: I had the chance to play the newer of Spinski's courses as an Advanced Grandmaster at last month's 2015 Am Worlds, and had already heard a lot of, ...shall we say, ' constructive criticism' floating around by our day-two encounter. I was expecting brutally tight to nearly impossible fairways, so I was actually somewhat pleasantly surprised that they weren't impossible, they just mandated discing down and control. It's actually a good thing that so few of the holes have much in the way of distance. There were five short holes (between 136' & 232'), nine medium ones (251' to 330'), one at 363', one at 372', and a pair of 535 footers to keep the big guns at least a little happy.

Boasting new, level, concrete tees, DisCatcher baskets with flags where needed, orange 'next tee' signs where applicable, and the signage there for Worlds, the course flow was really fairly intuitive. The paths between holes were well-worn, showing a lot of local play leading up to the big event. I heard rumors that the local folks wanted the course to actually remain even tighter, but the PDGA insisted they open it up at least a little bit to be used this summer for Am Worlds. If that's true, then prepare yourselves for a very technical course if you choose to visit in the future (they might let it grow back in some, before it weathers in and stabilizes).

In terms of difficulty (as it currently stands), this is a tough play for any casual to Recreational level player, and might even frustrate the less seasoned of Intermediates. It's a course targeted at wily veterans: lay up short of the split in the fairway here, or try to shape one all the way to the 'green'? Hyzer up and over that nasty, thick rough, or is my arm just a little too weak for that shot, and force me to stay controlled in the lane? Shots do shape in all directions, and use the elevation back in the woods extremely well. The tournament OB is a good application of the concept, as the rough is brutal if you try to play it too loosely.

Feature holes for me included the Island on 6 (thank you spotters!!!) the Mando / landing zone and tough up-hill, up-shot on 9, the ace run downhill on 10 (had a card mate wedge one in the side!), the gut check uphill on 11 (with OB fence just past the basket and blind from the tee), and the sweeping ravine woods back to the house on 18. There are others to amuse different arms and skills. In all, a pretty well-rounded and fun layout.

The critics say it's too tight, or that it's not a course appropriate for a Worlds event. That may be so, but this wasn't Pro Worlds, and the variety after playing Timber Ridge helped make the event more interesting to me. The drawback to holding a bigger, course-filling event, however, were the handful of places where the possible lines of errant flight could've caused safety issues. The woods between 2 and 3 need to stay thick, to protect those two fairways from each other. They need to make sure good signage stays in place after the 4th and 7th baskets (easy to turn to the wrong tee). The 15th fairway requires a (rhbh) hyzer shot, bringing the 8th green into possible play.

The biggest challenges they have here are related to the low-lying land, the mud that remains forever after a rain (it's so mucky in places, they've tried laying out lumber to walk on), the bugs that follow, and the limited parking for a place that has two good courses on-site. Being 'private' certainly takes care of some of the parking concerns, but it was definitely a 'con' for over 100 cars to find a place for the event. The bugs and the mud are going to be persistent, seasonal issues, and may dictate the best (and worst) times to arrange a visit. Come prepared with about a gallon of bug spray and at least ankle height mud shoes.

Could be I'm not as critical about the Spinski's Championship layout because it didn't beat me up too badly (I consider myself lucky there), but mostly it's the fact that I really appreciate all the work that goes into any course, and know that a private course even close to being capable of hosting a World class event, is practically like having another child in the family. I tend to overlook the imperfections and focus on the joys!