Pros:
- clean course
- dual concrete tees per hole, (one circular!)
- new pro grade baskets, brightly colored
- wood chip lined fairways
- benches
- trash cans
- easy to follow layout
- elevation variations
- fun layout with some ace runs sprinkled in.
Cons:
- single pin locations
- all course signage is temporary, no distances or fairway orientations displayed yet
- overly used blind pin placements
- unimaginative long filler holes at the start and end
- vanilla fairway layouts, bare, repetitive
- not a lot of risk vs reward
Other Thoughts:
Blackwater features a mostly wooded layout with a few open bomber holes at the beginning and end of the course. Each hole has a pair of freshly poured concrete tee pads, benches, trash cans, single pin locations, and open freshly mulched fairways. The baskets are brand-new baby blue Prodigy T-3s. The rough is punitive, but not overly so. Players may not be able to scramble as well as they'd like, but they probably won't lose more than a stroke getting back into good fairway position.
I enjoyed the subtle variations of inclining and declining fairways throughout the course, especially hole 3 from the long tees. As a whole, Blackwater still lacks some amenities like permanent tee signs with distances and numbered baskets, which is to be expected as it's brand new. I fully expect these will come with time. The parking lot is large enough to accommodate a tournament crowd, no bathrooms. The nearest bathrooms are probably a 1/4 mile away at the community skate park.
I walked away from this course conflicted. Blackwater was mostly fun to throw, but there are some glaring design flaws that made the holes feel repetitive and bland. The beginning and end of the course were quite literally long identical filler holes, which really bogs down the overall course experience. Another theme overly used was blind pin placements, even from the short tees. It's a course aspect that I dislike from a safety standpoint, but I also believe it short changes players if overly used. Lastly, a majority of the layout was too RHBH favorable. Don't get me wrong, I love a course tailored to my strengths, but Blackwater went a little overboard.
Believe it or not, I actually enjoyed parts of the course. I think it's a course that a lot of local players will enjoy, though it's repetitive at times and not overly challenging. Disc golf is really taking hold in our area and this course is proof that the demand is there.