Pros:
A diverse, lush, hilly, challenging course in the middle of the city.
-Amenities: Aging but very good. The kiosk has a QR code linking to course map and the current pin locations. Practice basket. Gateway Titan baskets look old but have super heavy chains that catch well and yellow flags to aid visibility. Two rubber tees in good condition and two tee signs with distances and maps per hole.
-Beauty: In summer months, beautiful green forest and pleasant fields in the neighborhood. In winter, there's no green but still a charming woodland atmosphere. Overall, much nicer than I was expecting of a downtown course.
-Elevation: A key element of Perkerson is its constant (except for hole (11)) use of hillage. A lot of side hills requiring angle control, some uphill, occasional steeper drops, and several substantially downhill (and fun!) runs on (1), (7), (14), and (17).
-Variety: About every kind of shot comes into play. Thick woods, mostly open, into and out of woods, OB features, guarded baskets, ace runs, a par-5--Perkerson has a great selection of all types of holes. It also integrates them well by switching between biomes every three or four holes.
-Shot Shaping/Gameplay: As you can guess from the previous two bullets, the gameplay at Perkerson is Excellent. The course is mostly par-3s that require threading a line, dealing with an unusual angle or elevation feature, and/or having excellent touch and control on a drive. However, three par-4s and one par-5 will force you to work on your multi-shot placement game as well. A creek is used extensively from (1)-(3), (11), and (18). The design is really brilliant, presenting excellent incorporation of the foliage and elevation while making every hole interesting. So many holes are fun, some are scary, and none are bad. It's also a challenging course that will require power and finesse to score well from the long tees--you need to know exactly how you're throwing when the lines are this interesting.
-Multi-Tees/Pins: Two tees per hole vary the challenge significantly. I guess the Black tees are advanced level, so having the Reds is a welcome reprieve for players who want to stay out of the weeds. The pin positions update pretty regularly. Several reviewers complained about not having a position indicator, which is justified, but nowadays you can access the locations by scanning a QR code at the start of the course.
Cons:
Only small things here and there.
-Navigation: Tricky your first time. (4)-(5), (6)-(7), (9)-(10), (11)-(12), (14)-(15), and (17)-(18) could all be problematic, so be armed with a map to save time. Be careful with the (11)-(12) transition as it crosses the fairway of (14).
-Pin Locating: Even if you know the position, first time around players may have difficulty spotting the basket from the tee. When bad shots lead to consequences like at this course, it's helpful to know the fairways better than is always evident.
-Gameplay Limitations: The only reason Perkerson doesn't break into the 4.5 range is that it doesn't have enough long holes. I don't get bored of the course, but having only 4 multi-shot challenges holds it back a bit.
-Rough/Beatdown: When you stray off the fairways it's not pretty. Some holes, especially from (7)-(10), have it thick. I've found lost discs practically in fairways here before. When I was a new player, sometimes it was grueling and disheartening to be in the ivy or behind a bush yet again.
-Other Park Users: A lot of folks like to walk through the park and I've had to wait pretty often for them.
-Neighborhood: It's not the finest area of town (I always chuckle when I drive past "Hood-Mart" to get to the course), though the neighborhood immediately surrounding Perkerson seems nice. I've seen stories of car break-ins and conflicting advice on which parking lot to use. I personally have no experience with anything uncomfortable other than large smoking sessions up near hole (7).
Other Thoughts:
Perkerson is a great course. With its outstanding variety, fun factor, and challenge, I consider it to be the best course in the Atlanta metro area. Be prepared for a challenge, but also expect to throw some really fun tee shots and enjoy an Excellent disc golfing experience.