East of Pittsburgh, there are incredibly few disc golf courses, so this courses existence is a pro. It was small 9 hole course set in a nice city park, which had multiple entrances (Go to the EAST Park entrance). The course it self offered mostly short holes with some decent technical shots, a lot of dogleg holes, and some alley shots in trees. The baskets were old, but the caught well, and a lot of the "greens" had some pretty serious elevation which made putting a bit more challenging than I expected. I was impressed that a course this size had two tee boxes, and multiple pen placements, though I have a sneaking suspicion that the baskets haven't been moved in ages (though I could be wrong.)

I went in the morning, and the park wasn't crowded, no sporting events were going on, but I could see how on a busy sports weekend, playing a round could get a little cramped.

As most every other reviewer has mentioned.. the navigation of this course is by far the most difficult. Most of the holes had 4x4 posts with small circular tee signs (I think they all had them, even if they were in odd spots, like hole #8 was facing the wrong direction past the advanced tee box.) But even with those, we had to have a cell phone out with the map up after every hole, because some of the trails that branch throughout the woods in this park don't lead to disc golf at all (looking at you hole #2). Once you find the sign posts, you then have to find the tee box, which is much harder than it needs to be. These tees are marked with buried, painted 2x4's. The problem is, they were buried deep enough to be mowed over, but now, you can hardly find them. White is "Advanced" tee position, Red is "Amateur" tee position, but the paint has worn off most of them so at best look for flecks.

I thought the basket placement was pretty good, with some interesting shots, but it was difficult to figure out which basket I was throwing to on #7, and then #9 is actually buried in the woods. The first round it was frustrating, but once I knew the layout, the second 9 was much more enjoyable.

The rough is ROUGH. Especially an issue on hole 3, but anything not in the fairway will meet with thorns and thorn bushes galore. Just FYI.

Last, there is a small hike from the basket of 6 to the tee of 7, which includes a pretty steep hill and a rope to pull yourself up with. There is a longer, but easier hill to climb if we you keep rounding the ball field. Especially worth noting if your mobility isn't great.

Just noticed that I played this as a par 3 on every hole, but DGCR has it listed much differently. I can't imagine this being anything but a par 3, and the idea that any of these holes are a par 5 is a bit of a joke.

Overall, this was a fun little 9 hole course that I am sure I will play again. I could see the potential for bugs, so I would suggest pants (I wore shorts and went into the weeds a few times, that was a mistake!) and a can of off with you if you are coming during the afternoon/evening.

Short little course. Not bad. Good practice course. No hard holes. Kinda typical little course with few obstacles.

Grass tee boxes marked with painted 4x4's. Not always easy to find. #8 basket needs replaced. Dented and bent. Flow of course not always easy to follow. View map before trying this course.

This is the 1st course I scored under par, -1. Eagled #5 from 100ft .

There are some shorter holes and some longer ones, but on the shorter ones you need to use more tactical shots which makes them better. The longer ones you get to throw in the open except for #5 where the tee is right under this tree which adds some difficulty. Great use of the land provided around the edge of the park. Hole 1 and the end of Hole 9 are right near the parking lot which is awesome. It only took 2 of us 40 minutes to play 9 holes.

The signs are very small and worn down so it is difficult to see them sometimes for first time players. The wood front of the tee pads is hard to see unless you grab the map/scorecard at the beginning of the course and then it is easy.

The pars on the scorecard seemed a bit high because on the par 5s it was very easy to get a 3 and even have a chance at a 2. If you used all par 4s and 3s it is still not difficult but it makes it more fair.

This course isn't super hard, but it does offer a few challenges with some precision turns and elevation changes early on. There is good variety with no two holes being the same. Good course design using the space they have around the park. It's also nice that the 9th hole ends right beside the parking lot. It doesn't seem like much, but i've been to a couple where you play the last hole and have to go on an epic adventure to get back to your car. The course overall is maintained fairly well.

The signs for the course aren't very good. It is pretty easy to lose track of where the next tee is if you don't grab a scorecard with a map at the beginning. With the map it is pretty easy to figure out where to go though. The tees could use a little more attention. A bit of trimming of the grass around the boards and a new coat of paint would go a long way.

I have no other thoughts...

Most of the holes are well placed. There is a need for both short and long shots. It is a nice nine-hole course that close to home for me.

The tees could use some work. I don't know why the signs all face north to get bleached by the elements. There are alot of thorns around the course for inexperienced golfers. Some holesw are pretty far apart.

The climb after 6 is a nice little adventure.
Also the flags over the pins are helpful. The course loops around nicely.

The time that I played it the course was in very good shape. The facilities are convenient to the course... parking, bathrooms, picnic areas, etc. Hole #9s pin does bring you back around to the parking lot and tee #1 nicely. And right across the road is an even more elaborate park setting with much more updated equipment. (The park is in two sections across the road from each other.)

Once you make it through your first nine (see below) the course is very easy to navigate and you can play a really quick round or two here. Fortunately, nice little scorecards with basic maps on them are available near tee #1.

The holes do provide a decent amount of variety. There are a couple tight shots through low trees and there's a totally blind shot too. The holes are generally on the short side but some have enough length to let you air it out some.

The first time around the course, even with the map, can be frustrating because the tees are marked with treated lumbers at ground level. There are two sets of tees and one of the sets has a vertical hole marker beside it. It might take you a while to find the alternate tees, though, if the grass grows up at all.

For the more experienced player, holes 1, 2 & 4 will play very short. This is OK as long as you're not expecting a big challenge. Even the longer holes should be relatively simple pars for experienced players.

I hated to give this course a 1.5 as I enjoyed my round. But if 2 is average, based upon the courses that I've played, then this would have to be slightly below average.

In any case, I just love the game and can enjoy a round at the worst of courses. And this definitely doesn't qualify in that category. So if you're in the Monroeville, SE Pittsburgh, area give it a shot and ignore my low "score" for the course. Enjoy.

***1-1-09***
Updated score to 2 based upon changes made to descriptions of course scores on the site after I did my review.