Pros:
+ Great welcome area with a practice basket, a complete info board and compartments for lost discs, lost personal items, etc.
+ Bright 'next tee' arrows.
+ Deep forests, wide open fields, elevation, a stream and a pond await the player here.
+ Tee pads are flat, sturdy, long and wide made of pavers, but...
Cons:
- ...Some of the pads are in disrepair. Hole6 comes to mind.
-/+ Tee signs are just okay. They're present, mostly.
Other Thoughts:
Hole1 was my favorite to look at. Right off the bat, Stonykill starts you off in a haunted-looking creaky forest of tall pines. It is such a prefectly framed image that you can't help but stare in amazement for a few moments. The next few holes continue this way, but I liked hole1 the best. After, say, hole5, the course calms down and resembles most other northeastern courses.
Hole12 was my favorite to play. After hole 9, the course almost audibly clunks into a different rhythm. The distances increase dramatically. Gone are the dense forest tunnels. Instead, we get mostly fields and wider tunnels. But hole11 and especially hole12 find a nice balance in that back nine. 12 has a lovely downhill glide that requires tree-dodging and power control. Watch out for that stream on the left hand side. It's a fun hole to outsmart.
The biggest surprise to me was hole5 by far. Up until that point, the fairways are flat or at least not textured enough to force me to take notice. Then, I walked to tee5, turned to face the fairway, and my mouth dropped from the surprise before me. It might be the briefest on the course, but it still laughs and dares you to attack its crazy uphill climb without hitting any of its trees. The course never reaches that kind of wow factor again, but it was nice to see once.
And my least favorite was hole10. I'm finding that hole10 is usually my least favorite hole at locations that used to be a 9-hole course. A lot is asked of such a connecting fairway, and Stonykill's hole10 was just a little too long and open to be fun, despite its hills. Plus, the sign at 10's tee area wasn't nearly clear enough. I ended up throwing towards basket 14 without realizing it.
So, I may as well say that the tee signs in general need a bit of work. They are just laminated paper on wooden posts. Some of the posts themselves are rickety, and a few have fallen over. More permanent tee signs would be cool.
Also, some of the holes aren't that great. Holes9 and 15 were on the boring side because of their direct nature.
But the course as a whole is great. Even after it leaves the spooky pine tunnels behind, Stonykill has a trick up its sleeve. Maybe a stream on holes11 and 12. Maybe an entire pond on hole17. It is a nice example of what disc golf variety can be, and I hope you get the chance to play it someday. It's not too explosive or gripping, but you'd still be missing out on something good if you decided to pass on it.