I decided to play Linwood Park DGC at the last minute when I had a little extra time. The park is fairly large and seems to be the epicenter for the less traditional sports such as lacrosse and cricket. I wish I could have spent some time observing these games.

The disc golf course seems to be in a area that is mostly disc golf exclusive. As you enter the park, there is a sign pointing to all the park's rec areas and, sure as heck, there is disc golf listed. We're becoming mainstream, I reckon. There is a pavilion at the start as well as a practice basket. A 1st tee sign points the way into the woods and to the 1st tee pad. There are three tee pads for each hole (some carpeted, some not) along with three basket positions. The baskets are Discatchers. There are quite a few next tee signs. For me, navigating the course was easier than navigating many individual holes.
The course plays at an intermediate level from the longs. From the middle, I would think it's intermediate to recreation level. My problem here, was the very thick rough that eats discs and makes this course really difficult to play alone. I spent most of my time searching for errant throws, some of which were just barely off the fairway. I'm not really a fan of 500-600' holes with narrow fairways and thick rough. But I see where some players enjoy this challenge. I do really like the fact that there are three separate tees that can give you three such different looks at the basket. This is truly a course where, by playing the different tees, you get three vastly different rounds. Other than the omnipresent rough, it would be like playing three different courses. Number 9 is a great example of this. From the long is 219' over a gully with foreboding rough to throw over and needing a little anhyser action towards the end. From the middle, it's a straight forward Ace run.

Course could be treacherous in the rain.
Deep rough makes losing/searching for disc commonplace.
Length, rough and tightness, while a Pro for many can be a Con for others.
You really need multiple players in your group to tackle this course. There are too many holes where you lose sight of your disc over a hill or around the bend.

Linwood is a difficult course for me to rate. For a rec player who frequently plays alone, I could see myself giving it a 2 or 2.5. For those you looking to be challenged more than a Schenley Park experience, I can totally understand you rating this course 3.5. I hope I reached a fair compromise at 3.0. I would like to play it again with a team of spotters at my side. Number 7 would be great if you could just let her fly without fear of your disc disappearing off the fairway.

And when someone finds my beaten in old red Leopard in the deep rough on # 9, call me and I'll be glad to order you a new disc of your choice. I've been with that old Leopard for a long, long time and I'm already missing her!

•Tight technical holes with a few opportunities for long bombs
•Wonderful use of the landscape
•Benches at nearly every hole
•Separation from the rest of the park helps to feel at one with nature

•Tees: 1) Some holes have 3 sets of pads (carpet), some have only 2 (unless I just couldn't find the third), and some tees don't have pads at all (just flags). 2) No hole signs
•"Next tee" signs are hard to spot on some holes. The sign from hole 3 to hole 4 is confusing for a first time player. When you go up the hill the sign points to the right, but when you get to the top of the hill you find the basket for hole 9, the gravel road that goes back to the parking lot, along with two other paths. Eventually I figured out the tee pad was actually to the left behind and around hole 9's basket. In hindsight I understand how the sign pointing to the right is to deter players from walking into the field of play for hole 9. My suggestion would be to add a second sign at the top of the hill pointing to the left.
•Not a good course to take small children. My 3 year old was constantly asking to be carried due to the steep uphill climbs and downhill treks.

Course work would really make this course worth visiting regularly. Now that all the pins have been installed, it's time to make tee signs and install permanent tee pads.

Many different kinds of holes that really test your skills. Easy to go from hole to hole once you find #1. Eager to see what the course will become.

Some real sloppy holes and of course missing tees, hope these will be worked on soon.

Promises to be a great course!

This course is set up on a lot of land with plenty of variety in the holes. There are a few nice long holes with some elevation changes and also a couple of shorter holes that are challenging, but still possible to hit some 2's.

It would be good to see some more short holes, but since they aren't done with the back 9 this isn't really a big deal. There are also a lot of big chunks of dirt and unfinished landscaping, but again, it isn't a finished course yet. Not very good signs yet either, but i'm sure this will get taken care of when its all done.

All of the cons I mentioned will hopefully be obselete once this course is finished. My rating is also a little low only because it is unfinished. This has potential to be a very nice course once it is all said and done.