Pros:
Mayflower Hills is the second championship level course in the Roanoke area along with Greenfield. This course utilizes rolling hills and plains, as well as thick woods with winding creeks. It is obvious that tons of labor went into course, as three well-made gravel tees, two of which are being converted to pavers in the near future, are present on most holes. Many memorable holes are scattered throughout the course, and I feel that it is best to describe each hole individually (these descriptions are from the white tees to the whichever pins were installed first):
Hole 1: A beautiful opening par 4 with around 300' of flat plains before a significant downhill with the basket set around 80' into some trees.
Hole 2: The longest hole on the course, this bomber hole (810' White Tee to A Pin) features a downhill drive and an uphill approach. This hole is very reachable in two for big arms in the short pin. A common theme on the course is sloped greens, and this hole is no exception.
Hole 3: An open, short par 3 with some sparse, small trees scattered throughout the fairway, the real danger on this hole is the heavily sloped green, which makes rolls very possible.
Hole 4: The first wooded hole is a short, downhill par 3 with a severe right-to-left slope and an out-of-bounds area on the left.
Hole 5: An easy 200' left-to-right with a significant uphill. This hole has a creek on the left, which makes it a memorable hole for the sheer beauty.
Hole 6: The first wooded "par 4" is a short 350' S-shaped tunnel shot. With a great drive, this hole is realistically reachable off the tee. The only trouble is an OB line right of the fairway and bamboo long of the pin.
Hole 7: Hole 7 is a valley shot with the basket finishing significantly higher than the tee. The gap is a ways off the tee, but kicks often end up at the base of the hill.
Hole 8: Hole 8 is one of the most beautiful holes on the course. At 375', the significant downhill makes it reachable with a mid. The right side of the hole is lined with thick trees, and the green slopes hard left-to-right.
Hole 9: One of the truest par 4s on the course, a big tee shot leads to a relatively easy uphill approach, unless you find yourself behind a large cluster of trees straight off the tee. The only real mistake to make is to leak right into a thick bamboo forest. It serves as natural OB for this hole.
Hole 10: Another open, longer par 3 that is easily reachable due to the downhill. This hole allows many different ways to access the pin, as it is essentially wide open with a cluster of trees just short of the basket.
Hole 11: This par 4 is deceptively short, but still requires 2 great shots for the birdie 3. The recommended play is a RHBH hyzer out of the gap that finishes far left. This allows the best look at the pin. It is possible to get aggressive and bite off a ton of distance, but the risk-reward favors the simple hyzer.
Hole 12: What I would consider the best wooded par 4, the approx. 500' hole has many different lines. Anything off the fairway is trouble, and all but removes the 3 from play. The green is lined on the right with a creek, making for a beautiful upshot.
Hole 13: My least favorite hole on the course, this severely uphill left-to-right shot requires a high hyzer, which can be knocked down by the branches and lead to a catastrophic roll away. This hole really feels like it serves no purpose but to fill a gap between 12 and 14. It is legitimately the only hole on this course that I don't like.
Hole 14: Possibly the signature on the course, 14 is a wide-open 700' par 4 that slopes downhill gradually the entire hole. The fairway is lined with thick trees and an OB line just inside the woods.
Hole 15: Another contender for the signature, 15 is a 250' straight hole with around 50' of downward elevation change. The tight fairway frames the hole perfectly, and the creek just shy of the pin only elevates the memorability.
Hole 16: The difficulty of this hole comes in the form of a 90 degree turn just up the fairway. A good tee shot should lead to an easy birdie 3.
Hole 17: A short par 4, this hole begins in the open, but veers right into woods about halfway.
Hole 18: A very memorable finish, this 600' par 5 plays all of 900'. A relatively flat tee shot puts you at the base of a hill, with the basket about 100' higher than the tee.
The amenities of this course are unmatched. Along with multiple tees, I've heard that two permanent pin placements for each hole are in the works. The tee signs are some of the most informative I've ever seen, including an elevation profile of each hole. The bridges, stairs, and paths between holes are amazing, and just go to show how much work was put in on this course. The real plus for me at Mayflower is the utilization of elevation. There are hardly any flat holes, which makes this course a very memorable play. It feels as though most of the holes could be signatures at other courses.
Cons:
The biggest flaw in the course to me is the challenge, or lack thereof. Holes 2, 6, and 17 feel soft at their respective pars, but could go either way in terms of higher or lower par. The other par 4s on the course seem to be easily birdied, as a good tee-shot leads to a putter upshot on nearly everyone of them, aside from the forced layups like 11 and 16. Some par 3s on the course also feel a little easy. I can't say that this affects the rating significantly, as the presence of longer tees and different pins looked as though it would make the course much more challenging. The simplicity of some of the holes made birdies feel more like pars.
The only other complaint for the course is the intense workout achieved when playing a round. The only drawback of having an elevation-heavy course is that you have to walk it. There are some very long walks between holes here. The gradually-sloped paths make walking much easier, but a round here in the summer is definitely going to require a lot of water. Our round was measured at 2.8 miles of walking, so definitely remember to plan accordingly.
Also, 13 really is a sour spot on the course in retrospect. The holes before and after it are among the best and most memorable on the course, and it really does ruin that section by being a gimmicky RHBH hyzer through some woods on a severe up-slope.
Other Thoughts:
Mayflower Hills truly is a must-play course, and could possibly be one of, if not the best course in Virginia. The course is still in its infancy, and I'd imagine this course will be astounding once all the early-stage kinks are ironed out and the fairways and roughs have been beaten up some. I would definitely recommend making a trip out there.