Pros:
Blueberry Hill holds the widest appeal of all the Highbridge courses, and boasts off-the-charts fun factor and aesthetic beauty. The host venue for Nate Doss' 2007 Pro Worlds victory, Highbridge features five primary courses on-site, plus a bonus campground course used primarily for glow rounds. The five courses on the hill are the main draw, with each one unique enough to showcase a different flavor of the richly diverse land. Blueberry pitches to a difficulty level that's just right for the vast majority of us, an int/advanced layout that won't crush the hopes and dreams of rec level players. Nearly every hole is memorable in some fashion, be it downhill drives (Holes 3 & 10), tight greens (Holes 4 & 12), or dastardly hazards (Hole 13!). There's enough long but reachable Par 3's here to keep noodle arms like me from getting discouraged, but birdies are never a gimme. Hole 2 deserves special mention as the most well-designed parking lot hole I've ever played. Playing from an elevated tee down to a plateau green is unique and super fun, especially in the near-omnipresent wind. Even holes like 9, which feels like filler compared to the killer elsewhere on the course, can pleasantly surprise with the havoc-wreaking angle of its hillside fairway/green. Holes like this are extremely fun to throw, highlighting Blueberry's biggest positive. Gold, Granite, and (especially) Bear can feel like a kick in the teeth after a bad round, but Blueberry never loses its charm, even if you're struggling.
Blueberry is arguably the best looking course at Highbridge, with Hole 17 serving as the crown jewel. If playing up the rock face/boulder garden wasn't enough, the vista behind you seals the deal. This snuck up on me the first time I played, and that wow factor at the end of the round cemented Blueberry among my favorites. Other highlights include the terrific Hole 3 drive, idyllic Hole 4 green, and the heavily wooded Hole 18 approach. Even on the rare occasions when it isn't superlatively beautiful, you'll wish you had just one hole that looked like these on your home course.
The concrete pads on Blueberry are fairly easy to find and have some of the best tee signs at the complex. All holes play to gorgeous blue Mach IIIs that catch pretty well.
As the most played course at Highbridge by a wide margin, Blueberry feels a little more "weathered in" than the other routings, which helps ease the pain of the perpetually subpar maintenance.
Cons:
When you put aside all the drama and nonsense surrounding Highbridge, which are a con unto themselves for most (see other thoughts), there's really only one complaint that stands head and shoulders above the rest - Highbridge's inferior maintenance. It's a roll of the dice if the grass will be mowed on any given day, and tree trimming & rough control appear nonexistent. To make matters worse, Highbridge is approaching a relatively advanced age (14 years for most of the complex) where decisions should be made regarding tree removal, which will almost certainly never happen. When the courses are maintained, the level of maintenance is usually inversely correlated to its difficulty. You may come across an open fairway that's been mowed impeccably, only to play to a soggy green with waist-high grass. In all fairness to John, taking care of five courses with limited help is a rather difficult task, but that doesn't change the fact that unfinished mowing and trimming is a gigantic headache for us players. Depending on the status of the maintenance when you play, a course's rating could fluctuate by as many as two or more discs. Timing your visit to coincide with the intermittent mowing is just par for the course here. The Highbridge Hills - Wisconsin forum thread on this site is extremely helpful for providing detailed course condition updates.
Routing can be a little confusing, but the biggest struggles come at the beginning and end of the course. The natural inclination is to start at Hole 2, as Hole 1 is set back behind the clubhouse with no signage to direct you. Both times I visited I ended up starting at Hole 2's pad and backtracking the Hole 1 fairway to reach the starting tee. Hole 18 is a bit confusing as well, mainly because it differs dramatically from the map. The tendency is to walk straight ahead from the 18 teepad toward Hole 1 before realizing that the 18 basket is heavily protected, sharply downhill and approaching 90 degrees to the left.
Other Thoughts:
With more twists and turns than a telenovela, the saga of Highbridge Hills has captivated golfers in the Upper Midwest for years. Regardless of where you fall between the two extremes of "John is a con artist" and "John is a harmless dolt whose reach exceeds his grasp", it's hard to visit here and not be charmed by the ramshackle enthusiasm of it all. Sure, it'd be great if a competent management team took over the complex, maintained it to perfection, and charged $20/day in greens fees to play what is probably the greatest collection of courses at a single site in the entire world. But where's the fun in that? Up here, disc golf still feels firmly tied to its DIY roots, as one man tries to hold it all together with chewing gum and string. Even as people (including myself) complain about the neglect of these world-class courses, it's important to remember that this version of Highbridge holds value as well. If you're looking for a true frolf adventure, Highbridge is the best place to find one. For now, it's best to enjoy what we have and hope for better days down the road.
I struggled with how I should rate Blueberry, but ultimately settled on the full five discs. Yes, the maintenance on any given day can lower this rating dramatically, but with design and aesthetics as my primary rating considerations, I'd be remiss to hand out anything less than a perfect score. If the object of our game is "he who has the most fun wins", Blueberry is undefeated.
PROTIP: Walk ahead on Hole 13 to plan out your shots and identify the location of the ponds or you'll be sorry.