Pros:
- remaining baskets are in good shape
- park is generally mowed
- woods have a lot of potential for a better course
Cons:
- lots of dead grass from mowing
- tees are hard or impossible to find
- 2 baskets are missing, hole 2 fairway is gone
- most tee signs are missing
- INSANE mosquitos
- not much intrigue or challenge
- navigation is confusing
- rough is very thick and unpleasant in places
Other Thoughts:
I gave Longwood Centre a 0.5 just by virtue of there technically being a course here - but I almost wish there wasn't. The sad thing is, as others have noted, this property has potential. The wooded areas this course plays in/near could be really cool. However, with 164 courses played, I think this is officially the worst course I have ever visited - at least among courses than can be called "courses" rather than "practice areas."
For the life of me, I don't understand why you would go to the time/money to set this course up only to provide zero maintenance and just let it fester. Despite the potential, if it isn't going to be maintained, this course should just be pulled. I managed to play 4 or 5 of the 9 holes.
First, the minimal good - this park is at least mowed, and most of the baskets are present and in good shape. That's literally about all I can say for positives.
The course map on DGCR is very hard to follow, and there is no course sign and most tee signs are missing. I never really found the tee for hole 1 so I just made up my own, only to never find the hole 1 basket, so I played it to 8's basket. Hole 2 seems to have been reabsorbed by the woods. I could find no evidence of a fairway, tee sign, or basket where the map indicated. Holes 3-5 are generally fine, but 6 cannot be played while soccer games are going on, and 7 plays pretty close to pedestrians too. After 7, there is. a long walk back to 8 and 9. I think there were maybe 3 tee signs in place, otherwise you are looking for a post missing a sign that may or may not be there.
When you start the course it's not clear where to go. I'm not sure tee 1's post, sign, or basket even remain, but theoretically, the map shows that you should walk down the path from the parking lot next to the soccer fields, until you see an opening to a field on your left. You will be able to see the basket for hole 8 in the distance. Hole 1 is supposed to be in this vicinity, but it sort of... isn't. In general, you'll have to scout forward on just about every hole on this course to see if the basket is even still there, and you don't really want to end up too far into the rough.
Tees were natural, but the worst sort. Usually a natural tee is at least roughed in a bit so you can see where it is. Clearly, nobody plays this abomination of a course, so there isn't really any indication of a tee being used on any of the holes. They also play over the walking paths a fair bit. Finally, if you go into the woods at all on this course, the mosquitos - dear god, possibly the worst I ever encountered. One of my discs went 5-10 feet off the fairway and the second I stepped off I had about 20 mosquitos on my legs simultaneously. I am not exaggerating. Bring the heavy DEET. I'm thinking you need an amount like in Parks & Recreation when Dennis Feinstein says "Release the Hounds!" and fire hoses everyone with FDA-banned cologne.
Unless you insist on bagging every course, or want to update the course condition after 2 years to see if maybe something has improved for the better - like I did (nope, still terrible) - I would avoid this course at all costs.