Pros:
Lakeshore State Park houses two courses, set right on Lake Ontario, with beautiful views, and well-mowed fairways, camping here for a weekend was a great pleasure.
The Blue course, known as the Beast, is just that. Over 9000 feet from the long tees, this course has a lot of different things that can challenge every player.
To start, you'll need a lot of distance off the tee. To really score well here, throwing far is a necessity. I don't throw the farthest, which caused me to play for par on a lot of the holes.
Next, you need placement. While a lot of the holes don't really have a line that needs hit, per se, wher you land on the fairways is very important. There is a lot of OB here, whether it's in the form of tall grass, a park road, or the pond that you see on most holes, aka Lake Ontario.
Your ability to play in the wind is also key. Wind coming off the great lake is no joke, and the gusts will laugh at any shot that you put into the air. Watching putts sail 50 feet past the basket is not uncommon here, just hope it isn't yours.
The concrete tees on the white and blue tees are in great shape, and each hole has one tee sign that has a map and distances for all three tees.
Cons:
This course is a true championship level course, but really is a lot of fun. It beat me up, but I love the challenge. However, a few things keep it from being the best of the best.
A lot of the holes play with the mentality of throw it far, and don't lose your disc. The water and rough eat discs, and I saw many get lost during the weekend.
There are some technical shots here, but a lot of the time, you are throwing pretty hard, and other than the OB, a bad shot is recoverable. That is what happens though on these big open courses.
To navigate this course, you'll want a map, and probably a walking stick. The navigation isn't intuitive, and also is a hike in itself with as much distance as you are covering.
The OB really adds challenge, but some of it I think is there to make a hole harder just to be mean. Grass bunkers in the fairway, skinny fairways, and things of the like show that this course is really catered to the more advanced player.
The baskets aren't great, and I saw a few spits on the weekend. I also would like to see tee signs at every tee. While amenities aren't the most important part of a course, Championship courses deserve the best.
Other Thoughts:
This course is really great! For a more open course, I was still shaping shots, and getting punished. I saw huge drives, putts lifted into the wind, and discs being sacrificed to Lake Ontario, and loved almost every minute of it.
Two courses on site, beautiful views, and a place to camp, come here, pitch a tent, and stay the weekend! You will not regret it.