Holler in the Hills is legendary course that's fallen on some rough times. I've only ever played it once but was encouraged by what I saw out there. It looks like someone is starting to reclaim the course from mother nature, which will not be an easy task. There was some brush clearing and apparently the trash situation was much better than it had been even a year or so ago. I'm going to base my rating entirely off of what I experienced out there on my lone visit.

The design is pretty fantastic. The first 8 holes start out pretty ho hum before you head up the hill. That's where things get good. That said, there's still some good holes at the beginning. There's a creek that runs right next to holes 1, 2 and 3. Hole is a par 4 695 brute that plays mostly open for the first 80 percent or so. The basket is tucked into some trees and precariously close to the creek. Very hard par 4 for the majority of players. Hole 5 has a water carry over the small pond and there's the classic school bus hole 6.

The real stuff is on the back half though. Extreme elevation on almost every hole and many holes with what are basically cliffsides just off the fairways. Accuracy is paramount on these holes. The rough is extremely thick if you end off of the fairway, not to mention the drop offs. Hole 15 is one of the most beautiful holes you'll see anywhere in the country with the basket tucked behind a massive rock wall. Then there's the tee pad perched atop a boulder essentially. Hole 17 is also fantastic with the cross valley shot. Words don't even do any of these holes justice.

The baskets are blue Prodigy's. These are very old models but they all catch great and are pretty easy to spot. I actually like these models better than the newer Prodigy baskets. One basket and pin position per hole.

The tee signs are basic but functional. And in surprisingly good condition still. They feature a generic hole map, hole #, par and distance. The maps show any present OB. There's also all kinds of wooden next tee arrows too. These are actually more helpful than the actual tee signs to be honest.

The flow of the course is pretty straightforward in most spots. With all the next tee signs it's actually fairly easy to navigate once you get oriented. I'd still absolutely recommend having a map available but you probably won't need it as much as you'd think.

Beautiful surroundings all around you once you can really see them up the hill. The course is so remote that you won't hear any other human activity most of the time it seems. Very peaceful place.

The elephant in the room. The course hadn't been maintained in years it seems. That's the main issue out here. Despite it apparently being cleaner than it has been recently, there's still trash laying around throughout the course.

The stairs and bridges and basically anything made out of wood are rotting away and pretty sketchy. The stairs especially are in very bad shape. If you play here be very, very cautious when using any of them.

The grass was starting to get pretty long in the pasture on the first few holes. Playable for sure, but if it's not mowed soon and often it'll become unplayable in short order.

As I mentioned above, the rough is extremely gnarly off the fairway. I'm borderline shocked that none of our group of three lost a single disc, and it's not for a lack of trying.

The course is a hike. You need to be a good physical condition to take this one on. There's no turning back once you decide to go that hill on 9. In fact, once you finish hole 1 you will not be back near your vehicle until the round is over. Make sure you bring everything you are going to need from the start.

I'm glad I got to play this course. I thought I'd missed my chance. Thankfully it appears that someone is taking it upon themselves to try and maintain this once great course. It's a huge task but from the way it was looking they're making some headway. How long this continues? Who knows. But the course is still open and can still be played. If this one has been on your bucket list I'd recommend getting there soon. Well worth a trip even in it's current condition. Not quite a must play anymore, but damn close based on a few of those still iconic holes alone.

The course had some very well designed holes. Number 3 required 2 very good shots to cover the 740ft. Number 8 made a hole under 250ft about as hard as you can without taking away the lines. Number 17 was a pretty throw that required no margin for error while throwing from one top of a hill to the other. There was a lot of very creative design that made this course different than any other that I've played. Also the aesthetics were amazing. It's hard to see a cooler hole than number 15 with the basket hidden back in the right angle of a rock cliff.

Tee pads. Plain and simple. The majority of tee pads are rubber pads, some of them are uneven which causes problems in your footwork as you're throwing, a lot of them are probably typical length (although I didn't measure them), but there are a few that are very short and most of the long ones have no room to start your tee shot from behind the pad due to a drop off. There had been a good rain before we got there and after we played I would tell anyone not to go after a rain storm. It killed the tee pads, leaving puddles and making them slippery, and it made the course very muddy.

I had been looking for a chance to play this course for a while and after the fact I was a little disappointed. I will say that Howie did a good job given the materials that he used. It is well designed. But the tee pads took away so much from it. Playing after the rain definitely didn't help, so if you are planning a trip to play here, check the weather!