Pros:
A quick search of the courses in Iowa gave me several options for "best course in the country" types. I don't have time to try them all, at least not any time soon, so I just picked one blindly that was mostly on my way to New Orleans. Pickard Park had favorable reviews, sounded challenging, and overall fit what I was looking for. I wasn't disappointed, it was definitely a challenge, the course started quite easy, with the first 11 holes or so being wide open and straight forward with the only obstacle being an occasional tree and a pond. The last 7 holes kicked my ass, but for the most part, it was awesome.
Pros:
Sports Complex. I call this a pro because the facilities at the beginning are top notch, plenty of parking, even with a softball game going on, bathrooms, a picnic pavilion, dumpster, everything you might expect from a top notch city park sports complex. Though there was people all over the place, none of them really came across the disc golf course, and the occasional cheering was a seemingly invisible crowd watching me sink that birdie putt on 5.
Starting Kiosk. To start off there's a beautiful map (I might suggest taking a cell phone picture of it to help along the way), score cards (at least a mailbox to store score cards in, it was empty when I was there) a practice basket is tucked away behind the pavilion.
Signage. Every hole has a sign at each tee box, with yardage, a map of the hole, and an arrow to the next tee.
Tees. Beautiful cement tee pads on each hole, most have a long and a short tee, one hole has only one tee, and hole 18 has three to choose from. Some of the tee pads are cracked or at a slight angle, but mostly I can't complain one bit about them.
Variety of Holes. In reading reviews regarding this course, I had expected to be entirely wooded after the first 3 holes, this was not the case. About the first 11 holes are mostly wide open, water comes into play, and some of the baskets are tucked into the trees to create slight doglegs. Most of the holes are LONG, I have a big arm and didn't have trouble reaching most of the baskets in 2, but some of the holes are completely ridiculous, hole 18 was a b*tch and a half, it would have been perfect at about half as long. So, in all I appreciated the variety and challenge the holes offered, in my opinion the length could be cut down on a couple holes.
Garbage Cans Every other hole or so had a garbage can, litter was basically nonexistent, and a full dumpster is located in the parking lot.
Lack of People. Are you serious? A beautiful course like this and I am the only person on the course, on a beautiful Tuesday afternoon! I'll take it, but really there should be more people out enjoying this place.
Cons:
Length. I suppose I can't really complain, I could have played the short tees. But I have big arm and I found some of the holes completely ridiculous, If I can't reach the basket in two, I can only imagine what it would be like to have a short arm and be playing here.
Beware of Quicksand. Yeah, quicksand, I've come across it in the desert before, I didn't expect to see it in southern Iowa, but there it was. I lost my second throw (hole 11 I think) in the creek, eventually I did find it, had a heck of a time getting to it in - ended up stepping on what looked like a solid sandy/gravel bar in the stream, wasn't solid, ended up ankle deep in sandy muddy crap that flowed into my shoe and made the rest of the holes slightly miserable.
Lost Discs I'm lucky to have the best disc locater money can buy (my dog Forest), he never lets a disc escape. So I didn't lose any, but on nearly every hole I was struggling to find my disc in the long grass, or it disappeared into the trees. Keep an eye on those discs - if I played here more often I'm sure I'd lose several, either in the pond, long grass, or in the woods.
Other Thoughts:
A great course, a great challenge. It chewed me up, digested me a bit, vomited a little in its mouth, and then spit me back out in several pieces, I found myself swearing on several holes, and jumping in victory on many others as my risk/reward chance payed off brilliantly. I would suggest going out of your way for this one, it's definitely worth a play. I'm not so sure I'd want to play twice in one day though, I was worked after one round. Check it out if you're in the area!
Favorite hole:
Today, I'll go with the signature number 5. After getting slapped in the face by hole 4 (my Katana sailed about 150 feet too far, way past the basket - was worried I'd kissed it goodbye, but no, I was in the fairway for hole 5, across the pond from the basket), my heart was pumping when I approached the tee for hole 5. It's a beautiful hole, with an incredible view from the tee, and a 400 some foot bomb over the pond to the basket behind a small inlet. So the question is, do I lay up, do I keep it left, or do I go for the hero shot, I chose the hero shot - a 400 some foot rip out over the pond, a beautiful S-curve, swings and dives about 20 feet from the basket - Thank you Wraith! I was nervous for a moment, but it was a wonderful birdie.