Given only flat terrain to work with, it's nice to see the variety the designer was able to incorporate into the Mt. Gilead 18 hole course. Ranging from tight and technical 142 footers in the woods to a 535 foot open field bomber, there's a little something here for everyone. And the 'turn' of the flight paths vary just as much. Depending on when you play, there could be some real struggles in wind, ...or 'water hazards' in the wetter seasons (see below). The flow is logical, looping from the northwest corner of the large, curved parking area (avoid the spaces furthest toward the mando tree on 18!). You'll find a great course sign, which includes a box holding scorecards and maps.

Signage is excellent and well-placed, with posts including bag holders. Tees vary from the large, level concrete starter, to markings on the paved pathway (most holes), to simple slabs on the stand and deliver, short, woods holes. Baskets are quality DGA Mach II's with 18 chains, a bright orange band in the middle, and number plates. The design plays safely for the most part, as any shots that share paths or driveways have plenty of visibility (though you do need to yield to the walkers on the popular path on 1, 6 & 17 in particular).

For my personal enjoyment factor, I thought it was nice that so many holes had interesting greens and approaches, rather than just a basket in an open field. 13 and 14 were actually decent, with a bit of an 'island effect, using drainage runs and the existing trees and bush lines as you got close. In all, the course is well scaled for Recreational to Intermediate players, and is extremely well-kept.

The aforementioned 'water hazard' is kind of a joke (...son!). There normally won't be any water on the course, but it's so flat, it can get marshy, and can actually 'pond' on hole two, to the right. Furthermore, the drainage runs can fill up quite a bit. I played here in January, and all these area were just at freezing, as well. Another temporary condition for the winter of 2014-15 is the muddy aftereffects of a new electrical tower construction on holes 6 and 7. Proper footwear suggested!

I didn't see any benches or trash cans as I played, and there is a bit of hiking out here, with a walk from 9 to 10, and a lengthy hike from 10 to 11. The mandos are well marked (on 11 & 18, especially), but chuckers will be chuckers, and I'd say you have a good chance of getting your car hit on the finisher if you park near the mando tree. Not sure what else could be done to create interest otherwise, though...

Church property means some DG'ers need to be on their best behavior, so enjoy respectfully! But if you live in the area, you already know how many church courses are in the region, huh?

This course was very well maintained and manicured. The posts they have with hole signage were great, each post had hooks on both sides to hang your bag. It was a nice little touch and something you normally wouldn't think about. The signs were very descriptive and accurate. Baskets seemed almost brand new. There were 3 wooded holes that were very good, and quite different than the rest of the course.

We played our round in the rain and the tee pads that used the walking path (black top) as the tee pad were very very slick. We had to tee off mostly in the grass to keep from slipping. On the normal concrete pads we had no problem. It was difficult on the back 9 to find the next tee pad. There wasn't an arrow at the basket pointing towards the next hole. The biggest problem was going from 9 to 10. It was a long walk and we had to ask someone where the 10th tee was.

We had a fun time at this course. The wind was blowing pretty hard because of an impending storm so it made some of the longer holes even more challenging. We'd love to come back on a calmer day to play the course. The wooded holes were awesome. Wish there were more like that. Overall it was a very nice course. The church takes great care of their property.