Pros:
-There are three different possible layouts available at Redeemer and over 20 different holes with different pin locations for each layout. The yellow course is the least difficult and offers many ace opportunities with some fast greens. The white course is longer; all par threes with many mean uphill par threes under 250' that you'll be throwing drivers on. The blue course is the longest, and probably the toughest of all available layouts with serious twists and long uphill shots near drop-offs or OB stakes. For a seemingly shorter course, it's very tough with some unpredictable outcomes for rollers. Being on a church property, the designer seemed to really debunk the prosperity gospel with the challenge and uncertainties from missing a putt. Adversity doesn't go away after becoming a Christian. Redeemer is a prosperity preacher's (or to put it bluntly, a con man's) worst nightmare in the form of a disc golf course.
-Each layout has its own tee sign and each basket on that layout has its own color basket to throw to. All disc catcher baskets. Nice custom-made tee signs pinned on markers with white, yellow, and blue paint. Nice mix of brick tee pads and concrete tees. The brick tees were a little longer and were for the whites and blues typically.
-Lots of elevation changes. Several steep uphills. I enjoyed the three-hole combo #8-10 on the yellow layout (#5-7 white). All are big uphills over 40' that feel a lot higher up since the hills are so steep and gradual. The first one of these three has you teeing off facing the pro shop. The yellow pin is a fun 180' uphill pull that plays roughly 270' at the tip of the surface where the shop is. The white pin is literally just a few feet from the shop, playing just a little bit longer and up on a flat surface near a painted OB line. The blue is over 50' up in elevation and past the shop perched on a second hill above the flat surface. A very rough 250'. Think this one is tough, wait until you see the next two.
#6 white &blue/#9 yellow has you teeing off right beside the pro shop INSIDE of a closed off portion of the parking lot up an even bigger hill with some stairs. Yellow pin is over 40' up and is another one of those sub 200' footers that you'd be struggling to get a mid-range up to. White pin is up 52' in elevation and directly behind a retention tree. This hole plays as an island for the blue layout and you have to at least be past the stairs to be in bounds. The blue pin as further on the left side where the OB line takes off to. You are throwing high up a hill and praying you don't fade left OB left back down it. Basket is less than 20' away from the OB line.
Just when you think the uphills don't get any harder, oh boy you are mistaken! I got a triple bogey on this next one in the white pin. Immediate uphill, tight gap in the woods that breaks off right onto the side of the hill. The gap is all the way up the hill and not particularly inviting. I was putting for bogey and missed and rolled far down the hill. A birdie on this one seems very seldom. 227' to the white pin and it's 227' of pain, but a very unique and memorable hole for sure! The yellow pin is a little less brutal, but is still a prospect for the hardest hole on the yellow course just due to the gap being tight and so high up in an instant.
-The yellow and blue course have some sweet downhill carries. #2 blue is a super fun tee shot on top of a large hill on a deck with a panoramic top view of the fairway which you can't see from the short pad. #15 yellow/#16 blue is a gorgeous big downhill out into the open from a wooded edge. You'll be throwing many putters off of the tee here because it's such a fun hole. The downhill ace run on #6 on the yellow was a ton of fun to throw some putters on to the bridge green in the woods. Very cool look as well!
-The white and blue course offers a wooded portion with some interesting designed fairways and some remarkable elevation change. The yellow course is your best bet to score under par on, as there are many ace runs that are open and rewarding if you land in the right spot and don't get too aggressive.
-Some very fun greens with cool props to them. The bridge green on #6 is a neat one. Really cool look without too much rollaway potential. The island "shell like" green on #1 blue was spectacular with the wood edges! The island green on #3 blue & white and #4 yellow is a very nice and fair addition elevated on the turf platform. The hanging basket on #18 is a fun putt to finish on under the wooded arch.
-There is a pro shop right next to the parking lot with discs of different brands. The shelves were fully stocked, so there was a ton of inventory. Probably thousands of discs to choose from. I'd say maybe even more than Infinity's End! It was open when I pulled in but closed when I left. I'm not sure about the hours of operation, but there was one guy working there, I reckon that it was Steve.
Cons:
-I played the whites and some of the yellows on the front nine. The white layout doesn't have any big downhill holes. Just a ton of big uphill shots. The biggest downhill you'll see on the whites is #14. Not even 20' down in elevation. The yellows have a better mix of uphill and downhill. #15 on the yellow was a ton of fun. Major downhill off a cliff on the edge of the woods down a wide luscious green ridge. You don't get to play this tee for the white or blue pad when this is arguably the signature hole.
-Not fond of the mando on #2 white & blue at all. Especially for the blue pin. There's a mando pointing left and immediately past it the green curls REALLY sharp to the right within a few feet. You have to really swerve on this upshot or be left with a long C2 putt.
