Pros:
*Review is from the longs*
*Getting to hole 1 might be tricky, go towards the practice basket and then up the hill towards 18's basket. Hang a right when 18's basket is on your left, go up the hill and you'll see a next tee sign pointing to your left. Tees are a few paces into the woods*
-Two sets of tees, for me, this is the biggest pro
-Big pads, tee signs, scorecards, next tee signs
-Intelligent design, good mix of up-down and left-right
-Discernible fairways, punishing rough
-First course in Hall county!
-Course flows fairly well, no really long walks between holes
-Disc golf did not interfere with the canopy tours and vice versa, this was nice to see!
-Chicken barn hole was really unique and a nice idea, not gimmicky at all
Cons:
-Still rough around the edges, fairways through the woods are typically dirt from the dozers...this will become muddy when it rains
-Pay to play: in a community where most courses are free, pay to play feels like a con although its def worth it!
-9 holes doesn't take you back to the beginning parking lot, although they do propose playing 1-6 then 15-18 for a 10 hole round
-I would've liked to see the short tees play even shorter or easier. I would classify these as intermediate/rec tees that are not suitable for beginners.
Other Thoughts:
Brand new course in Lula, GA which is run by the North Georgia Canopy Tours. Go to the command center to sign the waiver and pay the $5, they will then supply you with a nice scorecard with par/distances from the longs. The manager took time to show me where hole 1 was, as it wasn't too clear from the scorecard, and was happy to see people playing the course. On the second day open, there were two other groups playing (twosome, and a group of six) and the waiver form indicated that about 10-12 had played Saturday and Sunday morning...so this course has already seen some action!
Seeing as this is the first review, I'm going to delve into my hole by analysis to guide anyone looking to get out here before pics are available. I'll try and get a sufficient amount of pics up soon.
Please keep in mind this is from the longs-
Hole 1: 300 par 3 tight downhill shot, keep it in the middle and the birdie is there for the taking
Hole 2: 280 par 3 undulating fairway with some trees guarding the straight on shot, another birdie opportunity if you hit your line
Hole 3: 320 par 3 another tight downhill (I mean downnnnnhill) shot with a narrow gap to hit
Hole 4: 365 par 3 flat slight right shot with a creek left and tight woods to your right, fairway is clear of any trees and grassy
Hole 5: 554 par 4 tee shot is up by the pond, slightly elevated. The fairway will tunnel as you get closer to the pin, and I assume the flags out there indicate OB..could be wrong though.
Hole 6: 810 par 5 You'll look at how open this hole is and think you've got a lot of room to work with, but really your first two shots will set up your approach to the green. If you manage to place your second or third shot in front of the fairway then you'll be approaching straight up hill to a well protected pin. Miss the gap and you'll be using a stroke to get in position for your upshot-thus the par 5 IMO
Skip to 15 to play 10 holes
Hole 7: 340 par 3 another undulating semi-tight fairway that rewards an accurate drive
Hole 8: 215 extremely tight downhill shot through the woods
Hole 9: 350 par 3 downhill at first then shoots up to an open green, drives are well guarded by a group of trees
Hole 10: 400 par 3 sweet, open grassy drive with wind coming into play on this shot. The pin is tucked away near some shrubs
Hole 11: 475 par 4 is a tough hole. Drive is left to right for lefty hyzers, RHBH anhyzers, or sidearms. Your second shot is again a tough one if you're hoping for the birdie...tight approach leading up to a well protected pin
Hole 12: 364 par 3 the chicken barn hole! Absolutely unique hole, you have to keep it low but manage to stretch it out above 300 for a chance at the bird (pun intended). Surprisingly wind is a factor!
Hole 13: 350 par 3 kind of feels like hole 10 with the grassy downhill fairway, errant drives are punished but keep it in the middle and you'll be fine
Hole 14: 318 par 3 is a tight downhill right to left shot in which you'll need to be accurate, the rough is punishing here
Hole 15: 525 par 4 this hole plays in front of a creek which will only come into play if you can't hit the fair gap. The hole plays open and slightly left to right, with the pin tucked up on a hill
Hole 16: 220 hole 3 is a straight uphill shot with woods left and right
Hole 17: 450 par 4 is a tight wooded downhill shot that moves right to left with a well protected pin tucked away in the woods. One of the common landing zones here is punished by wall of dense thin trees, which you'll have to shoot over to set up your birdie attempt. So, if you "go for it" you'll end up being punished from the natural fade that occurs when you throw downhill.
Hole 18: 400 par 4 you'll have to hit a wooded gap well up the fairway that continues uphill to an open green. Tough way to finish a round!
Overall, I was really impressed with the course. It is worth a drive to play. It is playable enough to reward good play and punish errant throws. Replay value here is pretty high, especially with two sets of tees. Tee pads are quite large, and with some downhill or uphill shots the tees were made out of raised wood platforms. Like I mentioned before, two sets of tees are great, but the short tees are just shorter versions of the same shot that you'd make from the longs. Considering this might be the course that some people play for the first time, the short tees aren't forgiving enough to reward recreational players. I would've like to see it shortened a little more, and possibly even change the angle in which they drive and play the hole.
*Edit: now that the course has seen dubs and a c-tier its in fantastic shape and is a solid 4 stars. ADGO's forums say that they plan on adding another course? A must play!*