Pros:
-Concrete tees
-Decent Baskets
-Good variety, wooded - open, long - short
-Some significant changes from red to blue tees
-Old holes 8-10 no longer in the mix (flooded out regularly)
Cons:
-Signage needs updated (as of July 2022 when I played, most had been removed)
-Number on the baskets need updated (as of July 2022)
-Still have 5 holes in the valley (or going up and down it)
-Very iffy bridge high above the creek from the #19 fairway to #20 tee.
-Long walk from #3 basket to #4 tee (especially red)
-Long way down and back up (down #16, Up #20)
-Disc loss possible on several holes
Other Thoughts:
McHose Park hosts a re-designed course on the southern edge of Boone, IA. Re-designed in 2022 to remove 3 of the holes in the valley that flooded on a regular basis and add a few up top. There will be many who will also miss the removal of old hole #3 which was a short shot over a deep ravine. A pretty shot, but a difficult walking route from the tee to basket. This basket has been re-used for #15. So, instead of over the one ravine on #3 and into the valley on #4, #3-#15 now stay up on the ridge. The old #4 is now #16, still going down what, at times, has been a sledding hill with about 50' of drop. #16-#19 play in the valley and while #16 is interesting with the blue playing over a small pond (red from a completely different direction away from the pond), #18 and #19 are still too near the creek. The baskets, while still in OK shape, have definitively taken a beating (see pic of Basket #18). There was a rickety bridge over the creek from the fairway of #19 to the tee for #20. #20 is about a 45% up angle and quite the climb back out of the valley. While there will be those who really enjoy the valley holes, I did not. Even with a pretty wide hill to throw down, I actually did not like #16. With having to go through the stream twice on #19, didn't care for that or the huge uphill for #20. With the 6 new baskets up top, there are 16 baskets up high. There is room between #3 and #4 where you could really add 2 holes. You would lose some of the character of the valley holes, but especially for a rec player towing a cart, they seemed almost part of another course (although I bailed before playing them my first time through a few years ago, so I never got the "pleasure" of playing old holes #8, #9 or #10) As of July, they had not gotten new signage in, but I'm sure it is coming. There are a couple of mandos in the mix, not sure for the reason for the one on #4, the one for #11 is keeping you out of the #12 fairway. Add the signage, if you're keeping the valley holes, strengthen up the bridge between #19 and #20, and maybe some benches around the big elevation changes to raise the rating for me. If I play again, I'll probably just stay up top, but who knows....