Pros:
A city park 18er with consistently questionable lines.
-Some Amenities: Mostly DISCatchers are solid, with one damaged basket and cheap off-brands thrown in. Tee signs include pertinent info and a map.
-Navigation: Mostly not an issue. The (14)-(15) transition is long but intuitive, and the rest of the course flows well into itself to make a giant loop.
-Birdie Opportunities: This is definitely a course to score low on. A slew of holes are under 250', and if following course pars the par-4s and -5 are easy to pick up strokes on. Consistent players should be in double digits below.
-Terrain Variety: One of the stronger suits at Woodward. There are super tight woods, tree-lined fairways 30' wide, sparse hardwood mazes, and wide open shots.
-Oasis: The nearest public course to Woodward is about 40 minutes in any direction. As a Camden resident, I'm glad that it fills a giant hole.
Cons:
Lots of issues, but primarily summed up in suspicious shaping.
-Tightness: Far too many holes have super skinny fairways. The smallest mistake on (3), (4), (7), (8), (12), and (18) will have you in thick trees. Often, there are no scramble lines on these holes.
-Other Shapes: Beyond tight woods, the shapes are...improbable. The moderately open woods have trees blocking all but super wide hyzer lines. Three of the doglegs (on (3), (9), and (16)) break so far left or right that they require either advanced power or multiple shots. Other shots require absurd spike or skip lines, like (7), (14), and (18). Hole (3) is possibly my least favorite of all time. It requires about a 100' straight shot then a 110° left turn to a 120' tunnel shot - and it's marked as a par-3.
-Rough: Unkempt. This ranges from difficulty in scrambling to plain painful with thick thorns on a couple holes.
-Other Park Items: Frequently overlap between disc golf and other park uses. This includes a walking path fairway on four holes, baseball fields on three, and a park road on two. A score booth and tennis courts are in reach on other holes.
-Some Amenities: Would love to see some non-natural tees go in to give the course more definition. Nice tee signs would be a big plus, and of course upgrades to the dilapidated or portable baskets.
Other Thoughts:
It's worth noting that Woodward is my current home course. I play here a lot, and I have a lot of fun. Knowing a course so well can skew one's opinion and make it hard to be objective. I'll probably revise this review several times before posting, since I'm not sure how to be concise, fair, and encouraging all at the same time.
Overall, Woodward is on the line of Reasonable and Typical. I'd like to think it's a 2.0, but that it shows just how fun a 2.0 course can be. To step onto my soap box, a score on the lower end of the DGCR scale doesn't mean a Bad course (that's only 0.5 and lower), it just means a course that doesn't live up to the full potential of a great sport. Woodward doesn't nearly live up to the potential thrills of disc golf. It's got ugly bits, shapes that are nearly impossible, and thorns just off the fairway. But it's fun, which is a testament to the possibilities of disc throwing. I don't recommend going out of the way to Woodward, and players should be well advised of its issues before committing, but should you find yourself here, enjoy the ride and get those birdies!