Pros:
- four (yes, FOUR!) tees per hole complement every skill level
- some very cool incorporation of limited elevation change
- navigation is very straightforward
- high quality tee signs with maps showing 3 main tees
- Innova DISCatcher baskets in good shape
- port o potty near hole 5, some benches/garbage cans
- parking available even if you aren't staying at campground
- well maintained and picturesque course
- incorporates multiple pond hazards with high risk water carries
- generally devoid of major safety hazards
- very accommodating owners will allow you to leave payment and play outside of office hours
- varied terrain with some more wooded holes and some more open shots
- variety of hole lengths
- brooms at every hole for tee cleaning
- nice built in stairs on hole 6
- some of the alternate tees add different lines and make water carries longer and/or avoidable, giving some different flavor
Cons:
- orange junior tees not documented on tee signs
- no pars listed on tee sign/documented for course
- only one tee sign per hole to cover the 3 main tees
- rubber tees leave a bit to be desired
- some backtracking to main walking path where elevation change is designed in
- hole 19 ends quite a distance from hole 1 and requires walking around the large pond or through the campground
Other Thoughts:
Dreamaker is a pretty darn cool course and you're only decent option if you're heading up towards Bruce Peninsula. I played the white tees which are a good level of challenge for those 900-950 rated players. I was going to be arriving at first light but the owners graciously allowed me to leave payment in their mailbox and start before office hours - it should be noted this is a pay to play course and is $10 CAD if you aren't staying at the campground. Unless the fee is exhorbitant, it doesn't really make sense to me to list this as a pro or a con; it's a private course and goes towards upkeep, which seems good here.
I'd probably say this course is close to a 3.75. There are some really cool water shots, and some good incorporation in a few spots of neat elevation change, including both uphill and downhill throws. Overall, the course follows the "Beaver Trail" and this does lead to some repetitive feeling on some of the holes, but over the span of all 19 holes, there is a lot of variety in hole length, open vs. wooded shots, elevation change, water hazards, etc.
While there could be safety hazards if this trail was heavily trafficked, I don't think that is typically an issue. Early on Thursday morning when I was playing I think I saw one other human - perhaps not the best indicator of weekend load, but I think it should be pretty light. Navigation is almost always clear due to the walking trail, although when you hike up off the trail to play the fairways for uphill or downhill shots, you do have to backtrack sometimes.
The equipment here is pretty nice, with solid baskets and nice tee signs, though having a sign per tee instead of 1 per hole might be nice. Sometimes the alternate tees are just adding a bit of distance and so this would be overkill, but some, particularly near water hazards, have different lines and would benefit from some more signage. The rubber tees are, well, rubber. In wet conditions these would be unfavorable. Concrete tees would be an awesome upgrade, but the rest of the infrastructure here is nice and the current tees are serviceable.
There are brooms to clean off tees and at least one port o potty on the course. My biggest con here is probably just where the course ends - you either end up walking through the campground that you may not be staying at, or all the way around the huge pond back to the beginning. It would be nice if you didn't have to complete the loop off the course like this.
After an optional water carry on hole 1, depending on tee, the course got interesting again on hole 5, where you have to throw a hard dogleg right then go up a pretty steep elevation to the basket.
Holes 6 and 7 were probably the highlights here for me. Hole 6 throws from elevation down over the pond/wetland area to a small green surrounded by OB areas. Hole 7 then throws over the largest pond in this wetland area at a risky distance many players will just be able to clear. There's a great view from hole 6 and this is a cool part of the course that opens up from the woods a bit but replaces trees with water.
From hole 11 onwards, the course moves into heavier woods a bit more. A few of the tee signs at the end are missing, but otherwise everything was in good shape. Hole 12's white tee shot is deceiving; while it is mostly lightly downhill, there is a small bump about 50 feet in front of you that caught my shots no matter what I tried to do. The one place I felt a next tee sign was needed was between holes 15 and 16 - since you are more in the woods at this point instead of a defined trail, it wasn't as clear.
Overall, this was a really fun round. I capped it off by putting my car in drive while multitasking and getting ready to leave, then stepping out of the car to get something out of the backseat and almost watching the car roll away without me. It might not have been a "dream" of a round at that point, but I certainly would have remembered my time here!
This course is a bit off the beaten path unless you're headed up to Bruce Peninsula but is well worth the trip. I opted against camping here as the fee was fairly steep, which seems to be a theme in Canada. If you are taking a similar route to me, there is a park in Exeter, ON where you can park overnight for $5 CAD which was more what I was looking for. This one is definitely worth a round, and there is a course fairly close by in Hanover if you are looking for more.