This course is an absolute blast and absolutely worth paying for! Clearly a labor of love, this course feels like it was designed by disc golfers to put a giant smile on the face of EVERY disc golfer ever. Feel like throwing long? Feel like throwing short? Feel like throwing forehand, backhand, overhand, uphill, downhill, over water tanks, over snow, over a pile of burning trees, at an elevated basket, through tiny gaps, through giant gaps, and all while enjoying a beautiful alpine hike? Then check out Three Links, just don't expect tee pads, signs, or any established course markings. Oh, and if you're a relative flatlander like me, bring your understable plastic, because the ~4000ft elevation means your Roadrunner feels a little bit like your trusty Firebird
Pros:
Beautiful: If you're visiting the area, I don't have to convince you that it's beautiful enough to walk around in, since you probably drove hours just to see it. This course is a beautiful hike with baskets. If you live in the area, you may be desensitized, and there's not much I can do for you there.
Technical/Layout: As I said above, this course has absolutely every type of shot (except maybe the staple of the alpine course: the top-of-the-world shot). I know nothing about its history, but I feel pretty confident saying that it was designed with this this goal in mind. I played it two days in a row, and all night on day one, I couldn't stop planning out my shots for day two. Most golfers will be tested throughout the course. Always worth mentioning that it ends right at the parking lot, which is a must.
Friendly locals: Locals were stoked to meet us and chat. Not that Santa Cruz is necessarily unfriendly, but this was a very different world of welcoming.
Cons:
Infrastructure: By itself, this keeps the course from entering the higher echelon of ratings. As of January, 2016, this course is still in development, and doesn't yet have tee pads or signs. There are course maps available, which do a fine job of keeping you on track, but you should expect to do a bit of squinting through trees to spot the baskets. Look up for signs of where to go. Also, keep an eye out for yellow tape and pink flags that mark out the course. Given the terrain, the lack of tee pads is occasionally a real issue, as footing can get pretty bad. Even approximate distances on the map would be a nice touch. When these touches go in, this would add a half point for me.
A couple of UNfairways: Technical, tight, golf is my favorite golf. I am bored if I don't have to carve lines and my big-armed friends demolish me out in the open. However, for me, it's important to always have lines to hit. This is always a delicate balance since the tougher it is to reach a fairway gap, the bigger the gap needs to be in order to take luck out of the equation. By my count, there were at least two holes that required a bit of luck. Of course, there's nothing actually unfair about these, since everyone is playing the same course, but I always view these as a bit of a bummer in an otherwise carefully designed layout. I guess I always like my score to be a true reflection of how I played, never a measure of luck. Apparently, I had a little luck on my side on day two since I shot a 50
I will never visit the area without a stop at Three Links! Thank you folks for all your hard work on this place.