Pros:
- good elevation change with incorporation of rolling hills
- pond incorporated for water hazard on 2 holes
- good out and back design hugs hillsides for some wooded shots
- practice basket shared with Big Brother
- great amenities: bathrooms onsite, port o potties on course, snacks for purchase, garbage cans
- variety of hole lengths
- variety of shot types with mix of open and wooded holes
- new baskets coming soon
- older but large concrete tees
- well maintained and picturesque course
- rough is very manageable
- last few holes add significant technical challenge with steep dropoffs
- good layout and great navigation/flow
- camping onsite
Cons:
- baskets are about 25 years old and are showing their age
- wind is a significant factor, particularly on first few holes
- tee signs are just ok with small maps
- can feel a little repetitive
Other Thoughts:
Justin Trails Classic is a respectable course, though not in the same league as Big Brother. The owners said they have ordered new baskets, so their 25+ year old baskets will likely be upgraded very soon which will be a nice facelift for this course. The tee signs, like Big Brother, are a little underwhelming for a location of this caliber, but they are serviceable, and the concrete tees are large and functional, though a bit weathered.
Classic has respectable elevation change that would probably impress on most courses, it just happens to pale in comparison to its Big Brother. You don't tend to traverse the epic up and down hills, but there are plenty of uphill or downhill shots. The first several holes are very open and prone to the wind having its way before moving into some more sheltered trees. At the farthest point there are a few shots around a pond where Classic and Big Brother come within spitting distance of each other. After that, you head back towards the start. The last few holes were some of my favorites, playing up higher on the hill with large dropoffs to your right.
Hole 17 was a cool throw over a little uphill rise, then down over a small ravine. I always find these "downhill but with an uphill obstacle in the way first" shots challenging to choose a strategy on. Hole 18 may have been even better, with another slight rise followed by a downhill shot onto the hillside. This one was absolutely brutal to park with rolls off the basket area down the hill being hard to avoid. The built in stairs on hole 18 were nice and something I'd like to see a bit more of on these courses where there are really steep grades.
Overall, the mix of hole types here is still respectable and in some ways this course plays closer to a 4. However, it isn't the same caliber and level of unique play as Big Brother. If you can't handle long walking distances, Classic is the course to play at about 1.5 miles of walking vs. 3.5 miles for Big Brother. Ideally, anyone making the trip all the way out to Sparta should play both. While Big Brother took me about 2 hours, Classic was more in the 1:15 range (both solo). Classic will not wear you out nearly to the level Big Brother will.
One thing that impressed me here was that Classic and Big Brother get close to each other at a few points, but don't interfere with each other. You can almost see the whole layout of Classic playing out in front of you as its a very linear out and back traversal; it's very logical and was well thought out to avoid the property's lower lying farmland but still work cool holes into the trees and hillside.
The owners of the property are delightful and seem to really care about these courses and their maintenance. There are snacks for sale as well as some discs and shirts. Justin Trails is well worth a visit; maybe not for Classic alone, but with 2 excellent courses here, it's a great place to spend part of a day.