Pros:
Let me start with praising the local scene. From watching/stalking them via Facebook over the last month, they are the epitome of how a disc golf club should operate. They welcome the new players and the out-of-towners with open arms (Thomas from the club literally picked me up AT MY HOTEL LOBBY 20 minutes away from the course and invited me into his home before guiding me through a course and dropping me off...how many people in your local club would do that for a stranger if you're honest?). Just watching their posts reminds you of yourself when you first discovered the game. And mind you, it isn't easy to play on this island (more to come). I find myself complaining when 2-3 holes on one of many local PERMANENT courses are closed, but the obstacles that these guys overcome on a daily basis to play some golf truly makes me reconsider how lucky I am (to be fair, being in paradise can't hurt their mood!).
Let's talk about the positives of the course briefly...there is a good mix of RHBH hyzers, anhyzers, and the always fun ace runs. Although there are literally zero open holes, every route was fair if you can hit your line. Distance is appropriate given the tight fairways, although a good drive on any hole can give you the opportunity for a deuce.
Cons:
So, you'll notice I only gave this a 3 despite my raving review about the local scene. As much fun as I had and as badly as I'd like to return, to be consistent regarding my ratings of other courses, I still have to be realistic. Let's start by calling a spade a spade: it is a temporary course. I don't mean that the club installs 18 temporary baskets, plays, then removes the baskets. I mean that in my sole experience, we had one basket...so we would place it at hole 1, then play hole 1; place the basket at hole 2, then play hole 2; and so on. This adds considerable time and walking to your round, but there IS a bright side for first-timers to this course...you literally walk the fairway up and back before you throw it on each hole, so you can't complain about "blind" shots. Also, there are only a handful of holes over 300 feet so it's not like you're walking back and forth THAT far.
Next, some of the holes play back and forth along the same fairway, meaning you play down a tunnel and then back up it for the next hole. Sometimes this can be a completely different shot, but in some cases it is a bit...familiar. Which leads me to my next "con".
While I feel that the designer made wonderful use of the land at his disposal, it's the same type of tree/bush/hill throughout the course.
Let me be clear about these cons...at some courses you dock points due to not having certain aspects (benches, trash cans, whatever). In this case I am not docking them points; I simply don't feel that I can ADD any more for them. Most of these cons are beyond the control of the club and once you play here you will appreciate their hard work.
Other Thoughts:
I hope you have the opportunity to play this course! The locals still meet at 3 on Fridays, so I would recommend planning on that. As I was just a passenger, it seemed very confusing to navigate up the mountain, so make sure you have clear directions or a GPS before you try. I highly recommend finding this club on Facebook first to see what other rounds are available to meet your schedule. Enjoy the ace runs, remember that you are playing in freaking Hawaii, and be sure to request that you play hole 18 in the D position! Mahalo to the crew out there, keep up the great work!