I think GW is just a classic course. It's a beautiful park. It uses the hilly terrain of the area really well in the course design. I love holes 14 and 15 (I think) that play around the creek. The locals are great and plastic has been available each time I've been out there so far. I've played it about 5 times and it's one of my all-time favorite courses.
I just moved here from an area that had more courses, but we didn't have many that approached GW in terms of quality and character. You'll use all of your shots on this one and enjoy a really nice city park. There are new plantings around the course and it's well maintained. The 6 wooded holes (A-F) didn't all have concrete tee pads, but I thought they were more than sufficient.
I think one great improvement to the course would be some kind of sign on the Green Springs Hwy parking lot indicating where to park for disc golf. It's not obvious, and the first two times I played GW (separated by about 7 years time), I ended up there. This would be great for out-of-towners as GW is a "destination course" in my opinion. I even ran into someone else who was in the same boat: he had played there back in the day but couldn't remember where hole 1 was located from that side.
This one added feature would greatly improve the sketchy vibe that comes from ending up in the park's often-abandoned Green Springs' side parking lot. There's not as much activity over there. The real disc golf parking area (linked on the "Map Location" button here) is off of 4th Street South, just past the tennis complex.
Once you get there, you'll probably see other disc golfers, dog walkers and people using the sports facilities. I've personally never felt unsafe at George Ward, and the last time I played, I took my three kids. We played until dark and had a good time. It's a well used park, and this parking area is between the front and back 9 (with six bonus holes in the woods on the back side).
There's apparently a bathroom at the tennis center which is only open a couple of days per week or possibly at the baseball area nearby, but even the locals weren't really clear on this. Restroom options either on-site or nearby would be a helpful addition to the bulletin board. Apparently, girls like real bathrooms.
You're going to run into people walking dogs and such, but this only comes into play in a big way on maybe 2 holes. There are some other holes where it may be a very occasional issue.
Of course, one of the best things about this course is the presence of course pro Tom Monroe most afternoons. If you see his white van you'll have a great selection of plastic and some good conversation with a local legend. Tom teaches disc golf classes for two colleges nearby and is a super nice guy. The last time I was out, I had left my putters in the basket at home. He insisted that my kids borrow a couple of discs for their round.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tom_Monroe
I'm still kind of amazed after reading the Wikipedia article on Tom. I'll have to soak up some disc golf wisdom next time I'm out there.