Pros:
-Great tee signs
-Great tee boxes
-Well cared for by P&R
-Easy to navigate
-Short tees present a sane challenge
-Long tees would be a significant challenge
Cons:
-Only one open chance to crank a long drive on short tees
-Lake has been drained for a bunch of dam work. Making course more forgiving.
Other Thoughts:
I played this course on day 2 of the Aiken County Open. We were assigned to the amateur tees and I am thankful. The pro tees would have been a HUGE challenge.
I am struggling with where to rate this course. It has everything you really need, but I was not left with a "Wow" moment other than the long tees appearing to be quite difficult. It may have been because the water was drained when I played making everything look more dismal.
I loved how natural terrain was used without feeling the need to put in a bunch of mandos or OB lines. Maybe I was just tired when I played and that lowered the impression. Also, the driving range that was referenced in previous reviews is no longer there. It is replaced by huge piles of rock and dirt. I bet if those driving ranges had been there without signs of construction, the aesthetics would have been much more pleasing.
I rank all the courses I have played against each other and I assign ratings based on a normal distribution (bell curve). For now, this course gets a 3.5, but I definitely think it can go no where but up from that rating. I plan to play in this tourney again next year, so i will see how it looks with the water back in place. i am sure the rating will go up a little then.
3/29/21 Update:
Out of the 68 courses I have reviewed, this is where this course ranks along with similarly rated courses:
Rank-Course, Location
16-Woodruff Leisure Center DGC, Woodruff, SC
17-Shaver Recreation Center Original, Seneca, SC
18-Foothills DGC, Easley, SC
19-Langley Pond DGC, Burnettown, SC
20-Century Park DGC, Greer, SC
21-Pipeline DGC, Spartanburg, SC
22-Zube Park DGC, Hockley, TX
23-Duncan Lake - East, Duncan, OK
24-Lindsey Park - Red Course, Tyler, TX
25-Veteran's Park, Arlington, TX