Pros:
Nice big course maps at the start of the front and back nines give you the lay of the land. Sign posts showing tee number and par info, as well as a bird's eye view of each hole are a nice touch. Brand spankin' new bright yellow baskets are gorgeous. Some nicely designed holes sprinkled throughout; thinking specifically of #7 and 8, 14 and 15, and #18's gauntlet to end the round. Some interesting obstacles not seen at your standard course: a flight of stairs, a chain link fence, elecrical boxes, a frickin' freeway. While I don't know whether these add to the experience or not, your round will not be boring.
Cons:
Not gonna lie - there's a lot to hate. I'll rattle some off here.
Holes 1 and 2 can be aced by using a PUTTER. Hole 1 is horribly designed, the shortest hole I've ever played (if not the shortest hole IN EXISTENCE), and probably isn't even PDGA approved. Not sure why they didn't mow the tall grass in the field to the left of the staircase and put the pin back there...would been a nice snake shot down the hill. I wonder if that seemed almost too obvious that no one thought of it? There is some great land back through here as well, with a bridge over a creek and twin hills just screaming for some challenging holes. But instead you have two practice baskets before the course really begins at Hole #3.
Hole #7 could be a great bomb off the top of the hill with a sweet run through the tree tops, but instead the designer opted to have the tee at the bottom of the hill, maybe 200ft. from the pin, a lazy midrange drive to the basket. Needless to say, we created the "unofficial pro tee" at the top of the hill. #8 might be the best hole, but here again is a huge area of land that isn't being used properly. Thick woods, the aforementioned hill, a winding stream as a water hazard...they could've added much more (at least one more hole) to the course in this, the only secluded area of the property.
#10 and 11 seems crammed into a very small area, with woods defining the barrier of the space. Not sure if LTU owns this land, but again, a missed opportunity IMO to maximize the property.
I've seen a lot of complaints on the reviews so far about how #14-18 are unplayable because of the parking lot/service drive etc. I can certainly see their point. We played in summer at 7PM so the parking lot was almost empty, and the service drive about as busy as a subdivision sidestreet. But playing here at the height of a semester COULD be considered "unplayable." Regardless, I enjoyed the way this course finished up, and honestly thought this stretch had some of the best designed holes for the land they had to work with.
Course is a little hard to locate, and there is a bit of a walk from 9 to 10 and after 18 back to your car, but that is minor. I only mention it because I wonder how restricted they were on designing this course. I'm sure they had to get approval for everything they did from the administration.
Course signs really needed to have distances listed. Also, the pars listed are ridiculous. No hole is a Par 6 (#4). Sorry. I don't even think it was 1000 ft. long.
Other Thoughts:
I think my overall complaint is the lack of imagination in designing some of the holes and leaving a lot of land unused. Again, I wonder how restricted they were in making these 18. I also wonder if maybe money was a factor? Land clearing can be expensive. If that was the case, I'd say they did a helluva job in making this course work. And while it isn't pretty, IT DOES WORK. And that means something to me. I may never play it again, but it will stick in my mind. I went into it thinking the worst, and came out of it pleasantly underwhelmed. Stop by and say hi if you get the chance.