Cons:
No teepads, brutal rough on a few holes
Other Thoughts:
The Kiwanis DGC at Montgomery Hall is about half classic park course, meaning it features well maintained and mostly open fairways, with enough shrubbery and trees to at least make you think, about one quarter classic Virginia woods course, and about one quarter ragged, high risk woods course, with thick undergrowth, watery bogs, and otherwise daunting tee shots. And finally, Montgomery Hall is very long, with par from the white tees (red tees play shorter) perhaps 66 or even higher. All 18 holes have both white and red tees, but unfortunately they are natural, and eight of the 18 holes also have dual pins. So the course doesn't have to be so long, but certainly is if you play white tees to long baskets.
The course starts off well; grab a map from the box near the tee, and let it fly through a tight spot of two cedar trees before an open and well mown field beyond. Get out into the field and you see one regular basket giving you a standard par 3 challenge, and beyond an orange basket back inside the treeline and adding 300 feet to the hole. So right away you get both sides of the course, if you play the long version of the hole; open park land, and tight mountain woods. Overall, the demands of the course are reasonable, with no fairways too tight, and really no hard curves or doglegs - so some players may even consider the course a little too straightforward. And on the more open holes it's mostly grip and rip, but with some slope or trees in play and thus in mind. Interesting basket placements also put some extra emphasis on your short game, for some holes. The long version of #11, for instance, puts the basket just over the lip of a very steep fall-off, with absolutely no room for error. The only concern is there are just a few holes where veering off the fairway is dangerous, with very thick undergrowth easily capable of snatching your disc. In addition, when I was last there in late spring 2009, two holes were made much harder due to the presence of basically an extraordinarily large mud puddle, and another nearby hole was cut across by a soccer field under construction. These cons may not be present in drier seasons, especially once the construction is done and the drainage is improved.
Those three or four holes in the thick woods and/or negatively affected by the construction aside, Montgomery Hall is a nice, flexible course that can be tailored to both your skill level and preference. Beginners can play red tee to silver basket, those who don't like the woods can mitigate that factor to some degree by not playing to the orange baskets, and everyone else can play a long course that requires both distance and control.
I've often wished that the many nice parks throughout the state also featured disc golf, and I've often wished that the many fine disc golf courses throughout the state were just a bit longer - Montgomery Hall succeeds on both counts. I hope that Montgomery Hall represents an evolution in Virginia disc golf, from the older short courses set in unused woods far from the main area of otherwise nice parks to long, well cared for courses playing in and around the main part of parks without interfering. Because there is plenty of space in the state for more fine courses like Montgomery Hall.
Favorite Hole - #17 - Slight downhill shot through a grove of large oaks and maples.