Pros:
Diverse and entertaining 9 holes in a near-pristine small park.
-Amenities: DISCatchers. Tee signage includes #, par, and distance. Tees are mulch, which for now is sufficient.
-Variety: Best variety of the dozen or so 9-holers I've played. The course starts with its hardest hole, 575 twisting feet through thick woods. From there it's a couple of open 300+ ft holes, two holes through moderate trees with elevation change, a pair of par 2s, and two more light woods including a nice par 4 on (8).
-Shot Shaping/Gameplay: Mostly up to par with the variety. There are 3 or so holes (2, 3, 6) that only require general straightness, but the others have compelling lines. Straight woods, hyzer woods, narrow gaps, and some room for personal choice on the closing holes.
-Elevation: Not huge, but all except (2)-(3) have some slopes that complement the line.
-"Friendly": My label for the combination of easy-to-play, well kept up, and hard-to-lose-discs.
Cons:
A couple of rookie-looking design mistakes and newness factors are holding this park back big-time.
-Safety: A number of dangerously close fairways, vulnerable teepads, and other park uses will necessitate caution. Fairways may bleed into each other on (4)-(6). Teepads (3), (5), (6), (8), and (9) are all in substantial danger from the previous hole. Also, this tight park includes a baseball field, a playground, ball courts, walking paths, and a pavilion, all woven right into the course area. On a busy day it may not be playable.
-Par 2's: This pair of holes is pretty boring.
-Other Design: Hole (5) is a very specific and tough blind hyzer line that needs a good map (currently absent) on the tee sign to give you a fair chance. Also, I wonder if hole (8) could be improved. It's currently a 440-foot par 4 for an easy birdie, but maybe something like small new guardian trees or an elevated basket could make it play more like a 4.
-Navigation: Not overly clear where tee (2) is from basket (1). Also, the (6) to (7) walk is very unintuitive. Two next tee signs would solve these completely.
-Hole 1: Currently absolutely ridiculous. There's the hint of a narrow fairway for the first half, but the last 300 feet have far too many trees to do anything than hopefully chuck a disc 150 feet on a path of your own invention. They need to take quite a few trees out to establish a fairway. If that's done well, it could be quite an excellent par 4.
Other Thoughts:
I enjoyed Platt Park a lot. It's a bit shiny and sparkly, but that newness also bites it in terms of tee signage, next tee signs, and the currently-absurd hole (1). Fix any two of those (preferable clear a fairway for (1)), and it's easily a "Reasonable." Do something about tee safety, and it could well be a "Typical" due to its impressive variety.
If these things do improve in the next several months, please send me a PM and I'll update accordingly.