Pros:
- New Innova Disc catcher baskets
- Primarily plays in disc golf only area
- Good length for a 9 hole, get to bring out the distance driver
- Nice use of elevation
- Free
- Ample parking, seems to be less crowded typically than other area courses
Cons:
- No teepads
- Some confusing navigation, despite being only a 9 hole
- Few trees, very exposed to wind
- Not particularly beginner friendly
- Many holes the only challenge is the length, so plays a little monotonous
Other Thoughts:
I've played this course a few times now and I've been struggling with how to write my review. Nearly every pro and con you can "yes, but..." to. Let's start with the positive. I'm glad this course exists. The scene here in the Madison area is really strong and all local courses get a lot of play, so anytime a new community invests resources into a place to play I'm all for it. This course also gives you something different than your typical 9 hole, in that you will get to break out your distance driver. Only 3 holes play less than 300' and one of those is 295'. You just don't see that much in a public park 9 hole. Of course, this means that unless you have a big arm, scoring is tough. In some cases very tough. This course is very open and exposed to wind often. Hole 8 for example, is 345' uphill, often plays into a ripping headwind. It functionally plays 450'. This is a par 3. In other words, it's not the public park pitch and putt you take a newbie to.
There's a lot of little things about this course that could make it much better. One is the lack of teepads. I really wish they hadn't skimped there. The natural teepads have already begun to erode into depressions. The tee signs are nice but small. Surprisingly, the layout is somewhat confusing. There's several areas where you need to backtrack from the basket to the next teepad, or walk around a corner to find the tee sign affixed to the baseball fence.The elevation use is nice, but on many holes that and the distance are the only challenge - the basket itself is just out in the open. Some more trees on the course would be welcome.
Overall, this course probably should be rated as above average in terms of public park 9 holers, but some of the little cons really irk me. It's probably more like a 2.75, but I'm rounding down to a 2.5. The lack of concrete teepads and the relative blandness of the course keep me from going higher. With some of those improvements it could get to a 3. I try not to rate difficulty as a pro or con, since that comes down to the individual player, but know that this course is often windy and that combined with the length can make it a frustrating round if you're not used to that and/or you don't have high arm speed. It's just not that high on my list of courses in the area, but I will likely be back.