The Homestead is a backyard course just ten or so minutes south of Steven's Point, Plainfield to be exact. The course is only a few minutesoff of I-39, but it feels like you're out in the sticks. In a good way though.

The tees are natural, as can be expected for a backyard course. These were all plenty serviceable on our visit. They were level and mowed into the surrounding grasses. No complaints with these. I don't know the exact amount of tees present. Many are shared just throwing to a different pin location.

The course is 18 holes with 8 different pins I believe. The pins are a bunch of random things. There's some old animal cages with a big flag to help spotting it, a 55 gallon drum, some orange cones, an upside down kids car for holes 1 and 18. The two best imo are the hanging hub cap pin which can be a beast if the wind gets going. I also liked the old tin pin in the bowl that's played on 2 holes. Blind from the tee as it's in a little bowl. The sound it makes when you hit it lets you know if you've holed out. Great pin placement.

For being in a not too large amount of space Steve did a great job of cultivating different shot shapes. Honestly there's more different shot shapes here than a lot of other courses I've played. Having a good FH and BH will serve you well here.

The terrain is pretty much completely flat but there's at least a few trees in play on every hole at least. Mix of more open to pretty decently wooded. The distances aren't real long but shot shaping is the real key here.

I really liked the shorty over the old farm building. There's 2 very specific gaps. One FH, one BH. Hit your line and you'll be in good shape. Miss it and you're in trouble. Hole 18 is a tough one too. Very specific window you need to hit to have much of a chance. Trickier than it seems with the wind coming off the field. Hole 1 is a great starting hole too. Tight wooded line between the house and garage bending slightly to the right at the end.

There's plenty of cons here if you're strictly looking at the course compared to city and county run courses. That's not what this course is. I'll note them though.

Object targets. Not going to be everyone's thing. I personally like the nuances of putting/throwing at these. Many won't. Not a single standard basket on site currently.

No tee signs and natural pads. As I mentioned above, the pads are all in good shape and work great. Just don't be expecting large, brushed concrete pads or anything.

Navigation is a nightmare. Luckily you'll have Doc there to guide you so no map is needed. So not really a con per se, since he designed it.

I'm drawing a blank for anything else really.

These are the toughest courses for me to rate, not necessarily review. I have to rate it equally to my other 400 plus reviews. With the lack of actual baskets, tees and signs I can only go so high with it. A 2 rating seems about the ceiling for this course in that regard.

With that being said, I'll gladly play this course again. And again and again actually. Steve (DGCR's Doc13) is a fantastic host and guide. Co designer Tom played the round with us too and was awesome.

It sounds like there are improvements coming. And the course is still in it's early stages. It's only going to improve as time goes on. There's more room towards the back for some additional holes, even if temp.

I was pretty pumped when Eagle Pines went in a few years ago. I'm just as excited about this one too. Makes a great 1-2 combo. Give a Doc a call if you're in the area. It'll be worth your time.