Pros:
Bright sign at "tee" for each hole. Bright blue baskets - easy to spot. Relatively easy to navigate without a map. A couple of hilltop throws (but see below). Far away from other school activities. Pretty campus; ample parking.
Cons:
Very few trees - maybe 4 on the whole course. Off the fairways was brutal - the weeds are thick and 3-5 feet tall. I managed not to lose any discs but only because I spent more time searching than playing. And that's after I adapted my style (see below) after the first 9 holes. Basket #14 is in a 20 circle of 5-foot high weeds so I didn't bother to putt out on that one. Navigation wasn't bad but see my comments below. No amenities. Hard to find the course the first time. No nearby parking for visitors. A few long/unclear walks to next tee.
Other Thoughts:
I did not enjoy my trip to this course and won't be back. It took me 25 minutes to find the course - it's at the back of a "parking lot" at the end of a service road which is chained off. I parked in several places and walked around. Finally parked in the "Pit Parking" and walked through a volleyball court and up a hill and past several residences including one that has a big concrete tee pad presumably left over from the old course but which now points into the impenetrable woods with no basket in sight. Finally after the "Loft" I found this road and blindly followed it and happened to notice the bright red sign for 1 hidden behind some trucks at the far end. This sign is at the top of a hill and has an arrow so I hiked down the hill in that direction and then realized that I was supposed to tee off at that sign to a blind basket. I didn't bother to re-climb the hill and made my own tee but managed to spend 10 minutes looking for my tee shot. Then #2 is short and has the basket behind a tree. I'll stop giving individual descriptions now because I have the same comments for almost every hole. First off, the distances on this web site are not correct - many of the holes are longer than this - however I may have been deceived because I had to alter my throws so much. The off-fairway shule was ridiculous and even though the fairways were wide, after a while I ended up not throwing higher than 5 feet off the ground and at about 70% to ensure that the disc stayed in the fairway. Two of my early drives were only 5 feet off the fairway but it still took me over 5 minutes to find the disc (and I did "pay attention"). So the course became a slog where I just couldn't wait to get it over with.
Hole #10. Sigh. The "tee" is on the edge of a hill and the basket is down below at the end of a fairway. It's the kind of hole on which you just have to give it your all. But there was no path down to the fairway except to double back past #9's basket and wind your way around. Also, of course, the shule was ridiculous again and I spent 15 minutes searching for my disc here. After that I gave up on trying to enjoy this course or make any long throws.
This course seems like it was designed to be a ball golf course - no tree obstacles and just wide fairways where going off the fairway is the penalty. And I hate tall grass as the penalty - I've already had Lyme disease from a disc search I did 10 years ago for a friend's disc. I also encountered a snake at another course in tall grass. Not fun. I ran into a guy playing who said that it's only fun in early spring or late autumn. At that point, the penalty is gone and all your have is long straight holes.
I won't be back despite having a friend who teaches at Messiah College. It may be great/useful for students who have a guide and aren't playing during the summer months. But no reason for a course bagger like me to ever come back. So why did I give it 2 discs in my rating? Because it might be better when the shule is down and I liked #2 and #18 - I probably would have liked #1 if I knew I was supposed to tee off at the top of the hill. #10 could be fun if the shule is down.