The course plays mostly through a wooded area of the camp property following a service road. Other than the first and last holes it has a nice secluded feel and doesn't really conflict with other camp activities. There are a few nice elevation changes which add some challenge and variety and keep the walk interesting.

There are several holes with tighter gaps to hit and some where you have to be a little creative with your line shaping to get to the pin on a drive, but the lines are reasonable for the most part. The course is easy to follow once you've found either end, and because of the layout using each basket in both directions you can start and/or end at either location.

The tees are terrible, many are washed out or collect water and mud, and several are on sloped ground. I found myself thinking on a lot of holes that a small change in tee location would make for a much more enjoyable shot. All tees are right on top of the previous basket, and that combined with the layout of the course makes for some major potential safety issues if multiple groups are playing. The first and last holes play right near or around some of the camp buildings.

A few holes have silly lines or pinball type shots, though that probably doesn't matter as much for the intended audience. The design feels a little repetitive in spots, with a lot of similar lengths and a lot of straight shots.

Beginners will have a blast hiking this course, it's challenging but not to the point of frustration and the pine forest makes for trouble off the fairways but not lost discs. More experienced players won't find a ton of challenge or variety. This is definitely the more interesting of the two courses on site but still not worth going out of your way to play.

I rated the course in how it compares to all my other played courses, I try to rate consistently and with the same criteria. That said, I like what this course has to offer as a camp course and applaud the facility for offering this as an activity.

The Upper Course at Thousand Pines is a course laden heavily with potential. The second hole's line of play and green make it a borderline signature hole. The third hole is very challenging but playable. The fourth's intended line of play is a tough par 4. Heading out beyond that and then back through to hole 14 is ripe with deuces, but you have to work for most of them. Holes 15, 16, and 18 are all very interesting shots, with 16 a moderate difficulty par 4.

The course takes strong advantage of constant elevation changes (every hole features some significant elevation). It runs through a dense pine forest with fairways that force you to shape a line.

Reading all of the pros it may sound like much more than course getting a "reasonable rating." Keep in mind the title of this review: Potential abounds...

Almost every teepad is unacceptable. A few of them are solid, with firm footing and placement safely away from the baskets - however: most of the teepads are within 5-10 feet of the baskets, and most of them feature tee signs at the front of the tee that impeded your follow through. In both cases a safety hazard.

On top of this - hole 17 is a true "unfairway." There is simply no available route off of the tee without taking a 45 foot pitch to the direct left of the teepad direction.

The course also suffers from a few teepads that are placed in locations that create a very awkward immediate line off of the teepad - with the teepad placed immediately left or right of where it should logically be sitting to play a shot up the fairway.

This is my new home for the time being - and I am going to be working with the course designer to help make improvements to all of the teepads. Additionally the safety issues will be taken care of. The tees that are awkward will be placed in better locations. And so on. Hopefully by the time I leave this place I can re-review with a much higher number. It is a 4 star piece of property.