Pros:
Condition of Baskets/Tees 10/10. Concrete tee pads for long and short tees, baskets are disccatchers in good condition
Use of Obstacles 10/10. This is a great park for disc golf with lots of mature trees and a wooded area surrounding the park, which are used well in conjunction with each other. The course is pretty compact but does not feel cramped, it's a great use of space.
Decisionmaking 10/10. Many holes have multiple possible routes to the basket and it really makes you think about what shot to throw and which gap to go for.
Course Maintenance 10/10. This course has been in great shape both times I've played it. Well mowed, restrooms, running water, trash cans, benches etc.
Disc findability 9/10. You shouldn't have a problem finding discs here unless you really shank one into the woods
Comfort while playing 9/10. In addition to what I have under course maintenance, there is a lot of shade. My one nitpick is there were tons of mosquitoes the second time I played it, but that was with recent rains and I don't remember it being a problem when I played before
Variety of distances 9/10. This course has a great variety of distances from each set of tee pads. Could maybe benefit from having one more bomber hole.
Elevation 9/10. Course plays mostly through large rolling hills. There aren't a lot of severe changes but there is good variety.
Challenging all levels 8/10. The short tees are great for beginners, and the long tees are great for everyone else. My second round here I played with a first timer and he had a blast. Advanced players may find the middle section a tad on the easy side and it certainly won't present the same challenge as some of the other courses in the Des Moines area.
Navigation 8/10. Very helpful map at the first tee. There are a couple long walks between holes that could be tricky. Tee signs are okay and there are only a few blind shots so you can usually see the basket from the tee. Would help to have an indicator of which position the basket is in for the blind holes at least.
Cons:
Variety of openness 4/10. Most holes have a moderate amount of trees and a few others are more open. This course is lacking a couple holes on the more technical side.
Quality of Alternate Basket positions 4/10. Most holes have one alternate position and a couple don't have any. A few of the alternates don't seem to change the holes a whole lot.
Variety of shot paths 5/10. Decent, but there are significantly more holes that are right to left than there are left to right, and with the exception of 18 and 3 short there aren't many sharp doglegs.
Other Thoughts:
Challenge 7/10
A couple years ago I made a trip up from KC to Des Moines primarily to play disc golf and played here, ewing, walnut ridge, and Big Creek (arm was too dead to play Pickard after those 4), and personally this was the course I enjoyed the most of those. Last week I was back in the area for work and I had a chance to play it again and it was just as enjoyable. There are no major negatives here and I would definitely recommend it to anyone passing through the area.