Pros:
When it comes right down to it, there probably are very few courses in all of North Carolina anyone would rather play than Casey Logan.
- Location, location, location. There really isn't a bad day here. You're on the Outer Banks.
- Layout. A heavily wooded layout. Other than the sand dunes on #16, it seems like 17 holes of shot shaping around pines and oaks.
- Dual tees and multi basket locations. This creates lots of layout possibilities. Short layout is 4800 feet. Long layout is 50% longer, at 7200 feet.
- Solid tee signs. Most holes have 'next tee' signs, which are extremely helpful with some fairways so close together. Bridges to cross muddy/wet areas. Brooms on many tee pads.
- High risk/reward factor. With all the trees in play, a shot several feet off line hits a tree and skips deep in the woods. That said, with a lot of holes not having underbrush, you can get creative with your lines - throwing low to the ground/rollers, cutting in small gaps between trees, or tomahawking above the trees.
- The back nine is far longer, and frankly, more enjoyable. And varied. From the longs, the front nine only has two holes longer than 400 feet. The back nine has five longer than 400, including two in the 500s, one at 649, and one at 791. #18 is an excellent closing, multi-shot, 649-foot par 5. Well laid out design.
- Among the highlights of creative pin layouts - #3, 13, & 18 have baskets on raised mounds, #14's basket is feet from the water (a stunning backdrop), and #15 is a hanging basket.
Cons:
You notice how I'm vague with my hole by hole description? That's what happens when one hole after another seemingly feels the same. Yeah, it's feels like a broken record.
- Some confusion with layouts. The short layout is marked by yellow tees and baskets. The longs are red tees and baskets. On some holes tees have both red and yellow marking, meaning a single tee pad. On some holes baskets have a red markings on a standard yellow (gold) basket. Then, there are pink baskets on some holes. Did they run out of reds? Then, on #9, you have a yellow basket with red tape and a separate red basket beyond that. What's up with that?
- Hole lengths are all over the board. Between tee signs, DGCR, and UDisc, there was a wide variety of listed distances. Generally, they were in agreement. Then, you get instances like #14. Tee sign listed hole at 335 feet. DGCR and UDisc were at 540 feet. Tee sign was wrong here.
- Some tee signs were missing. And, where was the basket for #16 long?
- Can the tee maps be more accurate too? Needless confusion with some of these issues.
Other Thoughts:
Generally, this is a nice course. Casey Logan has some very good aspects. The lesser portions aren't bad, just repetitive.
- There is inconsistency with the longer tees. Some are carpeted. Some are uneven. Some are easy to spot. Some aren't. I'm all for adding a second, longer layout. On a couple holes it's clear they're trying to cram too much in and would do better with a single layout.
- Plenty of birdies to be had playing the short tees. Also, coming from Charlotte, I thought the majority of fairways were more than generous. No hope and poke layouts.
- #15's hanging basket is nice. Too bad the tee sign didn't indicate it was there. So I threw for the only visible basket to discover I was throwing to the wrong spot.
- #1 is a good opening hole. #9 is a great closing hole on the front side. That small murky water on the left is a lost disc waiting to happen. Thankfully, I missed the water by 3 feet. #10 is a fine opening hole on the back side. And #18 is a solid closer. Other than that, a lot of ok-ness.
- I saw a basket for the proverbial 19th hole. Not sure if there's a proverbial tee as well. Or it's just there for fun and throw offs.
- Coming into the course, it's cool seeing the Wright Brothers National Memorial atop of the hill. I had just visited there earlier in the day so it was weird seeing it as the backdrop to a neighborhood/local setting. And to get to the course, you pass First Flight Elementary and First Flight Middle. Much more exciting school names than your standard generic ones.
- This is an excellent vacation course. It's not too demanding, but it's a fun play. You want to escape the family, it's good for that. You want to bring the kids along, as I did, they'll enjoy the walk without tiring out.
- I brought my kids with me to this course. They enjoyed their time here. Don't worry. None was my caddy though.
- This is the best of the local courses. But again, there's never a bad day when you're here. Well, except during and after hurricanes. Otherwise, we'd all like this to be our home course.