many of the baskets, not just a shorter throw. You are open for a few holes (#1, 10, 11, 18), mixed for a few (#2, 12, 16 - all 3 begin open to a wooded finish), and wooded for the rest. There are a couple of holes (#3, 13) the are a little too guarded by trees, more luck than skill slipping a birdie in here. Benches and trash cans are plentiful, so there are places to wait out slow groups. You can't really fix the traffic or the bugs, but updated signage, a basket refresh would add here. I would put this at the middle of the pack of the courses in the area. I will probably play here again.

Pros:
-18 Holes, many quite challenging with a few elevated
- Concrete tees
- Mostly wooded
- 2 Tees for each fairway (one for pros and one for the rest of us)

Cons:
- Part runs close to and along a busy highway, so it's not quite as immersive as other wooded courses
- Fairways are packed into each other like sardines leading to lots of confusion on my first attempt to play
- Maps arn't 100% clear at tees and often you can't see the baskets which adds to the confusion.

This course was made by some mad genius, mad that he squeezed so much into so small a space...genius because it kinda works. Note: I went in the late fall and most of the leaves where down. Being my first time on the course it often baffled me where I was trying to aim my disk since the lines of the fairways (so rail close to each other) had blown away with the fall winds. Another problem was many of the baskets aren't visible from the tees, so it seems that it will take a few times to fully understand, appreciate, and master this demon course. Really liked the effort of the raised baskets on at least three holes to compensate for the lake of hills.

If your looking for this course, it's pretty easy to find, right off HWY 20 on the south east tip of Waterloo. The course itself is one of the first thing you should see on the left as you enter the the park, squeezed between a softball field and the highway.

- Location! Set right off the highway heading into or out of Waterloo, Deerwood couldn't be better placed for traveling golfers jonesing for a game with very little time on their hands and no GPS to speak of. You can literally see the baskets from the highway. A great stop and throw spot.

- Good teepads. All concrete, these pads provide really decent grip even in the slosh and snow that Iowa winters can sometimes deliver.

- Forgiving baskets. Although they seem to be old Mach IIs with a penchant for juryrigging, these baskets catch pretty well as long as you're at least marginally close to the intended target.

- Good use of space. Settled along the highway and nestled into a rarely-used parcel of land, this course seems to have been destined for a disc golf. There's open shots, tight lines in the woodlands, and even some elevation changes that add an extra bit of thought to your shots.

- Sweet layout. The play is fairly straightforward in that the next hole is relatively obvious. After you're done with #1, it's pretty easy to find #2 and so on. Not much ambiguity to this course. The dual tees provide some challenge too in that it's long enough (playing pro tees) to give experienced players a run for their money, but short enough (playing amateur tees) for beginners to keep them interested without frustrating them to tears.

- Amenities available. Casey's is just right across the street in case you wanted a bite to eat or a fashionable adult beverage before or after or during your round.

- Dirty. Not too many trash cans available at Deerwood, which obviously contributes to the garbage littered throughout the course. A few placed hither and thither might encourage golfers to deposit their refuse there rather than the fairway. Just sayin'. And it's not just a few cans left behind as an afterthought; it's literally Mount Trashmore at the gazebo that shrouds the starting point. If local players put in a little effort in clean up this would be an extremely attractive course for traveling chuckers, but as of this writing it could use a good walk-through with trash bags.

- Ambiguous signage. I know I said that it's a fairly straightforward course, but the problem lies elsewhere. The problem is that there's really no indication of where one is supposed to start. A little sign in the obtuse parking area would go a long way in helping people navigate the course.

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

All in all, Deerwood DGC is an awesome benefit to Evansdale and the Cedar Valley at large. It really does offer everything a disc golfer is looking for, regardless of skill level. If you're short on time and want a diet, watered-down, gluten-free version of Exchange Park but more of a challenge than the KOA or Valley View, Deerwood is your man.

In short, Deerwood is good local disc golf. It's not a destination course, but if you're on your way somewhere you could do a lot worse than this. It probably won't end up in your favorites, but I'd be a happy man to have a course like Deerwood in my hometown. Good stuff.

all types of shots required here, lefts rts, straights and distance.
lots of obstacles on this course namely trees, also a con for beginners though.
rt off hyw 380/20 for quick access to those passing thru

tees could be better, some missing pars or signage. again beginners may find all trees to be a bit much.
not much elevation change
buggy but to be expected with amount of trees and river in the area

as ive only been playing for 2 yrs this is my hardest course in town. not being able to throw distance and having to lay up more is hard for me still and this course demands you do so. still a great course and one that will always be fun with all the tree hazards

Pro and Am tees. The pro tees are concrete and newer. This course makes you think before your shots as there are multiple ways to approach almost every hole. Good variety of distance. If you enjoy wooded courses most of the holes are in the woods. Gas station within walking distance (about two city blocks) for refreshments.

Am tees are short and uneven in some spots. Missing signing. Some of the pro tees are hard to find for first time players. Bums like to tip over the trash cans looking for cans and leave everything strewn about. Also watch out for the bugs. Spray is a must and I always wear either shorts with knee socks or long pants. There is poison ivy. I play there ALL the time and only got it once when I just wore shorts. No bathrooms.

This next spring I plan on getting pictures and hole info up here.