Pros:
Serenity, interesting holes on front 9, varied hole designs
Cons:
Overall length, all but #1 in woods, so lack of variety. Undergrowth can be a problem on several holes.
Other Thoughts:
The course at New Hanover Presbyterian Church is a shortish woods course that does feature a few exemplary holes, if sub-300 foot well laid out holes in the forest are your thing. Only the first hole is open, the other 17 are fully in the woods. There are couple 300 foot plus (from the long tees) holes on the second nine, but overall this course stays firmly in the pitch and putt range. Most every hole, though, demands consideration on the tee and good control in your throws. Many holes, especially on the front nine, involve some change in elevation and all but #1 demand some touch, as they vary from gentle fades to hard turns in a couple cases. Interestingly, this course has an unusually high number of right turning holes.
New Hanover features two sets of natural tee pads (short and more typical), and the signs are excellent, showing the hole exactly. The signage is a big benefit as the basket is rarely visible from the tee, even though most of the holes are relatively short. The fairways are fully reasonable though, and as a touch course, New Hanover is occasionally exemplary, particularly on the first nine. Throw with precision and you can get a look at a birdie on most every hole here, but veer off course and you'll be punished. The landscape for the first nine holes is great for disc golf too, with holes playing down to a deeply cut streambed, and then back up to the field that starts the course. The second nine is a bit longer but is also mostly flat and a bit scruffy, and thus is less distinctive.
With its limited length, lack of landscape variety, and natural tee pads, New Hanover is not really worth a big road trip. But for local players (especially those of us whose strengths are touch rather than distance) it's still a worthy outing, and benefits from several perfect little woods holes that any course designer could learn from. New Hanover would be a good course for newbies and young people looking to learn the game; it's really short from the close tees and will teach you control quickly, but is attractive enough, and easy enough to follow, to not scare first timers away. It fits in well in the middle of the pack for Richmond area courses.
Favorite Hole - #6 - Short but challenging downhill shot, across a deep streambed, and then back up and around a bend to the basket.