Pros:
-18 holes of free disc golf in an accessible park with lots of other great amenities (playground, swimming, etc.)
-Three tees per hole
-Good baskets
-Some concrete tee pads
-Some nice flora and fauna in the park
Cons:
-The fairways are extremely tight and the rough is very unforgiving with thorns and poison ivy. Heck, there's even some poison ivy in the fairways. And ticks are a problem on the course according to the signs, although I didn't see any.
-Most of the holes are heavily wooded. My home course is a wooded course, but Ninigret was so wooded, the disc golf wasn't fun. On a good wooded course, the trees pose a challenge, but you can spot a line and go for it. That's not the case at Ninigret. There are so many trees that you can't do anything but throw and pray. Even on 250-500 foot holes, the best tactic is to throw a putter 150 feet off the tee and try to land at the foot of a tree. If you throw a driver, you're going to inevitably ricochet off of something and end up deep in the rough, which probably means poison ivy. I'm an intermediate player and perhaps better players would enjoy the challenge, but I am highly skeptical.
-Most of the wooded holes have fairways that turn very sharply to the right or left, so you cannot see the pin from the tee. Given the narrow fairways and bad rough, this makes for a round with too much disc-hunting. Plus, it's nice to be able to see the pin on most of the holes, so you can plan your approach and watch your disc soar. That's definitely not how the golf works at Ninigret.
-The few open shots are too open, making them boring and without challenge.
-No topographical changes.
-Some of the holes are just sad. Hole 17 is a par 5 with a very narrow fairway where you play around an ugly fence/wall, throwing 150 foot shots again and again around a sharp curve. If you throw a driver, your disc will be gone in the rough. This is not what enjoyable disc golf feels like.
Other Thoughts:
I played about 7 holes on this course 3 years ago and was unimpressed. I read on this site that the course was "new and improved" since 2016 so I went back feeling excited.
I found that while more signs have been added to enhance navigation and a few concrete tee pads have been put in, the course had not changed in a meaningful way. If I were giving a rating to each hole, there are a couple I would give a 3.0. But the vast majority would get a 1.0 or 1.5. I suppose course regulars who have memorized where the pins are might not be bothered as much by all of the blind pin placements, but they would probably lose a lot of plastic regardless.
I'm sorry I don't have something more positive to say, especially because I visit the area regularly. It's clear people are devoted to the course's upkeep, but the shapes of the fairways greatly limits the potential for this course to be fun. For those of you looking to play in the area, the South Kingstown course is 15 minutes away and a much more enjoyably experience.