The location is great, the use of elevation and grounds is excellent, and the overall fun factor is very high. However, the park's popularity is definitely the disc golf course's biggest pitfall and as much as I'd like to give this course a higher rating, in its current condition it just can't be. The condition of the course with its erosion, vandalism, graffiti, non-disc golfing socializing visitors, and somewhat awkward layout are what brought my rating down.
I really enjoyed the disc golf at Cass Benton Hills. Seriously. A LOT of fun was had throwing here despite all the other negatives. The elevation changes are spectacular and the hilly hole layouts were designed to maximize the fun factor of the course. Throwing downhill, uphill, on the banks of the hills, and through few relatively flat wooded holes made for excellent variety. The moderately wooded holes complemented the lush green grassy ones nicely. The downhill and open fairway bombs shine and stand out most with their tough par 3 lengths, especially with sparse trees in all the right spots (challenging for both RHBH/RHFH). I have distinctly good memories of holes 3, 5, 8, and 13-18
#15's downhill ace run was also really fun!
Like I said before, the course's popularity is definitely its biggest pitfall. Second biggest pitfall would be its sometimes-awkward layout. Like with most disc golf courses, a couple of transitions were awkward for first and second-timers (1-2, 9-11, 13-14). Unfortunately these two pitfalls create a perfect storm right in the middle of the course at hole 9, 10, 11 that really stuck out as bothersome in our experience at the course. The fairways/tees of holes 9, 10, and 11 are blurred and although they never cross, they are so close that they can't accommodate so many groups of inexperienced throwers. This is where we encountered the most groups and it's also the most tree-covered portion of the course (go figure)... There was a group (or two or three) on every single tee on the day we visited and discs were flying near us regularly. And although this horse has been beaten to death, not only does the popularity of the course show in the erosion of the fairways and damage on the trees, but the litter and vandalism were awful. I don't think a single tee sign was readable and very few surfaces were graffiti-free.
If the downed trees and litter were taken care of, the tee signs replaced, and non-disc golfing delinquents stopped from entering this park, it could be a 4.5 rated course in my opinion. Even with the eroded and sometimes cramped fairways.
To be honest, and this probably wouldn't be a popular opinion, what would really bring me back to Cass Benton would be if the park became pay to play and they spruced it up a bit. This coming from someone who lives two hours away. I doubt locals would dig it much. Disc golf becoming pay to play is definitely taboo, but I don't think anyone could really debate what those dollars could do for the upkeep and preservation of this course.
Thanks for reading!