Plays on a functioning golf course with rolling terrain, a winding brook, and lots of open space.
• First, you have to appreciate the scale of this course... it's MASSIVE (nearly 8,000' from the shorts and 11,600' from the longs for 18 holes), with bomber hole after bomber hole, where you can really appreciate the full flight of a well thrown distance driver.
• High marks for great use of natural elements. Rolling terrain is nicely employed to create a few downhill tee shots, some uphill approaches and some rollaway greens. Water comes into play on half the holes (less prominently on #'s 17 & 18) and can definitely cost strokes (or discs), and although you have to get over it on many holes, it's all avoidable even if you can't throw 300 ft. Essentially all the fairways are wide open off the tee, allowing numerous lines (but forcing none), with creatively used trees coming prominently into play the closer you get to the pin. Every hole places at least a few problematic trees somewhere between tee and pin, and there are plenty of crappy lies due to vegetation, despite the open tees. Sunnybrook can be very forgiving of tee shots that stray from the intended line (assuming they don't stray into water), but can also punish with obstructions to the preferred line for your 2nd or 3rd shot when there's still a long way to go.
• Pin placements employ every trick in the book: rollaways, elevated baskets, well-tucked pins, near the water, in a tree (with only a few open looks out of 360 degrees), between two trees close together, hanging, well-guarded by several trees, on an open green that's mostly surrounded by bushes.
• Really challenges the basic aspects of the game:
+ Unquestionably favors distance off the tee.
+ Favors precision putting: Elevated pins, and sinisterly guarded baskets with tough looks from certain angles can easily turn missed putts into 3-putts as the come-back may suck... more opportunities to pick up add'l strokes on the green than most courses.
+ Favors well-placed upshots: Tough basket placements = lousy looks from certain angles, great looks from others. Since comebacks on missed putts can be 1+ strokes, placing upshots to get a good look vs. a bad look is key to low scores. Rollaways can turn a good looking upshot to crap - land flat or face a long putt.
• Several true par 4's & 5's.
• Despite being a bomber course, there are several holes where a noodle arm (like me) can score 3's and even 2's.
• Equipment: baskets are fine. A few tees have black fly pads, but the natural tees are in great shape - no issues in terms of ability to make a great throw.
• Aesthetic: Pleasant enough, it's nice and green, water adds a nice touch - but I've definitely seen nicer golf courses.

• Routing/Nav: Routing is good (flows OK from hole to hole) but Nav is horrid. MAP IS AN ABSOLUTE MUST for first timers! No signage of any sort, open layout w/long treks between some holes, rolling landscape, and no concrete all combine to make it particularly difficult for the unititiated to find the next tee. A few holes have black fly pads, but they're hard to spot from a distance. I've only played here for tourneys (where the tees are marked with flags or orange paint), but I'd hate to play a casual round on an unfamiliar course where everything's so open and expansive, you feel like the next tee could be anywhere.
• Lacks variety in terms of fairway types. # 3's the only hole where you have to hold a tight line with your tee shot... needs a bit more of that.
• Hard to know where the pin is on long holes your first time out - scouting up ahead on long holes is a drag.
• You may have to wait for golfers to clear out of the way on a few holes.
• Traffic noise where #12 leads to # 13 is a buzz kill.

If you need technical holes for a fun round, keep driving. If distance and water carries intimidate you, keep driving. If you like bombing it off the tee, and using mids and putters for precision shots, come on down (but don't plan on a quick round).

I'm a noodle arm myself, and like tight, woodsy courses, but there's something about Sunnybrook that's a lot of fun for me.

On a course as open and long as this, wind is a given - just a matter of how much and how well you handle it. It can change direction or intensity at the drop of a hat, but count on it being a factor... and it has a long time to work on your shots.

Ball golf tees and greens are ruled OB, more to encourage discers to completely avoid them, rather than to create additional challenge.

You gotta love the fact that this course truly provides many chances to gain or lose strokes to the competition in every facet of the game: driving, upshots and putting.

