Pros:
Muldraugh is the Louisville area technical course. The course offers a great and challenging layout through dense woods. Muldraugh is relatively short and will give up some low scores, but don't be deceived by the distance, the fairways and pins are well guarded by mature trees and require the player to navigate some tight gaps and narrow fairways to reach the hole. Miss the fairway on this course, and you will find yourself having to use some creative shot making to save par.
Course Essentials:
The course uses mostly DGA baskets, there are a couple of older baskets (model unknown) that are a little rough and worn, but all other baskets are in great shape. Concrete tees on all holes, a little short, but more than adequate for the course length. New tee signs located at each hole that define hole layout, distance, mando's, and location of the next tee.
General Course Design:
Muldraugh makes one big loop start to finish, Hole 9 does not return back to the parking area. The course flows well from hole to hole with tee markers visible from each basket, so the course is very easy to navigate . The fairways are clearly visible and well-defined. The rough is thick and full of dense foliage and lots of things to watch out for (poison ivy, mosquitos, ticks, spiders, etc.-repellant advised). Moderate elevations are present throughout the course, and utilized effectively to present a variety of uphill, downhill and sidehill lies.
The course has a lot of right to left shots which seems to cater more toward the RHBH player who would definitely have an advantage on this course. There are nine holes with defined hyzer routes, three holes with defined anhyzer routes, and the remaining six holes are relatively straight (relative to RHBH).
Muldraugh has a very technical course layout, there are no wide open holes, period. This course will challenge even the veteran players to hit some of the tight gaps and narrow fairways present throughout the course. This course is all about precision and control, not length. An accurate, well-placed tee shot will leave you with a good look at a duece, but miss the lines, and you may find yourself struggling for par.
Cons:
A couple things to mention: Most pins are visible from the box, but several holes have pins that are hidden making it difficult to know where to throw. If you are playing for the first time, you will most likely be walking several of the fairways to scout out the pin position before throwing your tee shot.
The foliage is a factor, miss the fairways and you are in the thick rough searching for your disc. I will not derate the course because of this, only mention it so you can be prepared and bring repellants! I don't consider this a maintenance issue, it's the rough, it isn't suppose to be easy to get out of, but be prepared for it.
There are several large trenches that are a factor, mostly holes 2 and 7. If you throw into one of these you are looking at climbing down steep banks into a ravine full of dead trees/limbs, mud and thick vegatation.
10/30/09 Update:
There are leaves on the ground everywhere, and they tend to be very slick. Use caution when trying to navigate the course, the slopes and leaves are a bad combination.
Other Thoughts:
Muldraugh has a great layout that is very challenging for any skill level, but fair, and a lot of fun to play. New players with limited experience will find this course extremely difficult and very unforgiving. I played the front 9 as a new player (2 months experience), and that was all I wanted of the course. Now that I have been playing for almost 3yrs, I can better appreciate the challenge and beauty that is offered with this course. Another review mentioned that Muldraugh is a longer version of Otter Creek, which was exactly what I was thinking as I played through the course. Definitely longer and more challenging than Otter Creek, but very similar in style. A really great course that is going on my favorites list!
UPDATE (10/30/09):
Most all of the excess debris from the ice storms has been cleared and tee signs have been installed. The course is in fantastic shape, probably the best shape it's ever been!!!