Pros:
+ All tee areas have firmly built and detailed tee signs (except for 12) with flat and sturdy poured concrete pads.
+ Most of the fairways are clean and well maintained.
+ The course plays through a large and sprawling picturesque park with hills, water features and pleasant fields.
+ A large and detailed information sign greets you in the parking lot before hole 1, but...
Cons:
- ...There is no dedicated practice basket or lost disc box to go along with the info sign that I noticed.
- Some minor safety concerns when players have to cross roads for holes 9, 14 and 18.
- Two ridiculously long walks between holes 8-9 and 18-1 that first-time players couldn't possibly know about if they don't have the uDisc app or didn't snap a picture of the course map.
- There are absolutely zero 'next hole' signs.
Other Thoughts:
My least favorite hole here is 16 because I feel it is too close to a road, is boring to look at and plays flat and straight in a wide open field. My favorite hole here to play might be hole 17 because, after its flat start, I was delightfully surprised to encounter a grand downhill finish. I think my favorite hole here to look at is hole 8 because of that group of pine trees in the middle of the grassy fairway. That sight seemed like it could be on a postcard.
A lot of this course can be described like that. Little Lehigh Parkway is a very pretty course. On multiple occasions, you might find yourself stricken by particularly peaceful views such as when you are standing atop a rolling field at holes 4 or 18, gazing upward at a gradual climb as with holes 13 or 2 and passively observing the Little Lehigh Creek by holes 7 and 8, just to name a few. Some of the fairways do have messy undergrowth such as 6, 7 and 10 especially. So even if the player's throw lands in the middle of the fairway, they must still spend some time looking. Leave yourself a little extra time for that, and try not to rush through this course in the first place. Look around and breathe a little. There is plenty of fresh air, wildlife and sunshine here.
It's a good thing, too, because you'll be experiencing a lot of it. I would describe most of the holes as wide open with tree pepper. That's not necessarily a bad thing, but if you are the kind of golfer who dislikes direct and open shots and/or prefers wooded golf, then temper your expectations a bit. The first half of hole 11 is as dense as it gets. But the distances are manageable. Maybe a few would be intimidating for new players with five holes hovering around or exceeding 500-feet.
A few of the journeys between holes are open-ended and kind of crazy, as well. Whenever I play a course for the first time, I try to use just the course's installed features to help me find my way: next hole signs, beaten paths, spotting tee signs from a distance and maybe sometimes the tee signs themselves because that is how a course is meant to be set up-- all for the player's ease of use. Well, this course does not have 'next hole' signs at all. Thankfully, many of the subsequent tee boxes can be easily spotted from the previous basket, but the walks between 8-9 and 18-1 were still a slog, and at times I didn't feel as though I were walking in the right direction like between 13-14 and 15-16. And since the parking lot next to hole 1 is covid-closed as of Sept. 24, I parked somewhere else and started on hole13. I didn't encounter the map until after hole18. But that's the biggest issue at this course: navigation. Yes, I have uDisc, but I use its maps only as a last resort.
So, in closing, Little Lehigh is a treat for the eyes and a boost of health to the legs and lungs. Bring along your sense of direction for those unmarked paths & longer walks and your furthest-flying discs for those long and open fairways. Not much will get in your way, here. This is a scenic course with just enough hills and relevant water hazards to prevent this pretty place from feeling boring. Warmly recommended.