Pros:
- challenging, long, and technical 9-hole - fun golf!
- good elevation change and good wooded golf
- good park with easy access and parking
- good baskets, good navigation, good tee signs
Cons:
- the rough was very rough, with slightly overgrown but manageable fairways (I bet maintenance is difficult especially in wetter seasons) - we didn't throw any multiples for fear of losing discs
- some tees a bit short (7 white, as well as a couple others)
- no course map online (no big deal, since on-course navigation is very good)
Other Thoughts:
Park quality: very good, including multiple sport facilities (I was surprised to see a cricket match in progress), picnic areas, a playground, restrooms
Access: easy to find, lots of parking
Course essentials: great tee signs, great baskets (Discatchers), great course navigation, adequate tees (the local club may still be making improvements, from the looks of it)
I played Linbrook as a bit of an afterthought while in the area for other reasons and after playing Moraine earlier in the day. The relatively high rating caught my attention, but I didn't read any course information and started blind on hole 1. Everything about Linbrook was impressive throughout my round here. Having no idea what to expect, I was surprised to find a 9 hole with so many par 4s and with nothing ordinary or easy about it.
This was an interesting course to me. I've seen many 9 holes with 9 short, technical holes, and would probably have been more than satisfied with something similar here. Instead, the designers have taken a thickly wooded area on good up & down terrain and made a very special, relatively long 9-hole course that seemed even longer due to its technicality and elevation changes. As a first timer, hole #3 showed me what was in store, with relatively technical 600-700' par 4, the narrow fairway running between a hillside and a creek bed. These par 4s were well done and probably the most memorable holes on the course. On hole #6 I like the ability to choose between an upper and lower fairways that both cut sideways up a hill. Hole #7 was a very fun downhill par 4 that begs you to sneak a distance driver through some initial trees and try to avoid crashing into some thick rough. Even the par 3s tend to be long, or tight enough that 300' here seems much longer. From the longer tees, the nice downhill on hole #2 is really the only ace run opportunity. In summary, this course is more challenging and requires way more shots than I'd expect, between the variable technical lines, uphill/downhill shots, and wooded greens. Playing all these holes was memorable and fun.
Rating: As I was playing, I realized this could be the first 9-hole I'd consider worthy of a 4.0 (Excellent). In the end, I settled on 3.5 for Very Good. It's really fun, and I might come back here even before returning to Knob Hill. It's good golf from both a fun and challenge perspective, and a course I would plan to play twice in a row during my next visit. The rough, and sometimes even fairways, can be really rough, and the tees in particular could still use some small improvements. But as is, it's already very good, worthy of a disc golfer's time, and definitely one I'd recommend. I'll be back.