Pros:
The strength of Ft. Buhlow's Purple course is its front half, where an initial string of holes in the woods gives way to some more open shots that work around copses of trees and across rolling hills. There's plenty of variety here, in distance, shot selection, and challenge level. The wooded holes are tight and challenging while not unfair, and many offer several paths to the basket. They're also well-groomed relative to the thickness of the woods. The more open holes on this half offer a nice counterbalance that seem strategically intermixed to break up the course's flow: they're less technical while still engaging, and give you a chance to reach into different parts of your bag. Elevation is in play throughout this stretch, offering a variety of looks that are rare in Louisiana courses. Altogether the front 9 is one of the best stretches of disc golf I've found in Louisiana.
While the back 9 tapers off a bit, there's still a nice mix of distances and woodedness found there, although the thick woods of the front 9 are unfortunately not reprised. Water comes into play, including the fun risk/reward of hole 10, in which you can make a play for birdie over the river or throw an anny/FH hyzer in an attempt for par. Road OB helps keep things interesting on a few otherwise-open holes. The course ends with a few opportunities to air it out.
With another 18 on site (which I unfortunately didn't get to play on this visit), Ft. Buhlow offers you a lot of golf. It's definitely worth a visit for those in the region, and arguably challenges Lafayette for best destination in southern Louisiana.
The concrete tees are fantastic. Amenities (parking, bathrooms, etc) are first rate. Navigation is extremely well-conceived and easy to follow.
Favorite hole: hole 4, a tight S curve playing over alternately rising and falling terrain.
Cons:
The progression from hilly and wooded to flat and open is a downer for me. The back 9 taper off from the front half, and end with a series of open holes (14-18) that are a far cry from the interesting play offered earlier in the course. While these holes seem driven by the pragmatics of playing back to the parking lot and allowing for the installation of two 18s on site, I can't help but feel that they water down what could have been a really special course. Variety is the spice of life, and intermixing open shots with more technical ones can be really effective (as it is here on the front 9), but the grip it and rip it feel of the final four holes is a bit of a letdown.
With all the movement on the course between various levels of woodedness, there's little such transition in a single hole. Incorporating a larger variety of terrain into an individual hole could make for some really interesting par 4s. Even two or three of these varied holes would contribute a lot to the course's mental game and overall variety. 7 touches on this with an open shot leading to a basket tucked in the woods, but the woods only factor into the approach shot there. Pushing this basic design further could really up the ante by forcing consideration of landing zones and how to chain together multiple shots. This could very well elevate Ft. Buhlow's Purple course to a premiere destination in the state.
The course presently lacks alternate tee or pin positions; perhaps these will be developed in the future.
While well-mowed when I was there, the rough off the fairways on the open holes seems like it could reach disc-swallowing levels, so be advised.
Other Thoughts:
While the open holes on the back 9 keep it from being a must-play, Ft. Buhlow's Purple course remains a very solid offering to an area in need of high level courses. While I've yet to play the Gold course, it's great to have two 18s on site: I'm sure the locals love it, and together they make Ft. Buhlow well worth a visit to an out of towner. I wouldn't classify this as a true destination course, but if you're in the region or passing through, you should definitely make it a point to play at Ft. Buhlow.
Out of towners, be advised: this course is not set in the Ft. Buhlow Historic Site that Google Maps seemed to think it was; the course sits in a park on the other side of the lake. Furthermore, heavy construction made it more difficult to access the park during my visit (April 2014); you need to make your way to a service road that runs along the lake, which can be a little awkward to get to. But persevere; it's worth it!