Pros:
+ Great concrete tees, very good signage, basket selection indicators on the tee posts
+ Multiple baskets on some holes
+ Hole #4 is the first really good hole at Laurelain. There's OB water along much of the left, and the fairway narrows and climbs up a chute at the end. A good, difficult birdie and a rewarding par if you stay out of trouble
+ Hole #5 has woods left off the tee, and the short basket is tucked among trees on a rise on the right (ignore the fact that the basket has a #7 on it!). The long basket is straight out
+ Hole #6 is open, but challenges you in a couple of ways. It's a healthy 300+ par 3, and features an elevated basket
+ Holes #7 - #9 are largely open, making the most of the scattered trees and rolling hillside. The real fun of Laurelain starts after this stretch...
+ Hole #10 takes you into the woods with a big drop in elevation, with one basket location slightly left in a clearing, and the other across the creek to the right. Good hole because it challenges your ability to "steer" the disc compensating for the dramatic change in elevation
+ Holes #11 and #12 are short back-and-forth with an OB line dividing them. You're playing in the flats where the stream overflows, so there's lots of scrubby trees (and the stream) to avoid. Note the interesting piece of artwork hanging on one of the trees approaching #11(an old mirror frame?), and avoid the stream running behind the 12th green
+ Holes #13 and #14 continue in the same area of the course - down in the river flats. They're not long (though the far basket on #14 is a bit of a pump), but the trees make for narrow lines
+ Hole #15 is a complete change of pace: wide open hyzer, lengthened with an optional long tee and a possible long basket placement. Feels good to air it out after poking so carefully around in the woods for the previous five holes
+ The finishing holes are open and truth be told, a little dull. The course designer spices up the 300ish #16 with an island green (marked by a circle of bricks buried at ground level). Missing the island is treated as hazard and not OB - so it's loss of stroke played from where it lands
+ Playing the long basket on #18 adds challenge and length. The short position is guarded by a stand of small trees (it almost looks like you're throwing into somebody's garden), but the back basket is up across the road
Cons:
- There are a fair number of forgettable holes in an otherwise very good course (#2, #3, #7, #8)
- Navigation is a little tricky. There are a few spots where the next tee isn't obvious, and there are a few misnumbered baskets. Nothing awful though, and once you've played the course it becomes easy
- Hole #1 is a par 4 that uses a double mando to make you consider where you're going to place your drive. There are three different basket positions, but I don't know that they really change the hole all that much - because the hole is all about making the mando
+ Hole #17 is close to 400' par 3, but it's really open. The only danger is the stream if you go too far left, or long. The hole doesn't really thrill though, because you have so much room to the right to work with
Other Thoughts:
~ I understand the 18 hole layout is relatively new - the course started out as a 9 and has gone through a redesign. The designer(s) and the Berks Disc Golf Club deserve a lot of credit - I feel like they're halfway to an excellent course. They've brought water into play on a third of the holes. They've designed improvements into otherwise dull holes by adding things like multiple basket positions, raised baskets, an extra long tee and an island green. When I finished my round, I wanted to play the course again.