Pros:
This review is based on the main 18 holes only!
Wow! This course is challenging, exciting, and bunches of fun! The first couple of holes feature very tight, straight fairways through heavy woods to really test your accuracy skills before the course gets hairy. A couple of holes in mostly open areas with left and right doglegs let you stretch your power muscles and warm up your hyzers/anhyzers before striking out on your venture up, over, and around the rest of the ski hill. I'm having a hard time really choosing any highlight holes because each hole was just totally different and amazing, be it due to terrain or elevation change, foliage change, or just general course layout. #5 features a narrow fairway straight up the hill with a slightly elevated basket. #6's route up and over, then left around the top of a rocky gravelly outcropping to a blind basket caused some "Arrrgggs!" in our group, as did the water/mud puddle in the middle of the fairway on #10 and the huge, sharp left turn and dense evergreen forest of #18 (especially when my disc took a much needed rest break way high up in the soft branches of one of the aforementioned evergreens). #9 offers a beautiful view of the surrounding area as well as a long downhill soar over some really rough terrain. Make sure you stop and admire the astounding view of Lake Michigan from the fairway of #15, too! Holes range from 150 to 600 feet and offer all manner of lay outs including dead straight, doglegs, hooks, long curves, over hills, up hills, down hills, and "S"s. Fairways were well defined and very well tended.
New tee placement has changed #16 from a 763' downhill run with plenty of opportunities to lose a disc to a 290' mostly open cross field shot.
Signage was exceptional and some of the nicest I've ever seen. It was direct, descriptive, colorful, and unique. Only at the top of the mountain where #F and the old #16 tee are/was located was there ever any question on where to go next. Even the route to the new #16 tee was clearly marked, though not yet in the stunning manner of all the other signage.
Having both long and short tees is a real bonus for a course that's this challenging. The shorter tees really allows for a fun and relaxing game with a group of mixed abilities.
Scorecards were available at the course head kiosk, but no other facilities are available on site (unless I just missed it). The scorecard and map are now also available on the Links tab.
Cons:
The tee pads need some help on most holes. The natural dirt/sand/gravel topsoil in this area made for lots of loose tee boxes with questionable footing. The sharp edged gravel was particularly irritating.
The elevation change inherent in placing a course on a ski hill makes for a strenuous workout with rough and uneven footing in many areas. Hiking boots or VERY sturdy tennies highly recommended!!
Outside the well-mowed fairways, this area is very wild. Thick, heavy rough and lost disc opportunities abound! Spotter use and brightly colored discs highly recommended as are long sleeves and pants.
The mosquitos here are the nastiest I've ever seen. We grow them big and ugly in Michigan, but the ones here take the cake!! Even applying various formulations of Off every other hole, we were still swarmed! The spray appeared to have literally no effect whatsoever. Wowzer!!
Other Thoughts:
On your way out to Silver Mountain, make sure to stop at Leito's for the best pasties anywhere in the state. It's on the south (left) side of US-2, just before the well-marked turn off to Silver Mountain. It looks like a tiny little hole in the wall, but.....YUMMMMM (get some frozen ones to take home, too)!!
ps..Everyone in our group, from players with 4+ years (and league) experience to my Mom, who's played twice before, LOVED this course. Just be prepared for the hiking, the disc searching, and the mosquitos!