Pros:
18 hole course set in a nice park - through some woods and nearby other activities (playground, baseball, etc.)
- Community park location makes the course easy to find with plenty of parking
- Pavillions can provide for tourney central or weather shelter
- Restrooms and water fountain located near hole #1
- Practice basket allows for quick warmup
- Bulletin board/kiosk for league/tourney/rules postings - there are scorecards for the taking
- Benches and trash cans found throughout
- One tee and basket location per hole - sign at each tee shows an accurate hole map, distance, par, next tee arrow and nearby items (parking lot, playground, baseball field, exposed water pipe, etc)
- Level, concrete tee pad on each hole
- Nice variety of short, long, wooded, open, etc. holes - fairways well-defined on the wooded holes
- Many different types of shots needed to score well, as the holes change up left, right, grip-and-rip, finesse, etc. - some holes do give you options off the tee, which is nice
- Not a big chance for lost discs (except maybe the trees lining the left side of #13 and #14 - the wooded holes are pretty mature and worn-down and there aren't many long, blind shots
- Easy navigation from basket to next tee - not crowded, but not too spread out
- Basket on hole #18 brings you back close to the parking lot
- Holes #1 and 2 are in a pretty little grove section with a creek crossing the fairways to keep you honest, hole #6 is a wooded beauty with some angled trees/vines scattered to create some fun lines (creek is also slightly in play off to the left), hole #9 is a long, sweeping, downhill hyzer (RHBH) that finishes along side an exposed water pipe which adds a fun unique obstacle, hole #17 is a cool little downhill hyzer pitch to a blind basket location (not enough hyzer can leave you stuck in some thick shrubbery), hole #18 is a medium-long anny that requires you to hit a precise line or face trouble
Cons:
- Hole #3 is a big bomb that was fun when the park was empty, but it plays along a gravel road and I could see this creating interference - the gravel itself is not exactly fun to throw a disc onto either (although I think I remember a temp sign that said the road itself is OB)
- Holes #13 through 16 were a throw-away basically pitching back and forth across an open field - they didn't mesh well with the rest of the course and got boring
- Fairway on hole #18 was a bit messy
- Due to the move of basket #3 (see below), it's a bit of backtracking to get to tee #4 and you're kind of walking along the side of its open fairway
- Baskets on wooded holes blend into the background
- Even though the course flows very nicely and easily, an overall course map would be nice
- Playground and walking path near holes 1 and 2 could get in the way if there are little ones running around
Other Thoughts:
- Basket for hole #3 has been moved to the left treeline, rather than over the corner of the baseball field - there was a sign explaining this, but the hole map is not updated yet
- A bit removed from the city itself (maybe a 20-30 minute drive east), but very easy to get to
- Although the park was empty when I played early on a weekday, I think there is a concession stand for the baseball field, which probably offers food/drink which would be a nice addition mid-round
This is a real solid course that I would definitely return to. If some more land could be opened up (maybe the pond near 16 and 17?) to eliminate the monotony of 13-16, it would be even better. It was the first course I played on my visit to Raleigh and was definitely a good sign of things to come.