Camp Catalpa is not a camp.

Without photos on DGCR, my two road trip buddies and I were adventurous in choosing to play here, not knowing what to expect. The word "camp" created a false image for me; thankfully, we were pleasantly surprised at the design, beauty and maintenance of the course. The course appears to be available year around and is free to play.

Upon arrival, Camp Catalpa DGC presents an impressive visual of towering trees with grassy fairways and hills. From the parking lot, the course may appear to be a jumbled jungle, but in reality, there are decently defined routes that somehow stay isolated enough from adjacent fairways.

By the way, "catalpa" is a species of tree. Believe me, there are many trees on this course, though I didn't identify their arboreal classification.

The course isn't without occasional trees in the fairway, but most of the timber acts as a fairway border instead. The trees aren't too dense in most places and recovery shots are manageable. Even with all the wooded areas, the course provides a good variety of visually appealing holes, with multiple uphill, downhill and valley shots. There are also some attractive views overlooking Lake Reba, but the water shouldn't come into play. The signature hole might be #13; at 525 feet, it's the longest hole and one of two par-4s. The trees provide more of a ceiling and the downhill slope on the second half mandates some careful navigating to the basket.

Camp Catalpa is a course that likely gets easier with multiple plays. For first-timers, navigating their discs through the fairway turns can be a bit tricky.

The teepads were in good condition, and of course, H.B. Clark delivers with fantastic signage at each hole. The course was in excellent condition when we played in October. (I've read comments suggesting that the grass and undergrowth could use more maintenance in the summer.)

There are bathrooms and a children's playground on site. There are a couple practice baskets near the parking lot, and the first hole is just beyond that area.

Hole #10 is the worst hole on the course. From my experience, most H.B. Clark-designed courses feature a hole or two that is a head-scratcher. Hole #10 features a near-wall of trees about 50 feet from the teepad, forcing disc golfers to pick one of the several-foot-wide gaps. There's also a pavilion on the left side of the fairway, so wayward drives will definitely endanger parks users who are barbecuing or hanging out. My buddy nearly hit a parked vehicle in front of the pavilion and then had an upshot mere feet from the picnicking party. Solution: Move the unsafe teepad or take down a few trees to ensure a less risky and better-designed hole.

Any time there are tons of trees, the level of fairness comes into question. Holes #1 and #2 are a couple of the guiltiest; they're two of the longer holes on the course and feature a "poke and hope" line. Plus the right side of Hole #2 hugs a hill, so errant or ricocheted shots may be punished. However, for most of the holes, the level of difficulty (and its corresponding par) seemed fair.

There is a two-mile walking loop, so we had to pause a couple times for pedestrians to pass.

This was the ninth course of a 10-course road trip to Lexington and southern Kentucky. My comrades and I agreed that Camp Catalpa might have been the best course we played that weekend. I regret not getting photos of the course; we were racing to finish before an impending rainstorm.

A 4.0 rating for Camp Catalpa might seem slightly generous, which departs from my tendency in scoring and reviewing courses. However, as I reflect on the course and our experience, I'm reminded there was much to like - fantastic grassy fairways, excellent signage and good variety for an all-woods course.

Plenty of challenge for most players--plan to hit a lot of trees. If you like woods golf, you'll like this course. A nice variety of holes that will require a good forehand and backhand to score well.

As of the writing of this review, several tee pads need some erosion control installed or they'll be constantly covered in mud and dirt. There's quite a bit of dead tree growth that needs removing, but this redesign is new so perhaps that will come. A few of the holes have a "pull and pray" feel off the tee; that may also change as the course breaks in.

Overall, I don't think this new layout is better than the original layout. However, if properly groomed I think this could be one of best woods courses in the area; we'll just have to wait and see. Definitely worth checking out if you live in the Richmond/Lexington area.