Pros:
- Fun layout
- Good, double-chain baskets
- Some tree obstacles
- Maps and scorecards/rules provided by tee #1
- Not too crowded
Cons:
- Gravel tees, a bit short
- Some tees too close to road
- Map absolutely necessary first 1-2 rounds
- Some hole repetition
- Tough to find tees at first, as the tee numbers are bolted face-up to the railroad ties by the tees
- May have conflicts with other park patrons/activities
Other Thoughts:
Even though this course is fairly remote for me to visit on regular basis, I wanted to check it out as this course was just recently added to DGCR. From the few photos posted and the satellite view I wasn't expecting much, especially since this area is a part of planned development close to DIA.
However, after finally making it out to the course, I was pleasantly surprised how much fun I had playing here.
The map provided online (and also available at tee #1) is very accurate, but the few instances of criss-crossing fairways make the layout a bit confusing at first, and map consultation is a must. The scoresheet that is also present at tee #1 spells out rules and regulations for the course, as well as some tips regarding a few holes, namely 2, 8, 10-11, and 18.
I was surprised to read the hole 2 shot over the tennis courts is forbidden (makes getting a birdie tough, as this hole is a big dog-leg to the right around the tennis courts), as I was looking forward to making exactly that kind of shot.
On hole 8, the mando is to stay to the right of the concrete drain.
On holes 10 and 11, the field is used for Cricket apparently sometimes, so landing on the field of play when a game is on is considered OOB.
Finally, hole 18 mando is to go through the first set of pine trees in front of the tee, with parking and streets OOB.
With all that said, while the difficulty of the course is not that great, it is definitely fun to play. Many baskets are placed in a group of trees, some tee shots have close-by tree obstacles, and there are some slight elevation changes, especially on the back 9 holes.
Other than the cricket field, the layout keeps the distance from the playground and basketball court.
I was not too happy with the relative shortness of the tees, as well as the proximity of some tees to the streets (4, 9, 13, 14). The gravel tees will get eroded over even a short amount of time, it would be great if they could be made more permanent once their placement is possibly improved.
There are a few wide open holes with no obstacles, and some holes look very similar, especially on the back 9.
The hole lengths are pretty fair overall, with plenty of opportunities for longer drives, as well as birdie opportunities on well-placed shorter hole shots.
Not too sure how busy the park gets (it wasn't too crowded on a very nice Saturday in November), but avoiding other park patrons may become an issue sometimes.
I would possibly rate this course 0.5 disc higher if the tee issues were resolved, but I still like the course.