Pros:
+ The course takes place in an adventurous forest with plenty of trees, more than enough boulders, several noticeable hills and even a pretty pond in play.
+ All holes have two baskets in play. One is the easier and permanent 'tire' basket. The other basket would seem to change locations every now and again.
+ About half of the tee areas are either concrete or flat bouldertop.
+ The metal tee signs have holes in them by each pin position for the 'current basket' system. To denote which position the basket is in, a zip tie is fed through the respective hole.
+ Friendly locals.
+ The practice pin is open and noticeable, but...
Cons:
- ...that's because the practice pin is on a curb-less island in the middle of the parking lot.
- Some tee signs have no distances on them at all!
- The 'next hole' signage is almost non-existent. Yes, there is a map available, but we are not meant to review the map. This is about the course.
- The other half of the tee areas are dirt and pebbles.
- Since this is a majorly forested hole, there is little to differentiate one hole from another.
Other Thoughts:
My favorite hole to look at was hole 13. That peaceful pond on the left, the nice open fairway and the quaint OB mini gazebo all pulled together to make a peaceful image. My favorite hole to play was hole 4. Even though I completely screwed up my drive, I always love a good downhill glide. My least favorite hole is hole 1 because it was the plainest of the wooded holes.
All of this course is one big obstacle. If you are the kind of player that loves to air out your throws and watch it glide for scores of yards, then this course may not be for you. There are three holes that can be described as 'open,' but the majority of this course is full of tunnels, tree dodging and rocky hills. That's a good thing for those players who prefer placement and accuracy but not so good for those players who prefer courses to have variety and changing scenery.
Simply put, this course can get repetitive. The giant rocks are cool, the huge trees are fun to dodge, and the hills are a challenge to deal with, but sometimes it all feels like one long continuous hole in how not much distinguishes one hole from the next. It does give some room to stretch your legs in hole 9 and then 13 & 14 with that nice pond in play, but everywhere else is constant woods navigation. Again, many people may prefer that and many might not. These reviews are mostly subjective, anyway.
I didn't like the fact that there were almost no 'next hole' signs. That's always a major factor for me. I was lucky enough to arrive at the same time as the local club holding a tag match. A few times, I had to ask them where the next tee pad was, and they graciously helped me out. For the times when I was on my own, it was an unpleasant time trying to guess for myself exactly where to go next.
Also, let me quickly bring up that practice pin one more time. Why is it positioned among where the cars park? That seems avoidably dangerous. Why put players in the one spot where a bunch of vehicles are coming and going? Is there really no other place to put it?
Despite these criticisms, I enjoyed my time at Bootlegger's Cave DGC. The terrain and obstacles are just the kind of thing that I like in a disc golf course. It's just a shame that there wasn't much else and that the tee pads were half good, half clumpy dirt. Considering the property they are working with, I am not sure what else there can be, though. So, their use of the available land is pretty good and makes for an overall satisfying layout.
In closing, I strongly recommend Bootlegger's Cave for its rugged adventure forest-type disc golf. Just be sure to bring sturdy footwear. Leave the cart at home, and maybe leave the big gliders in the car. Oh, and there was no cave here. That was a bummer...