(2.9)
- An intermediate-level challenge with a diversity of hole types, shaping, and significant elevation change.
- Scenic views are in abundance on the university campus.
- Both backhand and forehand distance are necessary to score well here.

- A few shaky or "course flow" holes
- Ample lost disc/rollaway potential
- Weird niche; not a pro-level course, but also extremely unfriendly to beginners

Background: At the time of this review, I am a 940 rated player with 400 golf distance backhand and a weak forehand. I have played 82 different courses, located mostly in the American Southeast. I am right-handed and will write this review from such a perspective.
This was my first review, and I have had two solid tournament results at this course since then, so I am much more familiar with practice/sanctioned play here. I think it's time to post an update. There has also been some land clearing by the university, which has resulted in a few shot options changing.

Hole Breakdown:
1. A relatively open, slightly downhill hole that plays around 275 with minimal obstacles except a large, thick tree that stops the wide RHBH hyzer play. A concrete area is OB with a big skip and bad luck. A straight shot or a forehand are easier ways to reach the pin. Relatively unobstructed and tame green.
2. Wide RHBH hyzer play over a lake. Plays a little over 300. The basket is at the foot of an extremely steep hill, and missed putts can often result in rollaways into the OB lake (although the lake is shallow and discs should be easily retrievable). Nice scenery with the fountain in the background. Miss is left, not right. A personally sentimental hole for me.
3. This hole is ROUGH. I understand why it exists (primarily for flow reasons), but this one is no fun. You throw uphill along an incredibly steep ridge (sloping downward from right to left) for the entirety of this par 4. If you try to bomb a backhand turnover and it stalls out and doesn't turn….it's going in the lake. Goodbye flippy undertaker. There's rollaway potential on every shot, and if it gets on edge, it could go down 150+ feet towards the lake. I've taken to just laying up with a midrange off the tee here, as the risk of a huge number isn't worth it. It isn't impossible to birdie, though, as the midrange layup often leaves less than 300 feet to the pin…but the footing is guaranteed to be awkward.
4. Downhill putter shot onto a dangerous sloped green. A low, skipping forehand is the play. Backhand can work, but the gap is narrower and foliage could swat down your shot. If you take the backhand, the green will funnel your disc towards the pin, but you'll have a downhill 20-30 footer.
5. After playing two tournaments here, I've learned that this is pretty much everyone's least favorite hole on the course. Interesting, given my extreme distaste for 3. This is a very narrow, straight gap with lots of foliage and overhanging limbs. Make it through the gap with a putter or midrange, then fade to the left down the hill. If you hit something in or around the gap, you'll likely have a very tricky downhill jump putt or flick approach to a very fast green. Unique hole. I actually like this one a lot.
6. Uphill left to right shot needing a quick right bite at the end. For this reason, forehand is preferred- it's hard to get that type of movement on a nose-up backhand, though a late-flipping midrange or putter can get there. Probably plays around 250-275. A mando is in place to protect a campus building. If you don't make the main gap, you'll probably be at least 125 out and having foliage to deal with to save your par. The slope is scary around the green, but there's a dirt hill and rough ground to stop rollaways most of the time.
7. Shot over a creek with a hill to the left shaping the fairway and two trees with long, scraggly branches swatting down shots on the right side. Plays around 275. There's a wide RHBH hyzer route, but it's pretty skinny. However, with the thorny foliage behind the basket getting cleared out, you can now get a skip up to the basket where you could not before. Forehand hyzer is the move, although I personally throw the turnover. Probably want to get this. One of the few relatively flat holes on the course.
8. Short, extremely uphill par 4 with almost no obstacles. Undoubtedly the easiest hole on the course, anyone with 275+ power should have no trouble getting the bird here. If you have 450+, you're thinking eagle here. The only danger here is a massive, 250+ foot rollaway down the hill. I've never seen that happen, and I honestly don't really want to think about it. Oof.
9. A scenic shot over the lake. 270 should clear safely, plays around 285. A large tree to the right of the basket keeps RHBH hyzers from swinging too wide. Similar to hole 1, except with the added element of the water. Also one of the few holes with little to no elevation change.
10. Stock RHBH hyzer into a sloped green. Plays around 325. The curvature of the hill here makes forcing a forehand tricky. Lake is close enough to where a real shank will get dunked, but there isn't water near the target landing area. Rollaways here are frequent, though not absolute crushers. You'll probably still have a putt, but it will likely be worse than you deserve.
11. Long left-to-right hole with a sloped green. Also plays around 325. Basket isn't visible from the pad. If you don't have the forehand power, roller and turnover are viable options here, but beware- there are some really unsavory thorn bushes to the left of the basket. Yowza!
12. Another long left-to-right hole that goes down into a natural bowl then up again at the end. The green is tricky- it's on top of a 10-foot ridge and there's an OB parking lot about 25 feet behind the basket. Fairway is relatively open, but there are a lot of scraggly tree branches that swat down shots. I have consistently had success here throwing a BH roller. Turnover and flick are also good options, but if that turnover stables up, it's going OB.
13. Short, slightly downhill putter shot playing around 250. Green is very protected by an OB road on the left and 2 trees and a fence on the right. If you go RHBH hyzer, go very wide and very high. Wide forehand skipping off the road is an option, as the fence to the right of the basket can also catch a shot to the right. A straight or turnover shot can also work, but is more finicky. There is a ridge on the left side of the green that will keep errant shots from skipping OB- if it lands in bounds, it will probably stay there. Lots of different approaches here- this is a short hole, but it's annoying.
14. Double mando about 30 feet from the tee and 10 feet wide with significant right-to-left movement. Pull out your most overstable disc, throw a righty hyzer or lefty forehand, and skip it up to the pin. Plays about 200. The closer you get to the left mando, the better. Grass length will dictate skip, so monitor.
15. Straight RHBH shot with a mando on the left, plays about 265. Righty midrange hyzer with a little flex is the move here, as there's little danger out to the right. They cut down the large tree that was here before, making this one easier. Honestly, if you make the mando, you'll probably have some sort of putt, due to how open the green is.
16. Definitely the signature hole of this course, and one of my favorite aesthetic holes. The hyzer line here is actually pretty tough due to those large evergreens- it's tough to swing something wide, so the line is to go slightly to the right and then fade instead of playing wide. Miss is short. If you end up in one of those trees, bogey is more than a possibility.
17. Relatively open, short hole that's uphill and plays in the 250-260 range. The problem here is that the green is elevated and the landing zone is pretty tight. If you release your RHBH hyzer early, you'll end up down the hill and in the OB road. Forehand is preferred to keep things off the OB. Of course, you can also go spike hyzer over the trees.
18. Personal nemesis hole for me. Plays along the same ridge on the left side of the fairway leading down to an OB road. Recently, the university has cleared out the grass and such on this hill, and it's now very fast. If you hit it, your disc is keeping its momentum, and likely going OB. Fairway starts relatively open, but chokes down pretty fast, with the aforementioned ridge running along the left and large green trees lining the right. The difference here is that you'll need about 350 of power here to throw a forehand up the fairway and next to the pin. If you try the backhand, it's better to overturn it- similar to hole 3, if it stalls out, it's likely going OB. Sometimes those trees will eat your disc, and sometimes they'll spit it out. Laying up with an overstable putter to where the fairway pinches down leaves a very manageable FH hyzer upshot.

