Pros:
As one of the first 100 permanent disc golf courses established, the Lafreniere Park course boasts a park-style layout that has stood the test of time for more than 40 years, though the over-crowded venue and bland design earn this historic landmark only a decent rating.
The signage and cement teepads are top-notch. The new signs are detailed and give a good representation of the hole design.
The layout has some good aspects, as the course starts with several of the more open holes, allowing for decent warm-up, though Hole #3 is a tricky par 4 with the lake on the left side the entire way. Several of the holes in the middle part of the course feature a ceiling aspect. The layout also squeezes the most out of the one considerable hilly area – a rarity in the Greater New Orleans area – including finding space for two downhill throws on Holes #13 and #14.
The course and park itself seem well-maintained. Parking is located near Hole #1, and the course finishes not too far from the parking lot.
Cons:
My round at Lafreniere was on a cold and windy December morning. I threw my first disc shortly after 7 a.m. with the intention of completing the round in about an hour. While I was achieved that goal by several minutes, my round was interrupted and affected by numerous park-goers and other distractions.
Even at that early hour of the morning, I encountered geese, cats, walkers, park visitors, Christmas decorations and lawn maintenance workers. Several times during my round I laid up or threw at a 45-degree angle deviation from the straight-line route to the basket to avoid endangering people and wildlife. The main info states that the park is shared with other users and tends to be busy. I can imagine the challenge of disc golfing on warm, sunny days at Lafreniere Park is quite significant and that numerous holes might be unplayable at times.
The design at Lafreniere Park is fairly mundane. While there are trees present on most of the holes, the majority of fairways are undefined and flat. There are plenty of sidewalks that come into play as well as chain-link fences that border a residential area on several holes.
The navigation isn't always intuitive. Not all of the maps on the lovely tee signs indicate where the next hole is. I wandered in the wrong direction a couple times and had to pull up the map to correct my destination. There are a few short walks between holes, especially after Hole #15 when the layout requires a couple-minute walk and crossing North Scenic Drive to reach the next hole. Because the main road of the park runs through the course, you will cross the road four times during your round. Also, a couple holes play near the road, so it's recommended to keep an eye on nearby traffic.
When there are geese present, there is geese poop around.
Other Thoughts:
In the last couple months of the year, the layout is slightly affected by the Christmas in the Park drive-through attraction. This changed at least one of the holes and the light decorations presented a minor obstacle on a few other holes.
The park is named after Nicolas Chauvin de La Frénière, an attorney general of French Louisiana in the mid-1700s. He organized a revolt against Spanish rule in 1768 and was executed in 1769 for his part in the conspiracy. There's no record from historians that Nicolas the Younger was a disc golfer.