Pros:
Beauty--the setting, the tranquility, the views, all top notch.
Very well maintained, fairways well cut, very clear, even the wooded holes have well defined lines, some even have grass fairways. In fact, it had rained a lot the prior 24 hours, but our shoes were barely wet the fairways were so well manicured.
The rough is very tame (compared to the 2 courses in the title for instance)--undergrowth in mid-June was quite sparse, so disc loss risk is minimal.
Even with the recent rains, course seemed quite dry overall, which it would have to be, because of some of the steep slopes to ascend and descend.
Incredible shot and distance variety--perhaps the best I've ever played (150+ courses to date). A couple 150' shots from red shorts to over 1000' from blue longs. I used 14 different discs in my round.
Awesome use of elevation. There were uphill shots left, straight, and right. Downhill shots left, straight, and right. Sloped landing zones and greens (which were all well cleared out). Shots into woods, through woods, and out of woods. Great mix of open, open with specific lines and/or natural borders (like a woods line), and wooded holes. There were 3 holes with shot shapes/characteristics I had never seen before. Many holes slope one way or another both in the fairway and/or on the greens as well, so angle control even on pitch ups comes into play.
No water carries--some may dislike this, but at $20 a disc anymore, I really don't prefer water carries unless they are under 200'. Again, some may count that a con, but for me...There is a creek in play on a few holes, but it was quite shallow and narrow, no issue other than possibly being O/B.
Speaking of...there was no fake O/B, there are some O/B lines, but they are natural, like forest lines or deep rough. No stringing off otherwise open fairways.
There are 3 sets of teepads, and two pins in the ground on every hole--well 3 holes only have two because red and white share a teepad. The reds are well geared toward rec players (my son me both were under par, 3 and 9, I won't say who got 9). The blue longs will definitely challenge even 1000 rated players and higher.
Solid teepads and baskets. (more in cons)
Tremendous tee signs, with elevation changes and distances from every tee pad and pin position. That said, these are only on the white tees, which was fine because the normal course navigation takes you directly there most of the time.
If you like wildlife--we saw deer, rabbits, a groundhog (hole 8), and a family of skunks--den near basket 17. But, get this--almost NO other people. This was on a beautiful Monday at 1PM in mid June. Low 70s, partly cloudy, winds about 10 mph.
We just had a ton of fun playing this course. This is an intangible, but it really does have that 'fun factor'.
Only $3 to play? Get out of here.
Cons:
Slim pickings here, but it is noted there is only a port-a-potty on site, no water, and the only trashcan I recall was at the parking lot.
The pay station was missing its lock, so had to pay online--no sense giving a random stranger $3 when I want the park to have it.
Course navigation--I like to see next tee signs at the basket, but that's me. The teepad signs clearly show where next hole is, for each tee.
Only the white tees had concrete pads, red and blue were nice turf style, grippy enough, but they were dry, can't speak to how they would be wet, but they must drain well, because none were wet despite the recent rains.
Other Thoughts:
I hand out very few 5's. Idlewild and I think Harmony are my only ones to date--Maple Hill would be another but haven't reviewed it.
This is a long, grueling course, with several quite steep slopes both up and down. I don't mind this because I like elevation so its not a con to me, but certainly worth mentioning. Most slopes do have some sort of steps, but I imagine they can still be slippery with lots of recent rain. Good grippy shoes are recommended. Definitely not a cart friendly course. I took mine, and kind of wish I hadn't.
Speaking of fair warnings--the par 5 hole 18 rewards the weary golfer with a long downhill trudge to a very long semi-wooded fairway which ascends like 1/2 mile (seems like it) to the basket. After 2.75 miles of hiking up and down hills, going up this long last big hill may cause some fatigue throws. Take a deep breath. It is the course in microcosm.
The course is only 15 minutes or so from Roanoke, but it is well worth a much longer drive, IMHO. This is the only top level course I have played in VA, so I can't compare it any other state courses. But, it had us on various holes comparing it to a mix of Toboggan, Idlewild, and even Maple Hill. This is definitely a top 5 course for me, and honestly competes for the top spot. Already thinking about how to get back there soon, even though it is 6 hours away.
The couple of cons would have me rating it at 4.75 or 4.8, but I can't see lowering the overall rating to 4.5, so I am sticking with 5.