Pros:
Simply wonderful shot variety and hole design: EXCELLENT mix of hole lengths, with several Ace run/birdie holes, 9 holes over 400' and plenty of variety in between. Wonderful balance of nice open, grip & rip fairways (some with very well placed trees), wooded holes, tight fairways lined with thick brush requiring placement and control, and a few blind holes. Multiple chances to throw hyzers, annies/FH, overhand. Nice rolling terrain comes into play on many holes.
I love the order in which the holes are laid out here. Like a good book, Stony gets you involved early, with holes that are open and inviting, but not too short. Then it throws a few interesting twists your way, mixing in a short wooded hole, followed by a fairly long 6th hole with a winding fairway lined with brushy hazards. The course changes pace frequently to maintain your interest and keep you on your toes, but overall, it gets a bit more intense the further you get into it. A couple of shorter holes give you a breather, before you get to 23 (quite a tricky hole playing to the long basket), and then the big finish. Hope you saved some energy, 'cause Stony's final chapter reads 933' from the long pad. Plays well from hole to hole - never gets boring.
The basics are well in hand: Large concrete tees pads, decent baskets, well defined fairways, tee signs w/dist, score cards w/map, pencils, friendly old guy in a golf cart to collect course fees. Everything is generally in pretty good shape thanks to pay to play, and the course just has a better vibe than it did a couple of years ago.
Navigation is pretty straight forward for the most part, with occaisional Next Tee signs to help out first timers. Gets confusing in a couple of spots, but a quick look at the score card/map should keep you on track.
Cons:
Not much to hate here, so these are nit-picky, but true:
- Vanadlism has claimed a few tee signs.
- Water holes should be nice, not nasty.
- Only 10 holes have dual tees.
- Would've been nice if it had a big hill, (but it does make decent use of some rolling terrain).
- Blind holes can = lost discs when playing solo, spotters not a bad idea for some holes.
Other Thoughts:
There's no denying Stony Creek (now formally known as "The Buckhorn") is an excellent course. If you don't live in the area, Stony goes well with nearby Riverbends (7 miles away), or Addison Oaks (15 miles away) to make a great day trip if you like to get away to play different courses.
I've been playing Stony, Kensington, and Hudson Mills for years, and the sad fact is: pay to play has really cleaned Stony and Kensington up - BIG TIME. Yeah, it's brought an element of "authority" onto the course, but c'mon; Police State - really? Since they've began charging $2/day, I've never been hassled by the park presence at any of the Metro Parks. Look how bad Stony and Kensington were a couple of years ago. Both those courses would be totally trashed today if not for some old guy on a golf cart. Long as he's out there, maybe they should give him a cooler full of water and Gatorade selling for a buck or two.