+ Around hole 5 or 6, my notes said "nice woods with a few open holes, but mostly flat so far." I had no idea what I was in for. The drama was still ahead: drastic elevation changes, baskets perched on rock outcroppings, tightly-staked OB… the course jumps up and bites hard, and it's a great ride


+ There's been a lot of tree clearing to create these fairways. With the exception of the two early "field holes", this course is entirely in deep woods, and every fairway has been shaped by tree removal


+ It's not a very long course overall, but there are two holes that require big throws from the back tees: #5 is a 900' par 5: flat and straight, a wide fairway bordered by deep woods. #14 is a 650' par 5 with a long, steep uphill required off the tee. Only really big arms will reach the top in 1


+ Hole #8 is an absolute beauty: it starts with an elevated tee requiring a left-to-right over a distant old fieldstone wall, and then a long glide to a protected hillside basket with a steep green that runs away from you. It's everything you want in a par 4: you need two excellent shots for a chance at birdie, or three very good ones to putt for par.


+ Hole #9 is a devious little cliff hole: it's only 133' and feels like you're throwing almost straight down…but the OB line is directly behind the basket. You have maybe 8' of space (from the angle up on the tee it looks like 6 inches). The OB changes a routine floater into something that increases your pulse while you watch your throw descend

- There's a run of three short holes mid-round (#9, #10, #12) that use combinations of rocks, elevation or OB. Each hole is memorable (9 is the short cliff dive with tight OB; 10 is perched atop a huge boulder with a penalty line creating a dropzone throw for anything that goes past the basket, and 12 is a short level hole with the basket on a slanted boulder that acts like a ski jump to propel discs into a canyon directly behind). These are fun holes and I enjoyed them, but it felt a bit like a gimmicky section of the course because they're grouped so closely together

~ The course uses staked OB to shape a lot of holes (maybe 8 of them? I lost count). At times it's confusing (see hole #13), and in the woods it's not always easy to see. But It's fair; it makes the holes play a lot harder, although it's a bit of a disadvantage to the first timer who doesn't know EXACTLY where the lines are


~ While there's a significant overall distance difference between the front and back tees, it felt like most of the difference was on just two holes (#5 and #14). On many holes the shorter tee just provides a straighter look at the basket without reducing the hole length by much


~ Hole #1 includes a curious staked OB that's just a small circle on the front right approach to the green.Unlike the OB on other holes, this one doesn't seem to have any impact on shaping the hole or your shot. It's just a clear area with stakes at the corners. I thought it might be to mark a danger, like an underground bees nest, but now that I've played the course, I'm wondering if these guys are gonna install a water hazard!


~ A shared tee platform for two hole: #10 in one direction, #14 in the other. And the middle of the platform bends around a tree


~ Gnats were swarming in the low areas in April. If you're a bug spray person, bring it


COURSE AMENITIES:


The layout is a single loop that begins and ends at the corner of a large parking lot. Practice basket and lost disc return box. Current work on the course incl;udes building a new information sign.Good DisCatcher baskets and turf tees on platforms. The signage is really good, with hand painted signs at both tees. Excellent navigational signs guiding you through a couple of longish walks.There's a wet walk from #4 to #5, and a scout project is building a long boardwalk. Not cart-friendly once you get to #8. uDisc include a short 9 hole layout that keeps you from crossing the valley (1-7, 17-18)



RECOMMENDED COMBINATIONS:
Located halfway between Nichols Field and Bittner Park, the combination of all three made for a great day. But Killingworth and Nichols are both so good that you might want to play them both several times