Pros:
- A lot of fun, challenging holes.
- Not a specifically forhand or backhand heavy course. Its well rounded in terms of shot selection.
- Even the short holes, while good birdy ops, were challenging and you had to play them right.
- For the most part a very good balancing of risk and reward.
- I found myself loving the course design most of the time. Most of the holes are very well layed out and use the land extremely well.
- Good, but not overly punishing, use of water.
- Huge picnic area with a practice basket and port-a-johns make the area great for a day trip.
Cons:
- No holes where you can just let loose and throw hard.
- Teepads were rubber mats, which became very slick with any amount of sand / dirt on them, and some were missing.
- Signage was incomplete and, when present, somewhat vague.
- Several holes I absolutely hated. These holes (mainly 1, 14, 15, and 17) seemed like they lacked an actual fairway. They were cluttered with trees with no particular flow, design, or art to where they were placed, which is one of my biggest pet peeves. When a designer does this, players then find themselves just hoping their throw doesn't hit a tree, rather than thinking their way through a hole and choosing a shot strategically.
- The course, while dry when I played, seemed like it could get very swampy.
- If you have bug spray (like I did) the bugs aren't an issue, but if you forget it, they are thick.
Other Thoughts:
This is a course with great potential. Its in a very pretty location that is a decent drive from a population center, so it isn't very crowded. It is very well layed out and fun to play. With the addition of some better (or even complete signs) and the thoughtful removal of some trees on select fairways, this course could easily be a four star course. If you are in the area or within an hour or two and wanting a new course to play I would definitely suggest a round at Goldenrod.