Pros:
(1.280 Rating) I'm shocked that a course with 4 baskets could be this good.
- RAW BEAUTY - First and foremost, a surprisingly beautiful piece of property. Lots of views of the water and all the ponds have natural overgrown areas where the vegetation looks quite exotic. Several large oak trees and you'll also play next to a eloquent garden and craftsman style gazebo. The beauty definitely added to the round experience for me. Not five star beauty, but I'd give it a 3.
- NAVIGATION - Not to be confused with layout flow (see cons). Once I found the course it was surprisingly not too hard to traverse, even without a map. I probably spent no more than 5 minutes trying to find tee markers. For a future player's benefit, I recorded my findings and posted a course map under the Links/Files tab.
- QUICK PLAY - I took my time here and still finished in under 30 minutes. figure a group of 4 with an empty course should be able to tackle a round in less than an hour.
- UNIQUENESS - A touch below average, but for courses I've rated this low, its surprisingly really good. To start, you'll have to consider a risk reward plays on several holes. Holes (2, 3 and 7) all have better attack plays to the basket if you're willing to throw over the water and bend it back into play. The course favors RHBH players like me but there is at least a couple times I'd personally throw in a flick shot. There is also a par 4 and par 5, albeit short, they will challenge rec players to make par and will require solid placement on the initial tee shot.
- CHALLENGING - You would think a condo course would be a 200 foot pitch and putt. Nope. Although I found the difficultly to be a touch below average, it was way more difficult than I was expecting. The shortest holes are in the mid 200 foot range and you'll have to contend with lots of water and low hanging trees. (Note, the shortest holes are listed as 290 feet on the tee post, but Google satellite data disagrees, and see some around 250 feet)
- GROW THE SPORT - No doubt this course will aid in growing the sport by offering residents an easy way to try out the sport. I hope to see more of these resident complex courses where space is available.
Cons:
Limited due to the amount of baskets.
- 4 BASKETS - Having this few of baskets definitely hurts Crosswynde's rating. Some may argue that it's not even a course, although I'd disagree as all nine shots are distinct.
- LAYOUT FLOW - Obviously with only 4 baskets, the layout is going to be funky with the baskets being reused. Being on this course with other groups will be even more of an issue as its going to cause flow problems every time the groups converge to use the same fairway.
- LOTS OF WATER - You'll see it on every hole and it comes into play seven times.
- BEGINNER FRIENDLY - Way too difficult for beginners and probably some recreational players. As mentioned above, the water comes into play seven times. Myself as a 900ish rated player, I definitely felt tested by it a couple times. If I lived here, I'd definitely be picking up some floaters. The longest water clear is about 230 feet on (8), but there is also a 300 plus risk reward throw on the par 5 (hole 7).
- CHAINS - Not the heaviest set of chains you'll see on a course, Dynamic Recruit. Funny to note that it's actually the basket I'm considering purchasing.
- CHARACTER - You won't find any extras here like at an established course. No seating, no map, no community board, no practice basket, etc. There is however nice tee posts that offer a very visible tee number, sharpie hole distance and sharpie fairway line. There is also a picnic table by (3/6) basket.
- TEES AREA - The tees are grass and void of any permanent line markings for a tee edge. I think the next step for this new course would be to add some sort of marker, otherwise it's on your honor to release your disc near the tee post.