Pros:
Jack McLean seems like a well beloved old dog for the tallahassee area. It's been a round a long time, but i went out there early on a saturday morning and by the time i was 9 holes in there were already about 8 or 9 other golfers starting a round.
Holes are long and wooded. The shorter holes, from the short tees, are still around 300' plus, with the minimum distance around 260'-280'. These average a little long, but maybe it was just bc it was the morning and my arm was not awake yet.
Tee signs were pretty good. It looked like a big tournament was coming soon or had happened maybe the weekend before, so everything was in great condition- even the circle had been marked on a lot of holes.
The course plays through some light woods on light hills/slopes around the park. It's pretty scenic. There's a couple water features (one on hole... 9 or 10? that's blind from the tee so just kinda be aware) that are incorporated nicely.
I was impressed with the length of the holes given what seems like a tight area. But they really don't feel crammed in there at all.
Cons:
The length of the hole coupled with the tightness/woodedness of the fairways makes the challenge here pretty advanced. My amature skills just couldn't keep up (plus i was way too ambitious on most holes).
That's really the big con. There's not much else to complain about, but there wasn't really anything that made me think "wow this is great design" or "wow this is stunningly beautiful" either.
Other Thoughts:
But it is a decidedly Good course. If it was a little more accessible for those who wanted to go for the basket off the tee, then a 3.5 would be a given. But right now it's just asking a little too much, a little too dependent on luck.
This old-dog of a course still has a lot of teeth, but a good player can make it heel. A regular player like me just has to have fun but be ready for some rough play lol