Pros:
-beautiful, well-manicured park; excellent park amenities
-excellent practice area, 3 practice baskets
-3 sets of concrete tees on (i think) each hole
-various pin positions on (i think) each hole
-detailed signs at one tee (usually the blue) with current pin location indicators
-color coded flags at each tee
-some interesting holes that make good use of the trees available
-plenty of parking, restrooms, numerous other activities available in this huge park
Cons:
-signs to next tee hanging from the baskets are not always correct
-the first 7 holes are almost entirely wide open, except hole 4; it starts to feel repetitive
-very thick grass really slows down rollers, too bad on these long, open holes
-at least 12 holes have a pedestrian path in play, potentially 5-6 holes (depending on tee & pin location) play across a path
-many holes seem long for the sake of being long, i think it tries too hard to cater to 3 tee levels
-i guess 3 tees is better than 1 but think this particular park needs a really fun recreational level track, not a par 65 slog
-course map is outdated; holes 10 & 11 are redesigned, 17 is gone and 16 is now 17, a redesigned 15 & 16 are between 14 and the baseball field.
Other Thoughts:
Buhl Park is a huge complex with sports fields, walking paths, a fitness trail, pool, dog park, and more. The park is well-maintained and gorgeous, free of trash and apparently mowed and trimmed frequently. The course has an excellent practice area with 3 practice baskets, 3 sets of concrete tees, a color-coded flag at each tee, nice Mach V baskets, various pin positions on each hole, and a detailed sign at one of the tees that includes a current pin location indicator. I do wish the signs were consistently at the blue tees. They were often at the white tees and it meant going out of the way to see where the current basket is and then walking back to the blue tee. There are also signs pointing to the next tee attached to the bottoms of the baskets, but they are not always accurate depending on the current pin location.
The first seven holes are almost entirely wide open, save hole 4 which is a good hole: a tight tunnel with an uphill finish. The others begin to feel repetitive, especially after 1125' of it on hole 6. The tee shot is cool from the blue but the rest of the hole is just there to get you closer to hole 7. You finally get into a more wooded area on holes 8 & 9, a left turning and right turning pair of reachable deuce holes. Holes 10 & 11 have lots of moderately spaced trees with low ceilings. I can't recall if these redesigned holes had tee signs. From there it is a walk across the playground and parking lot to get to hole 12. The stretch from 12 to 18 takes advantage of the picturesque meadows dotted with trees and constitutes the better holes of the course. The lakeside green on the par 4 hole 18 is a nice end to the course.
The pedestrian paths come into play heavily on the course. They are in play on at least 12 holes and 5 or 6 holes potentially play across a path depending on the tee and basket position. Basic sense should prevent any issues but you know how that goes.
It feels weird to say that fewer options would be better but I can't help but feel like the 3 tees and par 65 layout aren't the right character for a park that would probably be better served with a shorter, recreational level course with more birdie opportunities for the less skilled player. For such a family-oriented park it is not a very family friendly layout. Given that the same designer also designed the other local course (a wooded beast) the same year, it seems like a missed opportunity to address a specific and important audience.
All of that said, the course at Buhl Park does offer a nice experience with high replay value for the locals with all the various tees and pin locations. It is worth playing if you are in the area and along with The Pines in Sharpsville makes for a nice regional destination spot.
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