Pros:
-Lots of variety
-Very few conflicts with other park uses
-multiple tees on each hole
-Good, descriptive signage
-logical flow
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Cons:
-inadequate restroom facilities (porta-jon)
-some holes stay sloppy after a rain event
-Safety issue with #1 (see below)
Other Thoughts:
On Des Moines' southeast side resides a huge city park. The portion used for the course has no other active recreation uses, so disc golfers can throw to their hearts' content with no fear of hitting another park-goer. With the exception of Spring, when the park's considerable number of lilacs are in bloom, there is little else to bring non-golfers to this section of the park.
The course has two distinctive personalities in its looping 9 design. Each 9 starts and returns to the park lot, which is a very nice feature for a course of this length.
The front 9 rambles through a more heavily wooded area that is actually an arboretum, containing many different species of trees. The lengths of each hole are quite appropriate for the tightness of the fairways. There are a few legitimate par 4 holes available. My only knock is #1 when the basket it set in its longest or shortest positions (there are 3 for each hole). When set long or short, the basket will be within 40' of Indianola Road, which is a fairly heavily trafficked street bordering the park and you are actually throwing toward the road.
The back 9 starts with the signature #10 which features a huge, open downhill drive to a circle of crabapple trees that surround the basket. This sets the tone for the rest of the course, which is quite a bit more open and long, but still requires control of the disc to get it where you want without hitting strategically placed obstacles.
What the front and back 9s share is a nice rolling topography that the course uses quite well. Each tee features two substantially sized concrete pads and very good, vandal-resistant tee signs that graphically show the shape of the holes with accurate distances to each pin position. What's missing is a system of communicating which position the basket is in as it's not always apparent from the tee.
Overall, it's a fantastic course. Challenging, varied and fun to play. Some minor improvements and a simple re-design to #1 would bump it a half-star. Adding better restrooms and some on-site concessions would put it in the 5-star realm.