-An 18-holer on a former ball course. Course includes high elevation tees's, some holes uphill climb, wide open fairways, a few wooded holes, tees coming out of the woods to the open, baskets placed in the woods, and a few water carries. Wind can be dominant.

-Good use of ball course sand bunkers which are marked with flags or whiskers for penalties. However, greens are in play since some baskets are placed on them.

-Talon is a bomber course with long distances coming with the mostly wide-open fairways, and elevation. You'll have your work cut out for you on the uphill holes. Course Designer indicated on a DGCR thread that course will be lengthen.

-Navigation is clockwise following the cart paths around the course. Only had to pull up UDisc a few times to check basket location in the woods.

-Tee signs are currently placards posted on the wooden tee blocks with hole number, distance, par, and OB rules if applied. The course is two tee's and a basket, except #3 a long basket. Just like the Wing course, tee's on the former ball course tee's are level and in good shape, and most carpeted.

-On the tee out of the bag used mid's and fairways in the woods, and drivers on the open holes.

-Beginners and Recreation you'll need distance or just enjoy the round. Intermediate and Advanced will be chomping for the open distance play.

-As a Disc Golf property Raptor's Roost ranks #1 on my courses played. On the property are a total of four courses 1-9-hole putter course The Woods, a beginners 18-holer Little Wing, and a second 18-hole course with full distance Wing. A disc driving range. A fully stocked pro shop with a large disc selection. Also, a grill that opens Thursday thru Sunday with a chef, other days snacks and beverages including adult with indoor seating.

-Raptors Roost is located on the Shenandoah Crossing Resort property and would be a family destination with several options for lodging including camping and RV hookups. A large variety of outdoor entertainment.

-There are several wide-open fairways elevated, and uphill making them not memorable because they can look alike. I would think very scenic in the foliage months but would take some visits to remember all holes.

-There are only a handful of holes with obstacles that will get your juices flowing if you're a mid-distance thrower or less, but if you're a long-distance thrower you're probably not going to care, and the majority of the course will have you jacked up.

-No hole maps at the tee, unless you have UDisc handy you may be doing some searching for baskets as you walk down fairway. I saw no indication of a long basket for #3 or I could have missed the information. The placards are small print, and if your somebody who leaves their glasses in the car like me, they may be hard to read.

-In the grass growing season, mowing could be difficult to keep up with like I've seen at other courses with large lengthy fairways. Wouldn't be surprised to find grass long between mowing sessions.

-Lost disc potential should be low, just a few holes with water or ditches. I pretty much was able to walk up to my disc and find it, including in the woods.

On Talon's elevated short tee's I enjoyed getting it out there the few times I was able too, I was mostly a sprinkler system off of the tee's, something I'm normally able to avoid. However, unlike the Wing course, Talon is going to take it back with several uphill throws. I still wasn't at full strength from an illness and had decided to stay on shorts but was regretting as I kept seeing that the majority of long tees were gap play from out of the woods, I love woods play! I'm going to have to come back and play longs when I know the lengthen of the course is complete, with full foliage, warm, and I've completed my form rehab. My biggest personnel con was not knowing about long basket #3, I mistakenly thought it was #4 basket as I walked down the fairway, I would have loved to have played it. It's possible it may have been on UDisc at the time I played it.

My overall rating is anchored for the DGCR long distance throwers who I think will love the course for the bomber throws set at a 5.0. The rest of us will have to enjoy whatever we can get out of the elevation, and woods play. I didn't favorite the course like I did Wing, but it's possible that could happen on a return visit? The time to play taking photos was 80 minutes.

Feature Holes:

No. 8 Par 3 at 374/305 feet elevated tee's straight away to a basket slightly less elevated. The basket sits on a ball course tee pad. In between is a winding cart path that is your fairway. Lining the cart path are towering trees with a width of about 30 feet in between. With full foliage very scenic but can be very difficult to steer too with any wind blowing at a distance of about 225/150 feet to the tree line, and elevation dropping on the tee throw.

No. 16 Par 3 at 397/308 feet elevated tee to a basket with a right center line, basket in the open with a few shrub trees surrounding it at C1 distance. About the halfway mark from basket is a creek area with trees reaching up about tee height level, so you need to make sure you get it up and over to clear, and the fairway starts to rise up. This would be another scenic hole in the foliage months. I was snagged by a tree at the creek.

No. 18 Par 3 at 335/328 feet elevated tees, short tee in the open, long closer to the tree line. Straight away to basket that sits on the left side of the ball green, about 10 feet from an OB bunker which protects the basket. Off the ball green to the left and behind is a drop into bushes and trees. The tee shot requires accuracy to get it close to the basket or suffer a skip, roller, too much distance, and to the left is into the brush. I like the look from the tee, and the hole was a personnel favorite on the course. At this point frustration from the tee box during my round, and what should have been a fairway driver, decided why not and threw my best driver of the round over the bunker and into the brush. I was looking straight up to the basket on my pitch, its steep back there.

Signature/Trouble Hole:

No. 3 Par 4 at 692 feet long tee is a straight down fairway starting at a gentle slope, then dropping just before the short basket at about the 400-foot mark, to a pond in the middle of the ball golf fairway, water's edge about 600 feet down. From the open tee you have a gap to get thru at about 200 feet down, and about 35 feet wide giving you a tunnel shot, and then opens back up just before the short tee halfway to basket. There's canopy during the foliage months. The long basket sits on waters edge 20 feet on the right side of pond, but a short water carry about 90 feet. The green rolls into the water kind of a half bowl shape, width is less than C1, and on the right side on top of bowl high grass and brush. Missed playing this one what a shame, from the short tees can't see short basket at 240 feet, and neither the long basket, I'll play it on my next visit.

A lot like the wing course. Old ball golf course turned into a disc golf course. It does have a par 5 and a few par 4s which isn't great for my not strong arm but is nice instead of just a bunch of par 3s. Mostly open but some baskets in the woods and at least one very short but tight downhill. A workout as it's a lot of hills.

Signs from one basket to the next tee would be helpful.

Benches please! An old man like me in the sun and heat made this course quite a workout and wearing down close to the end.