-Some blind OBs from the tee. As much as I love the green itself on #1 blue (it's AMAZING with the wooded structures edged by it), the outside of it is OB and this is a 430+ par three. End up about 50' short and left with what you'd expect to be a C2 putt will leave you unnecessarily penalized just because you threw 380'. Is that supposed to be bad? The rollaway on #7 yellow/#4 white & blue is clever and I love the view behind the pin too! However, you can barely see the basket let alone from 175' and the drop off is a LONG way down if you go long. You sail, and you might lose a disc just because you didn't see it land from the tee. Lots of OB tiny rock piles on #11 yellow/#8 white & blue that are pretty persistent throughout the fairway. Just triggering if you ask me. The chances of going OB on this one are higher than they appear.
-There's a chance of hitting the building on #5 blue. This is also #5 white and #8 yellow like I mentioned. I love this hole and the building is a ways away from the yellow pin and you don't throw past it to the white. On the other hand if you play the blues and you release early, you better pray God will redeem you from hitting the shop. I griplocked a driver and threw it straight over the shop because I released it too early. It landed in the OB plant protected area behind the shop.
-Not sure how to reach #11 blue. Major uphill and a legitimate dogleg far to the right side. The curve is so sharp that I can't see anyone being able to hit the green without getting lucky somehow. I thought #6 short to long at Orange Crush was on the verge of unapproachable and #11 blue I'd say is slightly harder.
Other Thoughts:
-Short courses don't get any more exciting and interesting than the yellow course. I had a blast playing those short holes and I feel that literally anyone would have a lot of fun on that layout. The holes are mostly short and open with steep fairway slopes, treacherous greens, and immediate elevation changes that give it more spice than you'd probably expect. The white layout was good too, I just would've preferred a better balance of uphill and downhill. I loved all of the big uphill holes here but when there are no big downhills, you can sense the difference and how something is missing.
-The uncertainty was wild on the white layout. Some holes are clearly easier than others and some have less hazards or harbingers to look out for. #14 was a gentle downhill hyzer tucked in the woods.
More onto the whites: The first hole is a longer par three but wide open with no OB near the white or yellow pin. You can throw a driver about 350' and be confident that you are left with a possible two or easy par. #3 being a short island hole, you have your first real make or break. #4 has you teeing off under a pavilion and throwing over a bush around a white picket fence to a massive hillside green. You have your work cut out for you on the next three uphill holes with what is a dangerous green by the building, a big uphill mash to a rollaway green, and a wooded monster to an even more grueling green. You don't really get a break until you reach #10. #9 is a beautiful hillside pro par three. Roughly 400' on a luscious breaking mountainside. Another long pro par three with some serious rollaway risk.
-The wooded holes were nice accuracy testers. There was a mando on #13 that made for a testy ace run. #15 was a very cool little hole from the white. A little more straightforward. Holes #11-16 white were all nice holes to catch a break from the death putts. #11 was a major uphill, similar to #7 but shorter with less of a turn. Was a lot more rewarding since there was no drop off.
-You are in for a beat down on the blues. The make or break holes are your main hope. You want to make the island green on #3 and you want to get the birdies on the shorter par fours (#9, #17) since they are a little more roomy and under 500'. You don't want to get too greedy either. A birdie on #2 would be a rare one. This hole is brutal. It's 540' and down a large hill, but the mando to the green is over 400' ahead and a ways away to the right side. You have a fairway twisting left lined with several rows of trees and a low corridor to hit while gliding downhill. The mando tree on the right side pointing you left makes for an approach that is just as difficult. This is a "cane shaped" par four and a par would be an excellent score here.
-I love Redeemer and I love its perks and its structures. Steve did an outstanding job creating such a unique three course design with their own sets of challenges and some individually designed holes. Reminds me of Clay in Clay, AL and North Cove in Marion, NC. Lots of hazards and lots of different inventions that'll make you reconsider your gut instinct. I score terribly and I think I would've played better if I considered the other options but then again, I still had some bad breaks that weren't entirely forseeable.
-Redeemer gives a reality check that Osteen, Copeland, and Duplantis don't ever want you to think about or consider. You never know what's on the other side beforehand whenever we make life decisions. Life has its challenges. You probably won't make six figures fresh out of college just because you were in that academic club relating to your major and did an internship. Your first career might not even work out, but not because you didn't try hard enough. You might not gain one million subscribers on youtube even after taking the greatest marketing strategies to promote your channel. You might not be that CEO that retires on a private island with cherry waterfalls and floating islands even when you run your business well. Just like you might not shoot hot at Redeemer even if you hit every fairway because you could catch a roller or land OB in a spot you don't see from the tee.
-But if you do score well here, that's for sure a hot round well earned!