Pros:
Great course in a nice park offering several other activities (check their website for details).
•Variety: Welcomes you with several semi-open to lightly wooded, fairly flat holes employing well-placed stands of trees. The initial holes don't necessarily call for oodles of control, but still force you to shape a reasonable line if you hope to putt for par or better. The course then heads into the woods where trees and rolling terrain make things more interesting. A great mix of fairway shapes encourages BH/FH, hyzers/annies, and S-shots. Most tees present a few possible lines to challenge your decision making, but a few pretty much give you only one, defying you to pull it off. Does a decent job of offering a nice variety of lengths within each tee color (rather than forcing you to mix tees up to get a reasonably full range of distances). Throw in some nice elevation changes and a few rollaway greens along the way, and you have a fairly complete course that pretty much gives you a chance to use every shot in your arsenal and challenges all aspects of your game. Rotating A, B, C pin positions provide additional variety for locals.
• Equipment: Red, white and blue concrete tees were in good shape with ample footing. While the blues typically didn't change the line from the red and white tees appreciably, what they do exceptionally well is provide a much smaller window off the tee, requiring both power and finesse - playing in the woods from the blues is where you'll want those oodles of control. Innova baskets were easy to spot and in good shape. Tee signs were simple, informative, assisted in navigation. Scorecard/maps are available.
• Aesthetics: Visually appealing course that takes you through green fields, woods, moderately hilly terrain and offers a couple of lake views, making for a pleasant experience with nature... if you can stay off of the trees.
• Memorable holes: Starts off with the longest hole on the course where you can really let loose right off the bat. Sig Hole 21 plays over/around a large wetland bowl that will make you think twice. There were some other interesting holes, and although I can't recall their numbers, Sandy Creek keeps you engaged the entire round. Fun to play and challenging at the same time.
• Routing/navigation, I had a guide and was enjoying their company more so than paying attention to where the next tee was. The course takes you to several different sections of the park, and you'll have to cross the park road a few times to get from one section to another. While I don't recall any walks that seemed counter intuitive or unusually long, I can see how the uninitiated might not know where to proceed at these crossings. Follow the map, look for the signs... you should be OK.
Cons:
Hole 10 plays near the tennis court and close to a park road. While I wouldn't say it's a glaring design flaw or major concern, unlike pedestrian traffic (likely to pass safely out of the way in 30 seconds or so), tennis players are right where they're supposed to be, aren't going anywhere, and probably aren't listening for people yelling "FORE!" Caution and common sense should avoid any issues, but I have to question routing a hole that can bring such an obstacle into play. Other than that, most holes play well away from non-DG traffic.
•Tee signs don't indicate the current pin position - be prepared to walk a few fairways.
• I spotted quite a few hairy Poison Ivy vines - beware.
• Hole 8 has been removed and the subsequent holes haven't been renumbered.
• Tons of leaves in the woods during fall/winter can make finding even good shots time-consuming: stock your bag accordingly if possible. Listed more as a warning than a con.
Other Thoughts:
Sandy Creek is a great course, a fun round and offers something for everyone - worthy of consideration if you're visiting the area.
The wooded holes all come one after another toward the end of the round (in a somewhat unrelenting fashion), before finally concluding with an open hole, rather than being interspersed with more open holes. If that seems a bit overwhelming (or monotonous), you can easily park near holes 14, 19, or 21 and start with a few holes in the woods, saving the more open holes (1-9) for the middle of your round, then finishing up back in the woods... the order you read the chapters in can make big difference. I like courses that make it easy to start at several different points - also nice for leagues, tournies or heavy casual traffic.
I can't complain about the $3 fee ($2 to enter + $1 for DG) as the course seems well maintained.
Some claim the course is too tight/too difficult. I'm an 850'ish rated player. I played the blues and got shredded; but the blues are supposed to be challenging for Advanced players - I was in over my head. The red, white and blue tees were quite well suited to Rec, Int, and Adv skill levels. If you choose to spar with heavyweights, don't complain if you get KO'd... jump over to white or red on holes that look more intimidating to you if that's what makes the round more enjoyable.
Sandy Creek may be more difficult than some courses, but all the tees give you a fair target and I saw nothing that seemed to draw upon luck more than skill. That said, I'm sure recovering from bad shots is a lot tougher in spring and summer - to be expected on any well wooded course.
I hemmed and hawed between 3.5 and 4, but liked the variety and elevation enough to say it's closer to excellent than very good.