Pros:
This is an exceptional course, and extremely extremely difficult!! From hole one you get can either get with the program and start drilling lengthy and super accurate shots, or you can start working on chopping the trees down on shot at a time...(my 2nd round was best defined by the latter). So, yeah...hole 2...15' away and 15' wide is your window to a short hard dogleg left, but really it's not as bad or difficult as it looks. So, it's after this hole you REALLY need a map...hole three is a mess of an ordeal. From the tee-pad all you can see is woods, nothing else really...well, you can kinda see a little path in the middle of the 3' tall weeds. But still, the hole is awesome and even though I couldn't see the basket, I just kept shooting to where I thought the pin was and all worked out...so I guess you can say the layout is intuitive.
I could keep going hole-by-hole, since they are all impressively difficult and thus very enjoyable. But there should be mention of hole 5...300'-ish through WOODS, then another 300'-ish up a hill...fun stuff for sure. Nine is nuts...totally doable though, and after 9 is over remember that 10 is a ways away...or wander around for 1/2 an hour like a jackass like i did.
The back 9 are definitely sweet, with a wide and wicked array of holes/shots. Also, there is a giant creek/gorge that plays as a backdrop on a few holes, and unless you really screw up you shouldn't really have to interact with the creek. All and all, just keep you shots down, try to keep your aim true and you should be alright.
Cons:
Underbrush, thorns, tight to non-existent fairways, and if you stray from one of them or happen to ricochet off the side of a tree (of which there are a'plenty) you are screwed 90% of the time, or at the very least scratched to all hell by the thorns.
The tee signs are LAME, and yes, the distances are good to have, but for as extreme as the holes are there really should be much better signage. And yeah, if you have a map you are better off, than without. But the bottom line is, that if you are going to make a hard ass of a course, you should take the time to invest in some signs that will allow folks to know where they're headed...
This course is only going to get worse for the next month or so as spring progresses, a freshly cut course with all the vegetation trying to grow back, nature's little creature friends emerging from the winter...and me and the dude I was playing with both kept stating how it felt like if you weren't careful you could very possibly step on a snake...
Other Thoughts:
Okay, so my complaints about the course are nit-picky, and I will admit that the improvements this course needs are probably only missing since the guys who put this course together had to fight to get the funds to even put baskets in, for which they deserve much kudos. And I fully understand WHY the signage may be lacking, but none-the-less the addition of better signs would be superb. Also, the course being on the rough side is just a by-product of putting a course in the midst of a freakin forest...and really, the hardcore rough does well to encourage a player to stay within the tree lines. All and all, this is really a spectacular course and truly is one of the hardest courses I have played to date...it's so hard I actually played by the signs, if it said par 4 or 5 then dammit that's how I played it! So yeah, do yourself a favor, pack a lunch, plenty of liquids, your bug spray...and then go out to Gateway.