I think that the main pros of this course are the huge variety of shots, distances, and challenges for differently skilled players. As I note below, this is also one of the challenges of the course as there are several holes which are inappropriate for both the upper and lower ends of the skill spectrum. There is a really great balance in this layout between 'righty' and 'lefty' favored holes (I count only a very slight advantage for southpaws). Likewise, holes range from a tricky little 88' hole that averaged over 3 strokes per competitor to the huge 596' par 4 opening hole. Additionally, temp courses offer the opportunity to experiment with really, really fun crazy holes that you'd never be able to or perhaps want design on a real course. This year along with the 88 footer, featured a really fun island hole which throws into permanent seating for a small outdoor ampitheatre. Quirky, tough and punishing - would I want one on my home course (or at a National Championship)? Probably not - but perfect for a small temporary course and ice bowl tournament! I rarely have as much fun playing disc golf as at a temp course, you get a feel for someone's idea of design, get to play holes and shots you've never played before, and have the comraderie that comes with everyone talking strategy and figuring out a new layout together.

The main cons for this course have to do with the temporary nature of it. As with all temporary courses, the holes have to be constructed out of available obstacles and there is little or no potential to make modifications. The result is tee placements that are less than ideal and several holes which have low variability in scoring curves. A great example is hole 9 which, at 391' and uphill really only gives the biggest of arms a shot at a '2'. The hole is lined on the left side by an OB line and on the right with thick pines and brush - missing to either side will result in a nearly certain '4'. However, the fairway is wide enough that no pro players will be likely to miss it (unless they slip on the tee) and even average shots will yield less than 100' to the green which is only semi protected. A pro player on this tee will feel little anxiety about the outcome, knowing that unless a serious blunder is made, no strokes will be gained or lost on the field. Looking at newer amateur throwers who are clearing between 260-300' on an average drive though and this hole becomes really nice with a nice accurate drive and approach needed for birdie. Another drawback to some of the holes on the course in general are the little, nearly invisible branches on holes like 8 and 10. Sure, shots that hit these off the tee probably aren't 'perfect' but don't deserve the punishment knockdown from hidden branches. A final con of this park in general is the overall saturation of the ground throughout the winter. Even with more permanent tees and fairways, lots of careful study would be needed to avoid the wettest areas.

Like other reviewers have stated, there is tremendous potential at Seward Park pending a careful balance of wildlife areas, multiuse areas, and general environmental impact. I would feel pretty confident in saying that with careful planning, a good nine that meets these criteria is out there!

Seward Park was the site for the 2011 Pretzelbowl held every year in a park with temporary baskets. This year the course was spread out over several areas of the large park. Holes ranged from the 88 foot 15th secret bonus hole (That had scores from 2-6 strokes on it) to well over 600 feet long! Holes two and three played near the water and the wind coming off of the water was strong and cold and affected your throws from drives to putts; the headwind on hole 2 was enough to take you out of bounds and the tailwind on hole three going up the hill made it one of the hardest holes on the course according to its par. Holes like the island green seven were especially fun seeing as you were throwing into ampitheater seeting and one kick off a bench and you could be in for some trouble. The hole was wide open and a stall putter shot was the best way but the wind wasn't having any of that! If you did go out of bounds the drop zone was a low ceiling left to right shot and the wind was still a factor. Several people threw multi throws from the drop zone in fact scores ranged from a 2 all the way to an 11! My favorite was the very long (550 feet or so) 13th hole, a par 4 with out of bounds all over but fair placement shots the whole way, I was lucky (and smart) enough to get a par on this both of my rounds but several people took a bogey or worse, even an 8 was recorded on this hole.

Being as almost no one had played this course because it was a temp course there were some groups getting lost during their round. There were some long walks to the next tee pads but once you did it once it was easy to follow. It was 30 degrees during the first round and snowing but then warmed up during the second round only to find that the grass in some spots had turned to mud.

Once again Andrew Rivers and crew have put together an excellent temporary course for the famous Pretzelbowl which sold out in 45 minutes this year! Many of the people out walking the trails were asking us what we were doing and I talked to more than 5 people personally and all of them seemed to love the idea of us holding this tournament, I think we made an impression and a good one at that! I love holding tournaments for charity and this one was the benefit Northwest Harvest Food Bank again and we raised even more money than we did last year and we had less players this year. Raising more than $1000 for a local charity is an excellent way to show people that disc golf is and should be a part of our local communities.