Pros:
• Closest course to Melbourne city-center. Accessible by multiple forms of public transit. Bus stops nearby. Train station a 15-minute walk away.
• Built and maintained by a truly passionate group of people. I swear I have no connection and didn't even meet anyone on my one Monday-morning session. I stumbled across their Facebook page and added the course to this site during a visit. From their page, plus the excellent shape this course is in, you can tell they are the type of DG ambassadors any sport would be lucky to have.
• Apparently, this used to be a landfill, but there wasn't any litter on it when I visited. Grass was clipped with military precision and the OB was frequently mulched-in gardens.
• Excellent concrete pads, mint-condition baskets, and accurate tee signs. Again, one gets the sense that this course is well loved and taken care of.
• A parking area and practice basket. Map posted at start.
• Epic view of the swooping West Gate Bridge, Yarra River, and mangrove patch.
• A few interesting holes. Hole 4 is long, with generous landing pads. 5 is short, but requires accuracy or an outside hyzer. 7 is a gentle downhill enlivened by the best view in the park. 8 is a handsome corridor shot.
Cons:
• Very little challenge factor.
• About half the course is filler, but makes the most of the material available.
• There is theoretically a 'back 9' by doing a second loop from alternative tees, but I could find no trace of this.
• No restroom, something I usually never notice, but this was the rare occasion where I desperately needed one!
Other Thoughts:
• As a community course with beginners or socializing/exercise in mind, this is a lovely park in a place where, really, not much else could have been done with the land.
• I can't help feeling there is potential to get to 18 holes. They'd have to use the neighboring park on the opposite side of the road and reclaim the adjacent wetland / let's-be-real-and-admit-its-some-sort-of-drainage-reservoir. This will never be a destination course, but it could get to 3-star status.
• Walking path present. I saw decent foot traffic. Course does not throw over it at any time.
• Lots of construction around the perimeter of the park during my visit, but it didn't interfere with the course itself.
• Yarraville Village is super cute. I walked through it on the way from the train station and I just wanted to hug all the residences, cafes, and small businesses.
• Several geocaches onsite.
• A few hard-to-read informational signs about local plants.
• During the construction of the 8,473 ft West Gate Bridge in 1970, a span collapsed killing 35 construction workers in Australia's worst industrial accident. You can visit the memorial at the park on the other side of the bridge. Not really review-relevant, but some bonus history.