Pros:
Great layout all over Rosedale Park! I didn't leave feeling like they could have done more with the land they had. It snaked nicely between woods and open spaces, with more emphasis on open. Nothing ridiculously long, but lots of interesting holes to keep the game moving.
Several of the fairways and approaches have steep dropoffs that will severely punish a bad drive. There's a good amount of risk/reward and I thought the elevation changes were used very well.
Benches and concrete teepads at every hole, which is nice. Frequent trash cans and there were bathrooms at the beginning of the course.
Very pretty scenery for most of the course. With the exception of a few holes that play very close to Mission Road and some backyards, it was a very pretty play this fall.
This course makes good use of the land it has. I didn't feel it was lacking in any way, or that the designers could have done anything better really.
While this course is one of KC's oldest (I believe second oldest, built in 1984), it didn't feel too terribly dated or anything. I think the local club has done a good job adding pin positions and the like to keep things interesting.
I never got bored on this course. While it's fairly open in most parts, there are some tight shots, and the elevation changes mean you have to be careful with your drives or you'll end up having your disc roll down a hill.
Nicely spread out for the most part, only a couple holes play close to each other and even then it's not a huge deal (10-11 come to mind). Nothing like fellow older course Swope Park.
There is a whole other course you can play here -- more on that later, but it exists and is also 18 holes.
The navigation generally makes sense and isn't hard to follow. On 9, watch for the staircase on the right that leads you down to 10. On 3, you have a tiny path near the fairway you can take to get to 4. That's about all as far as tricky areas go if I remember right.
I tend to grade courses partly by how memorable the holes are the night after I've played. 3, 4, 8, 10, 11, and 15 all stood out to me, especially 3 -- might be my favorite hole on the course. That's a tight shot done right.
Very few blind shots. You have to shoot well on most shots, but if you're a beginner, just take it easy and focus on throwing straight, and you'll do just fine.
Multiple pin positions keep things very interesting, sometimes changing the par of the hole -- more on these later though.
I read multiple reviews complaining about the trash level on the course, but it seemed under control when I was there in mid November. Might not always be like this, of course.
Cons:
What is up with the GRAFFITI everywhere?! Seriously, it's on everything. Benches, trash cans, baskets, tees, signs, everywhere. Not sure if it's from fellow DGers who think it's cool (it's not) or those in the surrounding area. This isn't really that bad of an area in relative terms so I'm not sure what's going on.
The course sees a ton of use; while it was fairly slow when I was there on an overcast Monday in November, I could tell it's well traveled. Not that the grass is all trampled or anything, but you can definitely tell it sees some use and you might have to be patient on a weekend or a sunny day.
The signs are getting a bit faded and could use an update. Also, there's no markers for which pin position is active. That's an issue because...
...okay, the pin positions on this course are a bit ridiculous. I saw a couple holes with 7 or even 8 pin placements. I mean, I like having two or maybe three, but it gets a little pointless when they're literally a few feet away from each other. There's not a lot of blind shots in the current positions, but some of the others could get irritating.
I'm surprised nobody has mentioned the fact that 16 and 17 play right along fenced yards, many of which have either unfriendly dogs or huge "NO TRESSPASSING" signs. Clearly the neighbors are not amused at DGers traipsing into their yards to get discs. Granted you would have to hit a pretty bad shot for this to be an issue, but it happens and it definitely made me play these holes more conservatively than I'd have liked.
Other Thoughts:
Rosedale is very centrally located and easy to get to from almost anywhere in the Metro. Take I-35 south of downtown (or north of Johnson County) to the Mission Road/Southwest Blvd exit, and head south on Mission Road. The park is on your right after about a mile.
I was surprised to see so many reviewers mention the neighborhood. I mean, the Rosedale neighborhood of KCK isn't fantastic or upscale by any means, but it's no war zone and don't forget, it's just a few blocks north of Johnson County. Besides, it's an urban park. I wouldn't want to wander around ANY urban park after nightfall. Maybe I'm wrong, but I think if you lock up your car you should be fine. If you won't play here due to the "neighborhood", that totally cuts out Swope, Blue Valley, and Kessler park too. Keep your head on a swivel (as you should do in ANY large city), and enjoy the game. You should be fine.
Overall, this is a very fun course that players of all skill levels can enjoy for different reasons. Good maintenance (minus graffiti) and a good layout are key here. Beginners can enjoy an established course they won't totally bomb at; experts can enjoy a trip down memory lane seeing how the game has progressed since the 80s. Happy discing in KCK!