Pros:
Ambient DGC is located on the property of "The Church of Lakewood" in Lakewood, WA, about 3 miles from its big brother course, Fort Steilacoom. This course is fairly close off I-5 (about 5-10 minutes), has ample parking, and is the ideal course to get away from the big crowds to work on putting, upshots, and disc selection for windy conditions.
This nine hole intermediate course plays around and across two major fields on the grounds, with the occasional cluster of trees, bushes, OB's, and mando's as the main obstacles. The smaller of the two fields is dirt and shrubs (near hole one) where the much larger field has plush green grass and is more wide open. Distances vary from 158 ft. - 345 ft., are all par 3's, and seem fairly straight forward. Each hole has a colorful tee sign that indicates which route to take from the tee based off of the red arrow, the distance, par, mando's, OB's, and basket location. There are also white arrows all over the course to help with navigation, alerting players where to start and where the next tee can be located.
Although most players could get away with using a mid and putter for the majority of the holes, there are a few holes where a fairway driver could come in to play. With all the obstacles, mando's, and OB's during a round, as well as the wind, a few of these holes can be challenging and quite enjoyable, especially the extremely fun 190 ft. par 3 island hole. Hole #9 has players throwing from between the church, over the parking lot, and on to a nice patch of grass (20x20) in the middle of the cement lot. Just make sure that no cars are moving or are parked near the pin when you throw!
Cons:
As the other reviewer stated previously, this course can be quite a hazard. There are crossing fairways (holes #3 and #4), multiple pins near neighbors houses and fences (especially hole #2), and tee pads that throw over or very close to parking lots (holes # 3, #4, and #9). Although most of these holes have specific mando's which ask players to keep away from these set hazards, more times then none less experienced players will have trouble doing this.
Peter Bower did a terrific job incorporating nine fairly challenging holes in the space provided, but seemed to make it perhaps a little more difficult then it should have been for its target audience. This course requires a variety of shots and at times a lot of accuracy so a less seasoned player might find their disc hitting someone's house or even worse, window!
Other Thoughts:
Personally, this course might be more successful with fewer holes, perhaps six. That way there could be six solid holes that utilize the entire space rather than a few solid holes and the rest fillers. Ambient DGC needs quality, not quantity in this case. Eventually, with the addition of the other holes (nine?) below in the brambles, perhaps they can redesign the course and just make three challenging holes below and six above to make nine great holes. The potential is here!