Pros:
The main positive thing I can say about this course is that the baskets were in one piece. And it is only about a mile from the entrance to Fort Yargo. In fact, just one driveway south off Hwy 81.
Most of the tees that I found did have a laminated piece of paper (either tacked to the tree or laying on ground) showing the hole number and distance. About half the holes had the hole number painted in orange or yellow on white signs nailed into trees. After some trial and error (and misdirection), I was able to navigate through holes 2-5 in the woods. Following those holes, 6, 7, 8, 10, and 11 were fairly easy to find.
Cons:
Well for one thing, this is a course that has been practically neglected and unloved for quite a while. Forgotten and passed by time, it seems. I only found 10 of the 11 baskets that are claimed to be out there. Never found the tee for 1 or the basket for 9.
The holes I found through the woods (2 thru 5) had so much overgrowth and uncut briars, vines and shrubs. Pretty rough shape throughout those 4 holes. Even the softball field fence along the fairway of Hole 2 has overgrown vines. Unlike the heavily-used fields across the parking lot, this field must not get a lot of recreational play either. Tons of trash along the woodsy holes, especially #4.
Just about all the tee pads throughout course were covered with pine straw and pine cones, requiring you to clear some out to get good footing and not slip. I also had to be careful of rotted stumps and other covered holes underneath the tons of pine straw. Almost stepped in a couple of them - that's a twisted ankle waiting to happen!
On pin 3, there were thin roots that, over time, had grown right against the pole and wrapped around the lower part of basket. I pulled the vines off to turn around to almost get my eye poked out by a thorn on a hanging vine behind me.
Other Thoughts:
UPDATED PHOTOS (as of 3/2011) of tees and baskets are included. In the photos from 3/2009 (which show holes 4-9), those holes did not come into play with this current (aka 'original') layout. Holes 10 and 11 in the 2009 layout are now 4 and 5 respectively in this current 2011 layout. The new pics for 6 thru 11 are included here too.
Tons of kids, families, and parents were all around cheering and watching softball. I had no idea where Hole 1 started. I found the pin, but not the tee pad. With softball season getting in full gear, it's evident that due to lack of parking spaces, cars will most always be around pin 1, such as in this case.
According to the photos from '09, there was a big area of green grass which lead up to pin 1. However, it seems that since then, the old fairway had been ripped apart by an asphalt grater to make way for more parking spaces. So I guess you could use your own imagination and come up with your own tee in the parking lot. I just couldn't that day since cars were all parked all around the pin.
All the tee pads I found were marked with wooden 4x4s, either wood brown or black. (Paint It Black?) Not sure if the black boards were spray-painted or what. I was able to find most of the tee pads for the 9 holes I was able to play. Some holes claimed to have multiple pads, but 5 and 7 seemed to be the only ones I found that had them.
After playing hole 8, I found the printed sign for #9, but the actual hole was nowhere to be found. Behind the sign, there was a big cluster of trees along the hill between #8 fairway and one of the softball fields below. Checked inside that cluster and nope... no sign of a basket. All you can do from there is go down the hill to play #10 along the curve of the field fence, and then to 11.
It doesn't seem that anybody, with the exception of a few volunteers, gives a damn about the maintenance and upkeep of this course. If some serious effort was really put into this course, even the woodsy holes 2-5 could be pretty decent. Many areas need a good whack of a machete and extensive use of pruning shears and hedge trimmers.
I could somehow see this course remain, but likely as just a 9-holer. The current pin 1 could just be a practice basket, Hole 11 could be renumbered to #1, and Hole 10 around the softball field fence could be #9. Holes 2-8 can stand pat.
But in the end, is all of that even worth it?!? I'm sure originally the designer of the course had the best of intentions, but simply put, no effort has been made to keep it together and make it worth playing. It's just better to pay a few bucks and play Fort Yargo down the road, where at least they're putting some TLC into that course!