Pros:
- nice DISCatcher baskets with white rings and numbers on baskets
- great amenities at Lemon Lake including pro shop, bathrooms, food, garbage cans, benches, etc.
- new concrete tees going in all over
- great use of next tee signs made navigation pretty straightforward
- nice mix of open shots and tighter fairways, though not as wooded as Blue or Gold/Silver
- area is mostly isolated for disc golf except for cross country weekends
Cons:
- some very long walks between a few holes
- rough on second half of course is incredibly thorny and punishing if you stray from the fairway
- temporary tee signs have no maps
- feels more disjointed than the other Lemon Lake courses
- longer walks to start courses than other courses, which start very close to pro shop
Other Thoughts:
I played the White course last and in 2 parts, as I had to go to a class at the pro shop, so I was admittedly pretty tired when I played it. Overall, it's a decent course with a lot of challenge, but it felt very disjointed to me vs. the other Lemon Lake courses. It might be a bit better than some 3s, but I couldn't go higher than that based on some of the issues.
The course seems to flip between long and short holes several times. Much of the first half is very short, while the latter half is less open with tighter fairways, some wooded areas, and a lot more length and challenge. The course is at 20 holes now, and has some incredibly long walks between 11 in 12 in particular, and also between 1 and 2. There was also one basket i could not figure out the purpose of for the life of me; it was white with no number, and may have been another practice basket, but it was right in the middle of the line for hole 2, which was really strange.
Like the other courses, White is being updated with concrete tees going in everywhere and new tee signs being planned for. It is generally well maintained and while kind of disjointed, was still quite navigable with the good next tee signs all the courses here have. It was fun to play but the second half really is punishing if you leave the fairway. The rough is about as analogous to "thicket" as I've ever seen, with lots of thorns. Since I was tired, it didn't help my opinion here, but my legs got extremely torn up hunting for a few different discs, though I somehow found them all. White takes you further from the rest of the park than anywhere else on the disc golf courses.
I think with a little better flow and thinning out some of the rough undergrowth this could be a really nice course. The first half is quite easy, and the second half is pretty difficult. A little better mix might be nice here, but there's nothing wrong with it. Most of this course is probably the flattest at Lemon Lake (I have not played Red), but the last quarter of the course has a little more elevation in play. My biggest complaint here was probably hole 19, which is 450 and seems completely unrealistic except for the most advanced players. The length itself is not unreasonable, but it's in a tightly wooded fairway and makes a huge juke to the right about halfway through. You'd have to really make an incredible shot to have any hope of navigating this path in a single drive.
Overall, between Blue, Gold/Silver, and White, I probably enjoyed White the least. I think it may actually be a better course in some ways than Blue, but the strange flow and lack of many unique features made me feel like Blue was a bit more fun. Gold/Silver is unquestionably the "gold" standard here either way. If you're at Lemon Lake, I'd definitely play White, which might have challenged me even more than Silver. I just might not save it for last.