Pros:
- The park area is really nice, clean, and well kept. It is right on campus, so it is convenient for students to come and play.
- The layout itself is alright. Most holes are just straight and you have to avoid trees. There are a few holes that require creativity/luck, but not any worth mentioning.
- There are two teepads for most holes, which is great for newer players. However, if you are even remotely decent at playing you should play from the longer tees. My friend, who has probably only played 10 rounds ever, shot -5 from the front tees.
Cons:
- It seems to me that most people who use the park are oblivious to disc golf. I've played with people in hammocks on the edge of fairways, people playing with their dogs next to baskets, students playing soccer in the open part and picking up discs because they don't know what's going on, etc. I understand that disc golf is just a part of the park and doesn't take priority to anything else that is happening, but it needs to be made clear that there is real danger from flying discs and they should be mindful of their surroundings.
- Which leads into the next issue of people/car traffic. All that I said in the last point happened on a Friday/Saturday in the summer when school was out. During typical school hours during the year, would make it insane. There is a building near #16 (more on it in the next point), that if there was a large class going on, would make it unplayable from cars.
- The biggest issue with the layout are the 3 holes across the street from the main park (16-18). #16 goes over a parking lot with nothing stopping cars from parking where ever they want. #17 and 18 go right next to each other. There used to be a mando on 17 that made you throw away from 18's fairway, but apparently that has been removed. So now, both holes go down pretty much the same line, and since 18 is a blind drive, you can't see anyone who is play 17.
- Teeboxes were good quality, but were too short. They were just long enough to make you think you could do a normal walk up on them, but then no. Plus most of them are not flush with the ground so you start off the back.
- Tee signs were nice when there was one. The biggest issue with the ones that didn't have one was they were the ones that really needed them. 10 and 13 were right next to each other and 10 has a homemade cardboard sign and 13 has nothing. Plus, there is nothing anywhere pointing to the next teebox.
- Baskets were old and worn. They only had one layer of chains, which leads to a lot of spit outs. Plus there were many that were damaged or leaning.
Other Thoughts:
- The course is a good course to play, but the possibility of having people in the way and the fact it needs some TLC make it hard to be excited about. The University needs to put some money into repairing baskets, new tee signs, and hazard signs for pedestrians.
- The nearest alternatives are at least 30 mins away (Lazarre, Lake D'arbonne, Lake Claiborne) and I wouldn't say they are worth that long of a drive, but given the choice, I would probably choose one of the Lazarre courses or a Lake Claiborne course. But if you are in Ruston for the day or just passing by on I-20, this is a good one to stop and play.