Pros:
This is a very well designed course with a really great mix of short and longs holes. It makes great use of the space available to present a very challenging course. I'm torn in the rating to give this course because some of the holes are truly inspired and can be counted as some of my favorites of all time but the list of cons will be long for this course. As far as enjoyable and playable holes and good design I'd say this course is a 4.5 with only a few holes being "silly" or out of place. But on all other scores this course would be lucky to get a 2, lacking many of the amenities that are found on some of the more established courses. It's also nice to have a few more holes giving you a few extra holes to enjoy a good round. With a few water shots this course really has a little bit of everything. For those not familiar with southeast Louisiana it's kind of flat. Kind of really flat. The park that contains this course has some very obviously man made hills scattered about it and along with the man made lagoon these features are well used to create a course that is unique in the region.
Hole 2 - Playing along the waterfall and towards the water this is a gorgeous hole with a nice balance of trees to force a bit of shot shaping. Definitely not an easy par, one of my favorite holes.
Hole 5 - The water hole. I long risk but will pay off on the score sheet. I usually take the safer approach but it is a nice challenge of a hole.
Hole 7 - A mando halfway down the hole and the basket on the top of a man made hill makes for a very challenging hole that makes you take a variety of shots to reach the basket.
Hole 8 - A shorter version of old hole 15 this is just a great shot and really can challenge most throws.
Hole 15 - I just want to nickname this one the cage. A short hole it plays into a corner by the gate into the park. Two sides of the hole are surrounded by a wrought iron (aluminum really) fence and tall box hedges. You really feel confined when playing this hole it's a neat change from the wide open nature of most courses. Watch out for the chickens.
Hole 16 - Another shorty this hole is there for anyone who can drive with a midrange, and find the one and only line through the trees. Watch out for hanging branches.
Hole #20 - My favorite hole on the entire course, it's short but has some very rewarding lines. With the dog park fence right behind the basket you can either get a favorable bounce on an overshoot or end up OB. Love the look of this hole all around, and the pin placement is phenomenal.
Hole #22 - What to say one of my favorite holes and one of the easier ones just got a lot harder. The tee pad was pushed back 100 feet or so, and boy what a difference it makes. And as if that was not enough the pin was shifted further into the corner. Even players with big rhbh (which is the best line) will find this hole a difficult 3.
Cons:
I just wish I could let the holes speak for themselves but it's not really possible. I mentioned in the pro section that the holes were a 4.5 and everything else is a 2 but I really think it's lower than that it's just that the holes really are that nice and this course should not be dragged down for those two holes. Finding a place to start with the cons isn't even all that hard.
-THE PEOPLE! I get it, it's a shared course in a relatively urban area there is not a lot of green space to have open dedicated courses. But really when you can't shoot because a family is picnicking on a tee box or kids are using the basket as a soccer goal it get's old. Even during tournaments when the space is suppose to be reserved you find yourselves playing over, around, or through soccer games and family picnics. I only play this course in the AM on weekdays. That's it, maybe if I was up at 5am on a weekend I may consider it, but I have Friday's off so I go out before noon then, or if I have a random day off in the middle of the week I go out those mornings also. That's it. Never in the afternoon and 100% most certainly on a weekend. It's just pointless.
- Signs, Teeboxes, and other amenties. Don't exist. That's it, they're just not there. Each tee has a metal pole with a yellow disc with a number on it. No distance, no view of the basket, nothing. The tee boxes are all natural (which means look for the mud slick) each tee should have two yellow painted bricks to mark the tee box. Good luck finding them, most holes do have at least one but that's it. On a few holes these are not even near the sign with the number on it. No bench's no trash cans nothing. It's the bare minimum to be able to call it a course. (I have it on good authority that this will change in the near future and my score will be updated when it does)
-The animals. It's a public park but for some reason there are chickens and rosters free ranging in the park. They really aren't too bad, but I'm always afraid I'm gonna hit one. The problem is the ducks. There are these really ugly large ducks around the course and they are uber territorial. We took the dogs with us the other day and the duck actually attacked the dogs. I quickly threw my drive and went to walk away when it started flapping and chasing me. I threw a disc at it to shoo it off it just shrugged it off and kept coming at me. The duck chased me halfway to the basket before leaving me alone. I think this should be on the park to do something about but it hasn't changed yet and they keep letting people feed the ducks, it's just gonna get worse.
-Did I mention the people. Seriously weekday, AM if it's not than, just stay home or go to city park.
-The newest redesign is necessarily a bit tight on the back 6, by the dog park. I have not seen it when the course is busy but I could imagine that it may get a bit tight with discs ending up in other's paths. This is also true of holes 3 and 4 which are also pretty tight together.
Other Thoughts:
I've been very critical of this course for awhile now. The re-design to take out a few of the more people filled holes was a very nice change. I've changed my habits from never playing this course to trying to make it out once a week. This is a drop in the bucket compared to how much I play in a given week but it is 100% more often than I used to. It's definitly worth a look and with a little more love could easily be one of the best courses in the region.
Update 10/16/2011: Another redesign continues to help this course out. If it wasn't for the people here this would be the best course in the city now. It will benefit from the addition of a better tee signs, and other amenities, but all in all it is much more fun than it was. It'll be interesting to see as it gets colder in SE Louisiana if the course doesn't become less crowded and therefore more playable.