Pros:
Even though I was just joining the tournament and playing his course for the first time at the Goat Path, Greg mentioned to me that there weren't any new reviews since he changed seven holes on his home, 'private' course in central Kentucky, so he really wanted to know how his changes would be received (I've added a link to the new map and the Goat Path singles Facebook page). Personally, I think they're a hit!
The Goat Path is a unique, rustic experience for avid disc golfers who venture into the region around Mammoth Cave national park. It's within striking range of all the great courses in Bowling Green, and should be added to your wish list if your travel plans bring you here for a spell. The course is mostly hilly and wooded, but not overly punishing in either way, IF you can hit your intended lines. The woods holes range from 175 to 280 feet in length, and use the elevation tremendously well. There's a 190 footer that looks reachable uphill, until you realize it climbs at least 50 feet up there (making it play more like a 340 footer). One of the signature holes has to be the "shot off the rock" (now #8), which requires a zippy, straight, controlled putter shot off the top of a beautiful rock outcropping.
Adding a lot of variety, there are seven holes mostly out in the open, but cleverly chosen to force a variety of lines: a huge (400') downhill, right to left hook into a narrow finishing gap on 1, there's a sweeping left to right, easily reachable shot on (new) 11, BUT there's a dropoff beyond the basket and a fenced pasture 40' to the right, hole 15 is an uphill S shot that's only 250', but is not as easy as it looks, and then there's a 357' up-slope hole 17 that finishes with a really mean basket position between a pair of small pines.
In fact, one of the memorable aspects of the Goat Path is the occasional (dare I say sadistic?) tricky basket position. Hole 13 shoots out of a pretty tight gap, and is only 237 feet, but Greg stuck that basket JUST under a falling tree trunk. Nasty! In all, if you've got skills at the Intermediate level and above, you might really thrill to the challenge level of this course. It seems that it could be a little frustrating below that, because of the tree kicks you will experience in these woods.
There are obviously multiple tee options for almost every hole, and the tournament lengths chosen this year each had a very nice wooden sign, hand painted with the general layout and distances. There were a smattering of nice benches along the course, and the flow cycles back near the start after 10 and 17-18, so you are never an impossible distance away (even if there are times out on the course you might feel like you're really out in the woods). The nice thing about the baskets and signage is that fluorescent tape and paint is used on baskets and arrows so you can readily see where you need to go.
The character of the course (starting and looping back to the goat pens and the barn) wasn't really lost by not using the pond/goat pen shot. You can still interact (carefully!) with that big billy goat there. Besides, the options are still there, if Greg's got the time to mow the hay down for disc golf. I'm sure none of us would want to work that hard year round. This is still a goat farm, not just a disc golf course, after all.
Cons:
Clearly, when I say 'rustic', I mean that this is a mostly wooded course that doesn't get your usual quantity of year-round foot traffic. So, when (not if) you kick off a tree, you will encounter some briars, and often a really difficult recovery shot. I was lucky enough to come for the winter tournament, so these weren't as tough as they have to be in the summer months.
The tees are level, but natural and mulched, so some folks might include them in the 'con's section. I actually found them to be very adequate. In the same vein, the baskets are really varied, and often home made out of a piece of an old grill, a cut-off barrel, or a wheelchair wheel. There are good practice quality baskets mixed in, and some older, shallow, single ring of chains baskets that can frustrate you as much as the others, but they're the same for everybody playing, and they often make the most unique clunking sound. They aren't exactly going to ring out in the satisfying way a $400 piece of equipment might. On the other hand, these catch well enough that there were at least three aces (that I heard of) out of 71 players for the 2014 Goat Path tournament.
I don't have any major complaints about the course flow, but caution needs to be taken in a couple of places. Hole 1 is (very) blind from the tee, so wait for groups in front to clear. Likewise there's a little fairway walking and/or backtracking on 5 and 14. And when you throw on 9, watch for folks on the 2nd tee.
Other Thoughts:
The thing that impressed me the most about the Goat Path is the fact that Greg obviously isn't just a guy who thought it would be cool to have a home course, and looked for lines to suit his game. Knowing that a huge number of players are right hand back handers, it felt to me like the flight lines were intentionally chosen to add a little challenge, without being overly mean. The straight-ish, thread-it-through-the-trees shots often finished just slightly right of the 'best' lines. When he 'rewards' the rhbh-ers with a right to left fade, the lines have to be spot on to park the shot, and then there's usually a tricky green.
If you get a chance to play in a Goat Path tournament, bring a few extra bucks for the tip jar because the included lunch is amazing. I've played in a lot of tourneys already, but this is the one of the nicest food and fun combinations I've ever had (shout out to the folks who do the Redneck Open as well: what is it about the more remote, country courses being so hospitable?).
...and this course would get a much higher numerical rating with more of the 'bells and whistles' folks are coming to expect. So I hope folks are paying more attention to the reviews' text than to a numbers game. The Goat Path isn't about a number. It's about enjoying our sport to its fullest.