Pros:
There is a lot to like about this course. Even on the shorted holes there is some risk involved like flying the green on 2 and missing left on 15 & 16. I love the risk reward offered on 17 & 18 and, contrary to some of the other reviews here, I LOVE "Birdie Alley" on the back side as an opportunity to make up for mistakes made prior to #13. They help me to keep my head in the game knowing I have a chance on the back 9 to pull out a good round if I have a few slips on the front. I like that the course rewards me with rounds under par when I manage it well (best is -6) and punishes me when I make some mental/mechanical errors (worst is uhh...let's say over par LOL). The 3 longest holes offer a chance to really air it out and MAN does it feel good when you get a good release on one or all of them...nothing feels quite like a monster drive.
Although 4&5 cross up with 12&13, the area is pretty open and I have never seen an instance where a player threw into traffic and it caused an issue. There are opportunities all over the course to see other players air it out, which is always fun. Ace runs on 1,2,3,7,9,13,14,15 and 18 all require precision and (while this is a lot of ace runs on one course...which I like), most of them will penalize you pretty heavily if you make an aggressive run at them and miss.
Which leads me to my favorite thing about this course - there is risk/reward on just about every hole.
Excellent use of what elevation changes are present. John designed the course with wind in mind and it definitely comes into play on 3, 4, 10, 11 and 13, 15, 16 (although the wind sometimes feels stronger than it actually is). I like that this kind of nuance is something you can only learn from playing many rounds out there.
I can get in 2 rounds in under 2 hours if there is light traffic and I can ALWAYS find a player/group to join up with when I head out there as a single.
There are nice benches on 10 of the holes and the newly installed recycling bins are a welcome addition.
As of last weekend, the rock pile beside the new parking lot (SWEET!) is now in the line-of-site on 18 making it much more challenging.
Cons:
The only cons on this course are the Tee Boxes...which suck. If there aren't rocks protruding through them, they are rutted DEEP. Concrete pads are something the city needs to look at here FOR SURE!
Other Thoughts:
The new parking lot screams of locals complaining about all the parking on the street. The park is located on the inside of a long sweeping curve in the road so I think it is a good idea but I would have MUCH rather seen them address a much bigger safety concern on the course by installing and/or at least re-grading the Tee Pads. In my humble opinion, I think the risk of someone twisting an ankle when teeing off far outweighs the possibility of someone getting hit by a passing car on the street.
This is however and will probably always be my favorite course in the north of town.