Pros:
The Scrapyard has a lot of good aspects, with a good layout, a little elevation, a little water, and concrete tees and nice baskets throughout. There were a four par 4 holes, two on the front nine and two on the back (4, 7, 16, and17). The whole course is wooded, but many of the fairways are sufficiently cleared to see the basket, and have a good chance for a good drive. However, there are a couple of them that have narrow gaps and are tightly wooded, and a couple that have doglegs or sharp bends. Some but not all will dual tees, and some also have random chairs and benches. I liked the first hole, it was a kind of hard turn over shot for a RHBH, a little downhill and basket on the right with a 320 par 3. I played the long tees, and put my first shot about 40 feet from the basket. A good start that came to a screeching halt on hole 2, with me taking a double bogey after shanking my drive, and leaving a fairly easy approach shot short. I also made a bogey on hole 3. I was afraid this was going to turn into a long day, but the balance started to return, and I got one back with a birdie on hole 7. A group of four was ahead of me, and offered to let me play through, on a tough 500' par 4 with a dogleg right. One of the pleasant occasions I have executed a perfect drive, followed by a laser straight approach and banged out the 16 foot put, while people observe from the fairway. Sometimes that goes the other way, nice to be on the upside. Holes 8 and 9 are the water holes, and both were pretty fun. 8 is a bit downhill from the long tee, and coming out of several trees. I looked like the water was fairly low and only a short stretch of the fairway was across the water, still leaving plenty of landing room in front of the pin. My drive was turned over a bit to the right, but still was dry and close enough for a par. 9 was over water all the way from the long tee, and a way tougher margin for error. The basket is on a dam that creates the pond, with a steep drop behind the pin, and a slim berm in front. There is a small backstop fence along the edge of the water to catch a drive that lands in front of the pin and rolls back. I got the landing spot I was aiming for and had a 20' birdie putt, but it was about an inch short and hopped out off the front rim of the basket. 11 hit me for another double bogey, and an embarrassing display of incompetence. I also ended with a bogey on 18, and wound up with a 63 (5 over par). What I enjoyed about this course was the fairly obvious fairways, where if you can't see the basket on a long hole you still have a good idea where the fairway leads and the pin is going to be in the blind. There are also some nice, but very simple, straight forward and more accessible holes. The layout was pretty good with converging (nearly) 9's, and about having signs and markers between holes. The map link was good if you want to print a course map. There are trash bags,but some of them getting pretty full and one was dumped out on the first fairway. Other than that mostly pretty clean.
Cons:
There were tees that were usually shorter than I would have liked. My run up was affected by this a couple of times. Sunshine (my girl/scorekeeper/spotter) and I were having a cigarette in the parking lot before driving home, and we heard loud squealing tires followed by a bang! A car had skidded off the road right in front of the park entrance. I looked like everyone was OK, but the car didn't fare well. It was going from one scrapyard to another I'm pretty sure. A fire truck was arriving just as we left, and police cars were not far behind that.
Other Thoughts:
This isn't the toughest course, but isn't a boring one either. Besides the car wreck, and my typical day after concert weariness costing me strokes on a couple of holes, I really enjoyed my round at the Scrapyard. I played nearby Dry Creek the day before, and would recommend Scrapyard if you are choosing between the two, but the course ratings would slightly disagree. Both are very good but different, the shaded woodsy surroundings, water and elevation aspects make Idlewild park favorable to me. A sign posted at the park entrance claims that uniformed police and undercover officers patrol the park. Didn't spot any, but who knows?