What used to be be 2 is now 1. While there were things to like about the old set up I'm going to try to not judge the new course based against the old to the best of my ability.

About a half half mix of moderately wooded and mowed fairway/tall grass rough through a park full of rolling hills. The front 9 is moderately wooded forcing you to pick and hit lines where the back 9 features wind as one of the more prevalent obstacles.

Tee pads are concrete and grippy. Baskets are new (and oh so much better than the old baskets).

Hole 2 is a fun shot that starts out straight but then hooks downhill and to the right into a basket nestled back in a grouping of trees.

A couple of solid par 4's that reward good drives and consistent upshots. The stretch from hole 6-8 is really solid. If I had to pick one hole on the course it would certainly be 7 that requires a well placed downhill drive that hooks hard to the left at the end in order to be well oriented to hit a gap through mature trees. A solid par 4 that requires a precise drive and upshot to be rewarded with the birdie.

Hole 12 with the double mando is a super fun downhill shot that forces you to commit to your line.

The flow of the course is really easy to follow and is designed in such a way that drops you off at the parking lot after 10 which can aid in the ability to play a quick 10 if you don't have time to play the full 18.

Nice practice basket area featuring a few of the old baskets as well as one of the new baskets (maybe to remind us how lucky we are to have new baskets?). Always nice to have a good area to warm up putting before starting off.

Everyone has already said it but hole 17 is a little reckless in terms of course design. Using that road as OB considering the sight lines isn't a great idea and it's only slightly better on 18.

Holes 1, 9, 11, 14 are pretty boring holes. Straight open shots with small elevation changes. Kind of common place, really seems like they lack creativity.

No tee signs. I imagine these are on the way eventually.

It's hard not to compare this to the old 2x18 lay out. There are certainly some holes from the old course lay out that feel like they were better designed holes than some of the dud holes on the new design. There are also some new holes on the course superior to what used to be in place. With tee signs and a fix for the hole 17 issue I think this could be a 3.5 but I wasn't overly thrilled with the layout. It's solid but it leave you feeling like they could have squeezed a little more out of the available landscape. Maybe they were a little too set on making it completely new. I think leaving in a distinctive hole from the old design on both the north and south course would have been a smart way to get on the good side of people who liked the old design. I know I was sort of angered when I saw that hole 9 from the North course had been butchered into the new hole 3 and 4. Hole 3 and 4 are okay, but hole 9 was a hole that had so much more character and challenge than either of the new holes that use the same land.

It seems to me that in both the old layout and new layout the courses at this park feel like they aren't quite living up to the potential that the land has available.

PS - dgguy1 - This is clearly not a one star course...hopefully you can untwist your knickers and give this course a fair review. If you don't want to wait at all at the tee box there are plenty of courses in the Grand Rapids area. I'm sure you can have a nice open tee box at Johnson, Rotary North, Riverside, Garfield, Jaycee, or Old Farm to name a few. Just be happy that there are so many quality free courses in the area and if you're willing to drive a little ways there are a ton more within 30 minutes.

Having never had the opportunity to play the original Earl Brewer layout, I can't make that comparison and complain about how I liked the previous four "9s" more. The course now really feels like two separate 9 hole courses with the front nine playing shorter and through the wooded part. Then the back nine opens up, and is longer as it plays across the rolling, wind swept rolling hills.

The park is green and lovely. There is a sign at the start directing you to hole 1. The concrete tee pads are extra long. There are no tees signs yet, but there were small wooden stakes with the hole # and distance written on them. Most were pulled out and lying close to the pad somewhere. There are some fun, creative holes on the front nine. I thought # 3 that plays 388' over a small hill and then you have to hit your line through a gap in the trees was enjoyable. This is a pretty hole and offers up a nice challenge. The short little # 4 which plays up a slanted fairway to a basket 179' is a cool little toss. 7 & 8 are both over 600' so there is plenty of length on the this nine.

There were a couple of interesting, challenging throws on the back nine. # 12, which plays 318' on a slight downhill, has the double mando about 280' down near the basket in the trees. If you miss the mando, there is a drop zone about 30' in front of the basket. I think you should be more severely punished for missing the mando. I'd like to see this drop zone moved back about 20' more which would force players to make a longer putt in order to save par.

15 and 16 were my favorite holes on the back 9. # 15 plays 340' down a small hill. You need to hit a semi-narrow gap between two large trees and then the basket is set back, just into the tree line. Then the # 16 pad is back in the woods. There are two trees just about 10' in front of you. Missing them shouldn't be a problem for you mentally stronger players but they certainly got in the head of this old, rec player. There is this interesting concrete bench structure here. I finally realized this concrete was once an old tee pad. Great use out of old broken up concrete!

The back nine became somewhat monotonous. There are some boring holes there. # 9 is 410' to a open basket and # 11 uphill to an open basket both lacked any creativity.

The wind was blowing hard out in the open making the long, open holes more frustrating but also added to the difficulty.

Bogeynomore wrote about # 17 being a safety concern. I didn't really think about that when playing it. I think I was in some kind of "zombie like state" just trying to get through the course but as I think about 17, I feel he has a very valid concern.

No signs but I'm sure they're coming.

Earl Brewer certainly will test a player's resolve. You need a big arm to really battle here. Intermediates players and above will embrace the challenge of fighting the wind along with some very, long holes. There aren't that many courses where the top players can find a course that truly challenges them. This is one. I guess that's why they named this the Earl Brewer Championship Course.