Pros:
Crooked Creek Crossing is an 18-hole course at Blair Mill Park, which offers a very unique beginner friendly layout. It's perfect for anyone who is trying to learn the game, or for someone who needs to practice their short game.
-For how short the course is, it has some pretty good variety. The course starts out with some forgiving wooded holes (#1-10), then transitions into some longer, tighter holes (#11-14), then the course finished with some wide open field holes (#15-18). You get a little bit of everything.
-The course terrain is pretty flat, however, I thought elevation was pretty solid. #8 & 18 play straight uphill, and #9 plays straight downhill. The elevation on #11-14 is less drastic, but still noticeable.
-The fairways are pretty clear, but some scattered trees here and there help present more of a challenge.
-#11 & 13 are two layouts that would fit in well with a more advanced par 3 course (like Reedy). Both layouts are very tight and technical, and require a good tee shot. Also, both are on the higher side for distance.
-Nice concrete tee pads. They're not that long, but they don't really need to be, so they get the job done. Their texture was awesome.
-Although tee maps are not needed, they provide a hole map, number, and distance. Pretty good for this type of course.
-There is a practice basket with lots of room for some practice putting, located just off to the right of the first tee.
-This is the perfect warm-up course for some of the more advanced courses in the area, like Scrapyard and Dry Creek.
-This is probably the best beginner friendly course in Charlotte. Kids can easily learn the game here, in addition to some fair challenges.
-Because Google Maps told me to park in the neighborhood parking lot, I started on #15. This ended up flowing nicely, and to my surprise, didn't cause me any issues.
-Great place for some legit ace runs. The holes are long enough that I would consider aces to be legit.
Cons:
-The Navigation here is tough. Obviously, the course is split into two parts by the creek, but some updated next tee signs would help.
-When transitioning from one side to the other, knowing where to transition was confusing. I ended up just walking down the sidewalk along the road, since I wasn't sure if or where an actual path was.
-The walk from #18's basket to the parking lot seems silly. There is all that extra space of wide open grass where another hole could be installed, maybe replacing #16.
-I played the day after a downpour, so I was expecting the course to be wet and a little muddy. But boy, this course is effected badly by standing water. The area around #6's basket was flooded, same for #18's tee. #11's fairway was soaked, and the open field holes were very muddy.
-Baskets are very old and need replacing. The yellow bands are falling apart, and some chains/cages are loose.
-Because the back nine is next to the neighborhood, a lot of little kids and non DGers will be lingering around. Possibility of play being held up is likely.
Other Thoughts:
All in all, Crooked Creek Crossing is a pretty good course. I think because of its incredibly varied layout, it deserves an extra .5 rating that what most say. The concept of beginner friendly was executed to perfection, and it is nice to have this course in an ideal location. A great learning course for newbies, and a great practice area for advanced players!