14 years later than planned, Black Hoof is finally here to destroy your scorecard and pride. All woods keep the course isolated from the rest of the park (which is worth a walk around in itself), but still right near the parking lot.

Big concrete tees, detailed signs at every tee pad (except 6, where the tees are only 72ft apart, so the sign is shared), and two shiny new Veteran baskets on each hole: white for short, blue for long (and red for the extra-long on 3 and 18).

Your options for playing Black Hoof are practically limitless. Four main layouts with two tees and baskets on almost every hole (8 and 11 only have one tee), but holes 3 and 12 also have a third pad and basket adding a crucial placement shot on the big par 5s, so a fifth layout nicknamed "The Tips" is the longest and most arduous challenge here. Another plus is that the short tees stay out of the way of the longs, so you won't have to worry about smashing into the short tee sign.

Wooded holes are the mainstay. Most holes are completely wooded, with only 6, 7, and 9-11 making use of a clearing, and 6 being the only truly open hole. You'd better be able to hit gaps and navigate hallways like Isaac Robinson cause that's practically all you'll be doing here. The tough par 3 is the thing that's broken my scorecard on both playthroughs, 1, 6, and 9 are the official 400+ft par 3s, but the upward elevation on 13 and 17 make them play like 400 as well.

But that's not to discount the par 4s. A successful drive is still going to leave you with a tough upshot to execute. Hole 5 is a perfect example: a par 4 that needs a right-finishing drive about 325ft off the tee, then enters a hallway of 25ft tall trees with about 20ft of space between them, with the pin tucked a little under 300ft down that hallway. Get in the rough and you'll be scrambling hard.

Big elevation in spots, control is needed for the downhills on 1, 3 (especially from the ultra long), 10, 11 and 15, and difficult uphills need power on 13 and 17. There's a lot of minor change all throughout the course, but those big ones are the most memorable. There's also a few greens on a tough slope: 2, 9, 10, and 11 long, 12 ultra-long, and 15 short are the only real tough ones coming to mind, but there's other more sneaky ones out there to make your comebackers tough.

Accessing greens is a challenge that isn't often done well, but this is a McCabe course, so of course the long greens of 5, 7 (both) 10, 11, 13 (both), and 17 are difficult to get into. 13 is my favorite, with three or four large tree trunks guarding the long pin (think 4 at WR Jackson). It's a puttable distance if you hit them, but not easily deuced. 17 long is in a small rock circle that could make an interesting OB line, especially if the two trees in front of it are used as a double mando to the pin. Some smaller things like this are the tree guarding the gap to the long pin of 9 and the trees creating a tight backhand or wide forehand on 13 long to short.

[This space reserved for thoughts about the short pads after I've played them]

It was always gonna come up: there's a shooting range just to the north of the park. They shoot a lot. I've looked up their lanes and there's no danger to the course, but the constant noise is going to be a factor in your round. Even if you're not easily distracted (like me) it's still a negative factor. The range is closed Monday and Tuesday, but if Lenexa ever wants to host a pro tournament here they'll have to anger the gun owners for a weekend.

The long pin of 8 butts up against a fence (and by fence I mean two crossbeams and a post every few feet) of the shooting range. Large "NO TRESPASSING" signs are present, but a long bid could still sneak through the fence. Again, there's no risk to the course, but maybe a little more space between basket and fence would've been ideal.

Some of the second shots on the par 4s are very standard. 15 and 18 are basic rhbh hyzers with a putter, while 2 and 4 are short chip shots to the right (think righty forehand with a Zone). So long as you do the work off the tee, the rest should be standard stuff. A little disappointing for a course with otherwise world-class challenge.

The course is still roughing in, and therefore has some mud spots. Hopefully the grass seed they've been laying takes, but for now the rain will make it sloshy in a few places.

I'll say it, hole 1 long to long is not a par 3. Having to bend out to the left and get a long right fade after beating the left side trees is a shot I don't think I've ever seen done before. I'm sure it's been deuced, but it's not going to be a common occurrence at all.

With so many options, this really is an accessible course for anyone. A 4,400ft par 54 for the newer players, or a 10,000+ft par 65 beast for those wanting a beatdown. The woods make it a nice, shady option for hot summer rounds or avoiding windy days. I've dogged on small flaws, but Black Hoof is a world-class stop for anyone coming to the KC area.

This new course is totally decked out and has a variety of layout possibilities. Most holes have two concrete tees, and all of them have at least two permanent baskets. There are a couple of titanic holes that have three tees and three baskets. Shorts are white, long are blue, and behemoth is red. Tee signs are securely fastened onto pillars of stone next to each tee. They're illustrated and informative. The baskets are Dynamic models and in tip top condition, as they're only a few weeks old right now. A course map is posted next to the first tee.

The white to white layout is par 54 and measures about 4,400 feet. There are plenty of birdies that are makable, but a few holes are still fairly lengthy and most have a lot of trees to contend with. Blue to blue is more than twice as long and is par 63. If you want to opt in on the red to red for holes 3 and 12 the max distance is over 10,000 feet. I love the versatility.

A strong majority of the fairways are wooded or lined by trees. Even the couple of holes that are in the more open area have several trees to steer around on the way to baskets that are tree adjacent. Topographically, the park has desirable rises and falls in elevation, but it is nothing drastic. There is a small pond on the 18th hole if you'd like to introduce a water hazard into the mix. The blue tee plays over the water, the white tee allows you to cut out that element.

