-A technical wooded course with a few open holes, and a crash the basket hole. Dorey Park in my opinion is "teaching" course for hitting lines very much like my first course Bayville in Virginia Beach, but Dorey Park more difficult.
-I loved the terrain of the course hilly and sloping, sparse grass and rough, cluttered with pine trees, fallen trees, and several holes with tree damage from termites and other critters. Some trees having been whittled down to just a few feet. The feeling of a crusty old course that could have been there for a hundred years. First time having that feeling.
-Beginners and Recreational players will likely find themselves overwhelmed, but fun. Intermediate and Advanced from the long tees will likely find the course challenging.
-No. 1 hole from the long tees ranks as the hardest out of all the first holes I have played.
-Holes 1-4 from the long tees ranks No. 2 behind Casey Logan in Kill Devil Hills, NC for difficulty for the first 4 holes on the courses I have played. It will likely determine the flow for the rest of your round.
-No. 1 long tee pad is field turf and a teaser. I had read Pmay5's review which prepared me for the rest of the pads.
-If you like bomber holes, you will get three cracks at it on 5, 16-17.
-Hole numbers are posted on trees next to tee pads.
-The course has either completed a realignment or in the middle of one? Which means there correcting something, and that should be good.
-Navigation is good and the course marked to the next hole with a sign, navigation is counterclockwise.
-Little disc lost potential, with sparse grass but tall it gives the appearance of "rut oh", but when you walk up on your disc you'll see it.
-Might as well get warmed up from the parking lot to the first tee, play it as 550-foot par 5 uphill. On the way back to the parking lot from 18 a straight downhill throw of about 700 feet, and enjoy the flight of your disc.

-The course realignment is it complete, still in the middle of it? No way to know playing the course for the first time. Mshelton in his review states there was a realignment a few years prior to his review in 2018, but there are a few tee signs lying next to tee pads with a different hole number than the one you are playing. There are post with different hole numbers and faded out. Some long and short tees have been combined, and some short tees have orange flags to mark tee moved up the fairway. To me, the course is very unsettled.
-There is no par, distance, or map at each tee. Some baskets are blind from the tee.
-Some tee pads are uneven, some are eroding away, and some tee markers are missing. After playing the long tee No. 1 turf pad, it can be a letdown.
-Per local members on a course app, heavy or sustained rain can turn the course into mud pit.
-It is a little bit of a walk from 1st basket to 2nd tee and a horse trail interacts with the course trail. Wander off track and had to pull up a course app. Used the app just a few other times.
-There are hiking, biking trails thru the course, and was a little busy on a morning round starting at 8am. So, keep your eyes peeled.

I enjoyed the round at Dorey Park, wooded courses are my favorite. It is a solid teaching course for beginners to hit lines, and for others to improve their game. The crusty terrain was scenic in a different way, and some unique holes that I have not played on other courses. Tight lines, a teacher, and terrain I anchor my overall rating on a 4.5. But the unsettledness of what is going on with the course is the alignment complete or another alignment, and what is up with the short tee pads drops the rating down. I think the 2.5 is a good rating for now, and I will keep an eye out on the course, and if the course changes are completed, I will come back for another visit and update my review. Regardless, if I lived in the Richmond area, I would play the course often.
From the short tees the round took 60 minutes, and from long 70 minutes.
Notable Basket Placement:
No. 11 is placed on a blind down hill slope and can be a roller.
Notable Tee Pad:
No. 18 short there are a hand full of trees about 20 feet in front of the tee with thin gaps. The angle is awkward for a lefty and likely for a righty. My angle had me aiming for the left rough.
Notable Holes:
No. 4 long Par 3 at 291 feet with the fairway cluttered with pine trees. There is a knoll right in front of the basket, so the basket is sitting behind the knoll with the lower 1/3rd of basket hidden. Behind the basket is a drop off and roller to a ditch about 50 feet down.
No. 6 long Par 3 at 305 feet is a heavy tree line lazy dogleg left. The hole starts slowly up a rise, and at the dogleg about 200 out drops down hill to the basket. A log bunkers on the left at the rise, and canopy around the basket. It can be a roller, but heavy brush to help stop it. Its scenic. When I played the shorts, I walked up fairway to find the basket, glad I did.
No. 16 short at 219 feet, and long at 304 feet both Par 3. "Crash that Basket"! There is heavy pines and brush within C2 protecting the basket. Long tee sits in the open and you need to throw it at least 240 on a right to left to hit those trees. Short tee throws across the open from trees and just go for it. It is a poke and hope, but a fun throw. Cost me a stroke both rounds.
Signature Hole:
No. 8 both tees at 219 feet Par 3 with foliage is very scenic and very narrow. The tee is elevated above the fairway about 15 feet sloping downhill and halfway rising back up to the basket. Cluttered with trees, but doable. The narrowest gap is about 12 feet. At the lowest point is a small brook and a foot bridge. Fun hole to play, and a favorite at that distance.

Trouble Hole:
No. 1 long tee at 361 feet Par 3 enjoy the turf tee pad, it's the only one you'll play. The tee is elevated about 15 feet and straight away to a narrow gap of about 20 feet and 150 feet away. Tall pines line the fairway all the way down to C2. I have not played a tee shot like that, let alone on a first hole, and it was awkward. The basket is protected by more pines in C1. A heck of a way to start the round with a bogey and could have been worse.

Quiet setting, varied elevation

Dorey Park is typical of several of the older disc golf courses in Virginia; from the white tees, it's a relatively short course in a big, nice park but is set away from the main park in a set of woods that otherwise probably wouldn't see much use. But that said, Dorey Park is another of my hometown courses that perhaps doesn't stand out at first, but may grow on you.

Except for three holes set out along a pipeline easement, this course plays entirely in the woods, and features a bit of up and down on some holes. A lot of players, I think, can get easily frustrated with a woods setting, but I always recommend this course for several reasons: 1) the hills make it actually a bit of exercise; 2) I find the quiet setting most appealing; 3) this course makes you get good at throwing accurately, which has helped me immeasurably on more open courses; and 4) throwing a good drive here that skims high among the trees but doesn't hit any of them is a great feeling.

The tees at Dorey Park are marked but not even graded, and the slope or rocks or roots can make teeing off a challenge sometimes, especially if you're not used to courses with "natural" tee pads. Dorey does feature both am and pro tees, however, and many of the holes are made considerably more challenging by the blue pro tees. Tee pads and basket placements never change.

While woods courses like Dorey Park can be an acquired taste, I always relish a round there. The game is all about distance AND accuracy, and Dorey makes you use both, but is not unreasonable in its demands. Learning the skills necessary to throw a good round at Dorey Park has improved my game more than any number of rounds at a more scenic but open course would. And the serene playing environment is always a good thing.