Pros:
+ Long tee pads made of rubber anchored to a wood frame have enough space for long wind-ups like mine.
+ The tee signs have a crisp graphic of the hole ahead with pars and distances for all layouts. Plus, most of their anchor poles have hooks built in for players to hang their bags.
+ Each hole has two pins for the player to choose their challenge level, and each layout's pins are colored differently so the player knows intuitively which one to throw towards.
+ Every hole has a bench, and there are a fair few trash cans. Please do not litter!
+ The course is set in a quiet park with dense woods for the front nine and more open holes for the back nine.
+ Some nice elevation challenges throughout.
Cons:
- Some holes have multiple possible pin locations for the red layout, but there is no way for the player to know which location the basket occupies without spending the time to walk around and spot it. Hole 7 jumps to mind as an example of this.
- All holes in both layouts are par 3. This is just fine for the short layout, but I feel as though two or three pin positions of the long layout's holes ought to be bumped up to par 4.
- Some holes share fairways with each other. 14 + 18 is the most obvious example. There might be one or two others.
- There are no 'next hole' signs. This is combated somewhat by the fairly obvious paths to take and the tee sign diagrams, but I still got lost after completing hole 13 because of the lack of signage.
Other Thoughts:
Please note that this review is based on the longer Cranbury layout with the red baskets. My favorite hole here is #4 because of its combination dense tunnel shot and rolling downhill elevation. My least favorite hole is #11 because of how flat and plain it is. To my mind it was the least engaging.
Regarding the course altogether, Cranbury Park is a quiet and efficient course. I'll admit that I tricked myself into raising my expectations upon seeing the fancy mansion and the tiny art exhibit building right next to the parking lot. In my mind I thought that meant this course would be some kind of elegantly decorated and ornate course with pristine fairways and golden baskets. Maybe I'm exaggerating a bit, but what I'm saying is that the course resides within a very pleasant venue.
Hole 14 here is probably one of the prettiest holes I've played with a postcard-worthy view of a country club (I'm assuming), its patio, gardens, sculptures and statues. However, it was also one of the least stimulating from a disc golf perspective because of how level and open it is. Most of the back nine suffers from that, to be honest. The scenery is nice, but the disc golf difficulty could have been better.
As for the front nine, the vibe is notably different. Those woods are so dense and silent that I half expected to see Slenderman walking about in the background. This forest makes for some fun challenges in the way of tight lines, bending fairways and guarded baskets. The elevation among the front nine is pretty fun, too. I like a well-textured course, and Cranbury Park satisfies that itch.
I barely remember most of the holes, though. Not much reached out and grabbed me other than the scenery. I definitely remember having fun, and I would likely make this my home course if I lived in the area, but I didn't retain much as I played.
Still, I do recommend this course to players seeking golf in the woods, in a few fields and on some tough hills. It strikes me as a course to slow down and enjoy the view while you play, which not every course can pull off. Cranbury does.