Pros:
I hate following VK, he does such a good job of dissecting a course, it makes it difficult to follow with anything new, but here goes nothing. Kern River Park at Mohawk and Truxton is a small part of the much larger Kern River Parkway. The parkway is a native riparian area which extends over 30 miles through Bakersfield along the Kern River. It extends east to west from the mouth of the Kern Canyon to Enos Lane and is comprised of over 6,000 acres of trails, parks, and waterways. One of the most used areas is the Kern River Parkway Trail, a paved road used for commuting and exercising by walkers, joggers, rollerbladers, and cyclists. The park is fairly centrally located in the city of Bakersfield and is just a few miles from San Lauren DGC. The course plays on a stretch of land between Truxton Ave. and the levee on which the Kern River Parkway trail sits. Thanks to the drought the Kern River has been dry for some time. The course plays down this little green belt past volleyball courts and across an expressway and around a "swamp" to make for a fairly challenging little layout. The baskets are mixed, and tee signs are quite nice and colorful with the usual info. The holes are long enough and challenging enough to make for a very fun round. The locals play a full 18 course by adding a few holes in between and playing to baskets twice, which also prevents the long walk back to the parking lot if you're only playing 12. There is also a great group of locals that play this course on a fairly frequent schedule. The oil derrick pumping at hole 7s tee is also an interesting touch.
Cons:
The course has serious design flaws. The biggest flaw being there is a giant expressway going right through the middle of the course. The expressway in the middle means a long walk either down and under the expressway after hole 5 and hole 11 or to cross at the crosswalk at Truxton, or jaywalking across Mohawk, which all the signs say is forbidden because its probably rather dangerous. The second flaw being the narrowness of the green belt brings the heavy traffic from the roads into play. For inexperienced players a bad throw could easily mean throwing into heavy traffic. The baskets for hole 1 and hole 11 are very close to Truxton and could easily result in a disc going into the street. The baskets for hole 5 and hole 11 are located quite close to Mohawk. The third flaw being the pathways and exercise areas that play through the course, and make for dangerous throws. Several fairways throw around fairly blind corners. For a RHBH thrower Hole 1 has you hyzering out over the parking lot. With some very dangerous obs in play accuracy is an absolute must or you risk a serious accident. Hole 5 and Hole 12s fairways cross, not that big a deal because you are teeing off while facing the others tee, but still.
Other Thoughts:
In 2010, this course was forcibly redesigned when the city of Bakersfield extended Mohawk St across the Kern River cutting through the middle of the 9 hole course that was here. In its place a new 12/18 hole course has reemerged. Despite design flaws, or maybe because of them, this is probably my favorite Bakersfield course, excluding Hart, although Hart is a giant monster, and Kern is a much more relaxing and easy throw, Hart is obviously the better and more challenging of the two. The compressed layout of this course definitely adds to the challenge and thrill, yet it is tempting fate. Although I know under most conditions that I can control my shots fairly well. I know from experience that I have a tendency to track moving objects out of the corner of my eye and sometimes throw at them so throwing into the street could be a definite likelihood.