Tips/Other Observations:'
- You really do need both forehand and backhand off the tee to score well here. I know this sounds weird, but the forehand holes are really hard to force a backhand on and the backhand holes are really hard to force a forehand on. If you play here, you'll see what I mean.
- This is a very lefty-friendly course.
- Pads are turf, baskets are Discatchers. The turf pads are new and are grippier than some of the more worn-in ones around the Atlanta area (like Etowah). Discatchers are great, as usual. There is no practice basket, but the course doesn't seem too busy, so practicing on 1 should be ok.
- This isn't a beginner-friendly course. Pretty much all the holes require 250+ power to reach and there's a large amount of lost disc potential with the lake. They do usually bring out a shorter layout in tournaments, most notably on the water carries.
- Flow isn't extremely intuitive. There are few long walks between holes, but you'll likely need UDisc to help you, especially when going from 14 to 15.
- One of the major knocks against this course is that I don't think they have a public restroom. The university does seem to let you park for free, thankfully.
- I have never played this course while school is in session. However, the only holes where there may be some pedestrians are 1, 2, and 13, I would think.
- Waleska is tiny and the town is basically the university. As a result, there isn't much for dining, entertainment, etc. nearby.
- I'm tempted to say the course is cart friendly because it's mostly grass, but there are a ton of hills you'll have to lug the thing up and down. I'd leave it at home.
- The university is really pretty, and there's a number of wonderful views throughout. My favorites are from the 8 basket and from the 16 pad.
- I candidly gave this course a 2.9, but I like playing here a lot more than that. It's not necessarily better than 2.9. But I really love playing this course.
- Kudos to Trainhopper for getting this one in!

"God bless America, and God bless the backhand turnover."