Somewhat ironic that so many different natural elements (wind, water, trees and terrain) play such significant roles and on so many holes, on such a civilized, well-groomed course (i.e. that feels anything but "natural" if you will)... much more so than many of the more "natural, fairly untouched, rough around the edges" courses I've played.

If the previous two points aren't characteristic of good course design, please enlighten me. Whether they pressed the gimmick button too many times (or not) with basket placement is a judgement call. I think they've created a lot of challenge with it, but can see how some will say they've gone overboard.

You may think golf carts are an unnecessary luxury, but if it's your first time here, you really might wanna go with a friend to split the cost, it'll save you a ton of walking as you scout ahead for baskets on this behemoth.

I can sympathize with travelling players who come for a casual round and feel frustrated as hell finding their way around. Additionally, while I appreciate what the designers have done here, the property succumbs to an inherent lack of variety. These factors keep me from rating it higher.

Aesthetic-- plays intertwined with a ball golf course. Essentially you play simultaneously with ball golfers. in this reversal of fortune, I think you have more to worry about than the ball golfers.

Carts!-- a very sweet addition and much needed as this course is a beast of a different color... damn near 2 miles long for 18 holes.

Champion Caliber-- This course is damn near champion caliber if it weren't for those pesky ball golfers... the hole scopes are IMMENSE. I mean, two holes >1000'. it's insane how big this place really is..

Water-- use of water here is key. Water carries require about 300' drives on a normal basis.

Teesigns/teepads-- or the lack there of. neither are great. I hate flypaper and the lack of teesigns on both tees made this place uber confusing.

Routing and nav-- as said above, the lack of any sort of signage makes this place a navigational nightmare.

Gimmicky basket placements-- so many in trees or hanging or on a stump. Couple this with having to search out the basket every hole this makes it weird.

I wanted to love this place but just didn't..

Big long course. Nice to get a cart, fashion your bag to the back, grip it and rip it. A few rubber tee pads set to the side and front of the ball pads. Brand new baskets, many hanging in trees, tucked into woods, elevated. Very unique and challenging. Water in play on about five holes, and a 300' drive gets you over all the driving water, a couple in play on approach and behind baskets as well. Could easily play in a pair of golf shoes of tennis shoes, it was nice to be out of a pair of boots. Ball golfers were very curious and cooperative. Though, I imagine the cart out there helps alert them you are there. This is a new course last season and ball golfers and management just getting used to the idea. A lot of time spent on PR. Course plays along the ball course with baskets short, left or right of greens.

Management is a mess, pro shop had no clue as to price, condition, equipment. Navigation was a problem. The provided map is awful and a ball scorecard is nessesary to cross reference. Missing tee pads, those that were there only identified with orange survey flags. Not many hole numbers no distances or clue as to where the basket (often hidden) is. A pair of binoculars would be helpful. The disc holes are numbered opposite of the ball holes. (1-9 ball holes are 10-18 disc holes...) just to add to the confusion, for no benefit. Missed holes 2 and 3 completely. A healthy dose of attention is required, you are on a ball course and they can hit into you from a long way away, though the disc course stays out of the way mostly. Getting a couple beers at the turn was a nightmare. I just got the impression the whole place (motel, bowling alley, bar, restaruant, poker room, ball golf, disc golf) are poorly run. Maybe just the time of year.

Played on a open ball course as "swat" golfers are playing as well. We rented a cart and were inserted into the tee times. Pace of play sometimes presented a challenge, as we played as a twosome. It is so natural to simply walk to your disc, but in order to maintain a slow enough pace to fit in with swat golfers, getting in the cart and tossing each disc, was vital. A little love from a club or a couple disc golfers could make vast improvements in a short time here. Tall flags for the pads and baskets and a decent map with distances would make navigation easy. I had a great time out there, despite the unintentional attempts by management to make it tough. A couple comments about "old timers" not happy with the installation, but if they were making money with "old timers" this course would not be here. Lots of positve feedback while there will help. $20 a piece to play with a cart, not the listed price here or on Disc Gof Scene. This would be a blast with a foursome of decent disc golfers, not in a hurry.