Pros:
This course is an excellent retreat for anyone serious enough about disc golf to drive out to Brownsville, Kentucky just to throw plastic.
If you read the directions listed on the Course Info tab, you won't have any problems getting here, and Howie has marked the driveway entrance with two discs at eye level.
Now that you're here, there's no questioning where you start -- a great kiosk wall borders a gravel parking strip, both excellent additions. The wall shows info on the course and you get your safety waiver to sign here. Copies of the course descriptions are available here as well - and they are VERY descriptive! Info on the hole, OB, what to avoid, and next tee detail are a much better help than any map.
No warm-up here -- hole 1 starts with an uphill drive against a wooded hill that slopes to the right towards the river, which can eat errant or tree-poked drives. The course keep you on your toes in similar ways the rest of the experience.
Without excessive detail, this place has it all -- water(Green River, creeks, ponds), rolling hills, steep climbs and descents, rock quarries, mature trees, trimmed woods and fairways, left/right, up/down, tunnel shots, big bombs, elevated tees, elevated baskets, etc.
Innova Discatcher Pro baskets -- those bright yellow rims really make it easy to spot the pins in the woods.
Navigation is excellent -- lots of NEXT TEE signs, and if you grabbed the hole descriptions, you'll know even without the signs.
No worries about repetition -- each hole is certainly unique and memorable.
Faves:
-- Hole 5 -- pin is just beyond a small, but plenty deep, pond.
-- Hole 6 -- 310 feet slightly uphill and through a gap between a shed and a schoolbus, basket in front of bus.
Hole 12 -- uphill with the basket staring down at you in the trees and on top of a boulder.
Hole 14 -- climb the rock to the tee on top, throw to a basket perched on another rock, protected by trees but lines available from many angles.
Hole 15 -- right-turn into a magnificent rock quarry with the pin tucked neatly in.
Hole 17 - 310 feet, but the gap to the ravine at mid-way and back up the hill to the pin, well, you'll be glad 18 plays downhill!
I always appreciate a great finishing hole, and Holler wraps you up in a warm blanket and sends you on your way wishing you didn't have to leave. 18 is a downhill run at a pin stacked on a beautiful arranged rock podium, with wide open hills behind and the river just beyond that. A great finish to a memorable course.
Other amenities -- benches, trash cans, bridges, steps, and Howie himself.
Cons:
Tee pads -- not a big negative since this is a private course, but concrete pads would make this course a 5 star. Rubber pads for most of the holes, but the concrete pads that are there are excellent! We played in the rain over one night and the next morning, while it's been raining in Kentucky every day for the better part of a month. I expected the pads to be slick, but they really weren't that bad. Sure, I've got nice sticky Merrills, but my brother plays in flip-flops, and he turns real hard - yet he never slipped either.
The pads are uneven in spots though, and that's the biggest knock. Other than that, nothing.
Other Thoughts:
Lots of wildlife to be seen -- wild turkey, deer, bass/bream/snakes in the ponds, turtles, and the like.
As far as ticks go, we had a group of five, all wearing shorts and short sleeves, and only found one tick between us.
I wish I had taken more pics of the course, as the pictures on here don't show the new Discatcher baskets, and some pins and tees are different. I did upload some videos in the Media tab of a few tees.
Howie is a GREAT host and a true beacon for putting this gem on his private property AND allowing the rest of us that love this sport to throw here. So many of us have said we'd put a course on our own land if we had the money and resources, well Howie DID!
A storm was coming in just as we were getting started -- Howie came to us on hole 5 and let us know where we could shelter up, answered our questions, and assured us that we could finish the next day if need be since we were camping nearby. We sheltered in the bus on hole 6, and the next morning when we tried to finish, the rain opened up just as we got to 15, which is PERFECT as the quarry provided dry shelter and time to reflect.
With all concrete pads, this would be a 5 star hands down by anyone that plays it. If I could rate this 4.95, I would.
$5 is nothing to play this unique and breathtaking course -- leave a tip in the box on 18 if you like.