Pros:
* The "greens" here are scenic and interesting; putting is really quite challenging. A few holes have level greens, but for the most part you're going to be tossing uphill or downhill, sometime quite steeply, with lots of little trees in the way and roots at the ready to send your missed shots bouncing into the next county or into the pond. Putting here requires you to calculate risk/reward in a way that few courses do. Based only on "inside the circle", this is a ****-course.
* In spite of relatively modest course length and difficulty, the good holes at Sequoyah are memorable for a par 3 course. 2, 13, 17 and 18 have a lot of personality.
Cons:
* Safety, safety, safety. A couple holes require you to throw over the road, a few run right along a walking path, fairly decent throws can cross fairways (13 and 12, 9 and 10) ...not to mention plenty of steep hills with lots of slippery roots (and this course is shady enough to where it always seems to be a bit wet).... Oh yeah, giant spiders lurking in the pond, too, lol. I don't want to oversell the danger, but do be careful out here folks!
* Too many filler holes. I can forgive a couple, but there's at least (charitably) four here. I don't think anything can really be done about it - the land is used effectively.
* Within the past year, the hole numbers have changed. The change has helped with parking (less competition from the ballfields at #1) but the signs haven't been updated. Actually, I'm not even sure the signs really help here, since some seem to be based on an even older layout. This one is definitely a little difficult to navigate.
Other Thoughts:
I think of all the courses I've played I have the most mixed feelings about Sequoyah. For a par 3 course, the best holes here really are quite nice... but the bad ones are really cringe worthy, too. I really struggle to know how many stars to give this one. Ultimately, I do enjoy playing here, regardless of the course's drawbacks, however.
Since this course is out in the countryside, many times there are only a handful of people here. When the ballfields are in use, however, it becomes almost unplayable - cars and foot traffic constantly in the way.
Pro-tip: If your GPS tries to send you down "Little Road" just keep driving. That's just an old mule trail that'll only cost you time.
Because I'm weird and have too much free-time, I will now go basket by basket and give a grade:
1 - Nice little warm up hole with a tricky green. Unfortunately, you're throwing out over the walking path, and poor throws easily roll into a treacherous ravine. Kinda feel like this hole perfectly represents the good and bad of Sequoyah. I'll give it a B.
2 - I can see why some people hate this hole - the slope (actually, it's probably the closest thing I've seen to a cliff on a DG course) off to the right is realllly dangerous, but I still find this one to be a fun and challenging hole. Bounce one off the basket and you can easily be four or five-putting. A-.
3 - Ugh, bad, just bad. This one plays out over the road and at 400+ feet will require either a long turnover or a respectable forehand from a RH player - skills which most players that would play here lack. Bad shots go into the road that leads in from the entrance - yikes! D-.
4 - A modest little uphill flick for the RH player. This wouldn't be too objectionable, except for the fact that #10 and #11 are almost exactly the same. Lots of trees - practice your off-balance putting for this one. C.
5 - Another modest hole near the walking path, but it's a tight enough turn to be a blind hole thereby offering a bit of a challenge. B-.
6 - The fairway narrows down to a green absolutely filled with pine saplings. No doubt some would object to the luck factor involved here, but I find this sort of hole to be a test of your recovery (mental and disc golf) ability. It's entirely possible to be within 20 feet and not have a decent line to the basket. B.
7 - Only 180 feet down a steep hill but you've got to hit a realllly tight gap. Overhand seems to be the way to go here - I saw a guy get a roller ace (hit a root and bounced right into the basket) with that approach and for that reason alone, I'll give this one a B+. Apparently, this one has an alt pin position where you're going uphill, but I've never played it.
8 - A little over 300 feet dead straight but the fairway is the PERFECT width to remain challenging for us huckers. The "rough" has that perfect amount of trees where a well-executed scramble gets you back to par but it'll be challenging. A.
9 - Sloping, tree-lined fairway narrows down to an "unfairway" yet I still like this one. If the basket is in the long pin, I think this one is pretty hard to par, because almost everyone is gonna catch a tree in the gap and only a really good scrambling approach is going to get you within the circle. B+.
10 - Obviously running out of space. A wrist-flick gets you the 150 to the basket, but there's a rollaway danger here. C.
11 - This is pretty much the same as #10, just a little longer and more of a forced dogleg. C+.
12 - Very tight dogleg left. When the basket is in the long position, it's a fairly challenging par 3 relative to its length. B.
13 - Ahhh, I really love this one - it's just a fairly straightforward throw out over a valley, but it's so pretty and naturally plays to a RHBH throw, resulting in some exciting ace runs. A.
14 - Back across the valley, this time swooping to the right. This is another one where the pin being in the long position makes it a quite challenging par 3. A-.
15 - Another little filler hole, but the basket being on a downward slope adds some fun. B-.
16 - Ugh. This one requires you to throw over the road (drivers coming around a blind turn) and hit a gap you cannot really see from the pad. If games are going on at the field, you'll also be throwing over everyone's car parked on the shoulder, too. Although the pad is pointed towards the road, you could throw down a tunnel directly at the basket, but at the risk on beheading any joggers that come down the path. I think what I hate about this one is that, if the road wasn't there, this one would be really quite cool and A material, but I'm going to have to give it a D.
17 - This one is rather interesting. Only 300 feet, first you throw out over a pond that would claim only the worst possible newbie throw, but the well-protected basket lies over a blind hill, and sits very close to a muddy creek. I think advanced players will want to go ahead and challenge the basket, but the rest of us probably just play it safe and try to layup at the top of the hill. B+.
18 - This is a pretty sweet ending to a course - a very challenging par 3 that requires your driving/approaching/putting to be on just to par due to the number of trees and a basket in a very precarious position. Birdieing in the long position would be impressive. I will say - I wish somebody would put some logs down at the edge of the pond, because luckless rollaways into that pond really aren't very enjoyable. Solid A.