Pros:
Quiet park in natural wetlands, spacious crushed gravel t-boxes, groomed fairways & rough, hole/shot type variety, fairly challenging, course demands accuracy, some holes demand power, course layout maps & signs,easy to navigate, high end discatcher baskets, course length at 3110 (longest 9 around), well maintained, low traffic from other players & park users. Improvements would not be difficult & there's plenty of room to expand to 18.
Cons:
Lots of brush, grass, reeds, etc., it's lined on one side by wetlands. This summer's hot sunny weather made for added lush growth. The thickest trouble areas are to left of hole 6 & 7. Holes 8 & 9 are moderately thick, the rest of course has spotty areas.
Only 9 holes.
Minor layout issues that could be improved. Some areas of brush could be cut back & lower. Some trees & bushes could be added for obstructions, esp. back side for some holes.
Other Thoughts:
Course designers did a fairly good job given what is here to work with & doing so along a wetland sanctuary & park surrounded by residential neighborhood. The course is tougher if you play OB & 3 min. search rule. Can make up alternate tee placements from walking paths to add holes.
The course has similarities with some of the other courses in the area, yet this course, with nice tee boxes, equipment, length and other positives gets ripped on a lot. Some of the ratings here are low, the overall ratings of 1 (poor) & zero (abysmal) are harsh & lack in overall objectivity.
Have played this course since it opened and not lost a disc to date. The course takes some getting used to. I do not see this as a beginner's course because of the length & accuracy demands as well as the discouragement factor of having to avoid rough & losing discs.
To counter the rough, I use bright, bouncy type discs, my Pro Wraith t-dye for example is good for this courses & sits up on brush & tall grass well. Super soft putters work well also. Watching were it goes & keeping eyes on the spot helps tremendously to short search & find. If you're worried about losing discs, play for accuracy esp. first runs on the course or play as a group and spot each others shots on troublesome holes.
An okay course & facilities with room for improvements. There's not an abundance of prime courses in this area to date & many suburbs won't even consider doing a DG course at all. It's another course in the ground, not a bad thing after all. As for improvements, constructive suggestions to the park district is the way to go, they've seemed upbeat & positive about the game & course.