My favorite holes are the ones that left some lumber sprinkled in down the fairways, and have some slope. Hole 1 is a perfect example and a fun starter. Holes 10 and 12 have similar flavor I love, as well as others. Hole 3 is the first 3 tee, 3 basket monster, and is pretty open down the center, but has thick woods lining either side of the fairway and a couple of strays leaning toward the center. The canopy is low if you want to take a high line over the boundaries, just don't land on the outside. Subtle curves in either direction are incorporated well. Along with the moderate elevation changes, and a few trees strategically left uncleared, the line can get fairly technical.

More design elements could be implemented. A lack of serious doglegs and place to place landing zones has been pointed out. Black Hoof might be a tick under supreme gold standard, but not by much. If you can keep in decent position for the next shot consistently you're feeling pretty good.

This is a must play for Kansas City. The design is super solid and the equipment is top notch. I'm glad to be in near proximity, and plan to play it often.

I took a personal to play this one, it was totally worth it. Did a white to white round, and followed it up with a blue to blue. I was a bit disappointed with the +4 (58) on the short layout, but it's not a total pushover. Next time I think I'll do better. The longer round left me with a +16 (79). Should be able to improve on that too with a few passes, but I actually had many exhilarating throws and enjoyed the layout a lot.

There is a 9 hole course onsite as well. I didn't try that one yet, but it is probably a nice warmup. The spillway under the dam is worth the walk to have a look. You can see where it is from the baskets on hole 12, but you need to walk over on the path to check out the sculptural features and fountains.

Black Hoof is a new course that features long holes, more long holes, and in case I forgot to mention it – long holes, and by the way, they're super wooded. All the aesthetics are here, there are lots of picturesque holes and ace runs that are still really difficult, and more. Let's start with the design.

There was intentionality on every hole here. Since a bunch of the holes were blasted through previously thick woods, the trees that weren't cut down were left there for a reason. While there aren't any big doglegs, there are small curves in fairways that force you to throw all kinds of lines. A lot of holes have multiple lines available, and you're just choosing which two trees to throw between. The "clearing" in the middle of the course was utilized well, having several holes that play into or out of it, and having a nice central area to potentially have water and such at tournaments.

All the higher par holes are really interesting and bring their own unique challenge. Half of the holes are par 4 if playing blue to blue. From the water shot on 18, the holes that just keep going (3, 10, and 12), small gaps at different points of the fairway, and more, there's tons of replayability here and opportunities for your experience to change if your skillset changes even slightly. There's also motivation to throw soft hyzer skip shots, but skipping too far will get you pinched real fast.

The par 3's towards the end of the course are pretty fun. They're still really tight lines (that's a theme you'll hear a lot) but offer chances to get birdies some people won't have on the rest of the course. Some of them have low ceilings you throw under or around, and others have tons of lines available despite being only 350 feet or so. Hole 17 also has a cool rock circle around the green that adds to the scenery.

Lots of signature holes. The ones that stick out are 10, 11, 12 and 18, and of them, I'd choose 12 to be the best hole on the course. It's one of the holes that has three tees and baskets, so there's a lot of variety, and its upshot to the longer pins has the dam on Lake Lenexa in the background. While the water isn't a huge factor on 18, the optimal landing zone can be tough to hit, and getting around the corner on the approach is pretty hard.

The various tee and basket options aren't perfect, but I do like that the holes play pretty much the same way no matter what tee you throw from and hole you throw to. Hardly ever does a critical element of the hole get eliminated if you play one of the shorter options.

There are only a few cons here, but they are fairly significant for a course that is attempting to be a world-class course. First: there are a lot of sweeping hyzer lines (no matter how you throw) but no doglegs with specific landing zones. These holes are fine, but there are a lot of them. The only long and straight hole is 12, and even it has a little curvature if you're playing from the red tee. All this also means that if you have left-fading and right-fading hyzer shots, you're going to shoot pretty well. There are lots of opportunities to throw anhyzer lines, but it's never the primary option.

The front nine has a lot of short trees that can be easy to throw over if you have a big arm. Holes 2, 3, 6, and 7 are the main culprits here, but I can imagine some over-the-top lines on other holes. The rough, if you go in there, is real bad on those holes, so crazy shots will be very risk-reward, but if you can throw an aforementioned hyzer, you're eliminating a lot of the challenge. Hole 6 is the main one that loses most of its challenge in this regard.

The shorter tees and baskets are sometimes not very interesting. They bring in more scoring potential, but still have teeth a lot of the time. As a result, I really can't say playing the shorter layouts are an easier option. You're still playing with grueling par, often walking down the fairway past the tees and baskets of the blue and red layouts, and having the same thick rough in play. Playing white tees to blue baskets still looks fun though.

There's still some room for improvement here, although the course is already super good. I would be happy with a few more pin placements, although I do like the current system of having a basket in every pin, and any more baskets would just clutter things up. But maybe a middle pin on 1, super long pin on 2, second tee on 8, third tees on 6, 7, 14, or any other hole, or middle pin on 16 could give a little more variety. I would also prefer hole 11 to have 2 tees and only 1 pin than the other way around (only because the short pin on 11 is a sick ace run hole).

I have no idea why the hardest layout on the course was called the "red" layout. It should go red, white, blue, not white, blue, red. Red could arguably be called Gold, but it's possible it's not quite to gold level yet. On that note, if you are hoping for a gold level course, there are a few holes that won't be quite as satisfying. Those are the ones I would like to see an additional tee or basket added.

Mud has the potential to be an issue. In theory, the course should be closed occasionally after rains so the grass can grow, but who knows. The course is probably better with dirt, but of course that'll never work in wet conditions.

This course is really good. In my opinion, it isn't quite the best course in the KC Metro, but it's pretty close to it. Will your opinion differ from mine on this matter? Play here to find out.