Pros:
The scenic beauty of this course was great. The remote and peaceful setting is what put me in a great state of mind and set my mood off right. I didn't see another group the entire time (was playing on a Monday morning though). The balance is excellent and the variety is just about as good (just lacking some good water hazards). Left, right, straight, uphill, downhill, across hill, and good varying distances all balance out this top notch, fun to play course. There are 2-3 pin placements on most holes, so do some scouting and experience the variety, and most of the A-pins appear to offer great ace runs for most players. I'd love to live here so I could play all the different variations more often. The sloping terrain offers great risk/reward punishment for shanked drives that sail away without control, and botched putts that roll away. Once on top of the hill you are treated to some amazing vistas across the tops of the treelines. Despite the feel that you're playing up and down a hill under the pines, the rolling meadow up top offers the balance I crave and gets you out of a pure 'mountain course' frame of mind by offering some room to air it out, and take in some beautiful views. Memorable holes are so many I had to start making notes and keeping a list. #13 has a picturesque 'mini-meadow' landing zone with an upshot to a risky mound green. #17 is a great downhill bomber that is actually more controllable and beautiful than the last hole. It offers 5 pin placements with D being the best for a blue level player. After pegging the pole on a skipped first drive, I stood on the tee and unloaded my bag with multiple ace runs. The huge downhill 600' bomber is a tad too tight (visually to see your landing or watch shanked drives sail away), but nonetheless a breathtaking hole with a great shot opportunity. There are mandos on 13, 15, 16 that add to the variety and uniqueness. I don't mind the long walk to the first hole. It's needed to get past the zipline area and it gives you a chance to warm up prior to walking straight uphill for the first three holes! There is a bathroom up on top by hole 14.
Cons:
Just one teepad on most holes is a huge con, but I understand they are probably hard to access up there to build more. It's my personal preference to have nice short recreational tee available for a wider range of players (for example bringing a noob, wife, kids, etc to also be able to experience this great course). Lack of a good true water hazard eliminates the absolute variety I crave in courses, but the elevation here offers the huge downhill bomber that most courses simply do not have the terrain for. #14 Cpin is mostly a junk crapshoot through some aspen or birch trees, I'd love to see the local route.
Other Thoughts:
I was travelling for work, and made it a point to leave early and fly on Sept 11, despite the rantings and crying of my wife, so I could get there a day early and play Conifer and Phantom Falls. I unpacked my usual bag taking more lighter and understable plastic due to previous high elevation throwing experience I had, and I dismantled my wife's smaller mini-revo bag and jammed it all into a bag to check at the airline (I did find room for a few other work clothes, but they took a backseat to my disc golf priorities on this business trip). I had been in contact with Paulie from Phantom Falls and he tried to warn me about the dirty 56, but it made no difference because I was going to get these courses in. I landed late Sunday night, drank a bunch at CB & Potts to allow me to sleep despite all my excitement, and I was still up by 6am, ready to head out and play Conifer. I finished the 20 holes here, and proceeded to head to Phantom Falls, the dirty 56 were no issue at all, it felt good to stretch after the flight and a hungover sleepless morning . This course alone is worth the drive from the metro area and an outstanding tough, balanced, beautiful, and challenging course. I hear plans are in place for another 18-20 holes and OMG will that yield a ton more variety and fun! Hopefully some water can be found to bring into play, but I'm sure the creative minds will put together something to please everyone. There are ziplines and tons of great hiking at this park too.