Unfortunately, the crowd metric is a joke. Just yesterday, I was one city from where I live, and had 2 hours to kill. I know which courses are there, so I just checked Udisc for the crowd thing--it said 0-5, not busy. Great--google maps, lets go. I get there 15 minutes later, the parking lot is jammed full. Four groups waiting to tee off, and I can see a backup on another hole. Now either 30 groups got there in 15 minutes, or the feature lacks teeth.
Yeah, I get it--it only reports users USING Udisc. But still seems way off in practical terms, I used it again last week and it was very off again.
It seems the popularity of DG is far outstripping available courses, at least close to populated areas. The other thing I notice is courses where rec/novice players have chances at pars (aka shorter courses) are FAR more crowded. Yet, it seems the majority of new courses seem to play to immediate, advanced, and pro skill levels. Quite a disconnect, IMHO.
Other observations from other areas?