Pros:
1) Concrete tees
2) Two sets of tees
3) Elevation changes
4) Solid course design
5) For the most part, defined lanes in deep mature forest
6) Flags on top of baskets
Cons:
1) No tee signs
2) No navigation cues to next hole
Other Thoughts:
Course design: 4/5
Scenery: 5/5
Tees: 5/5
Signage: 0/5
Navigation: 2.5/5
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Total/Average: 3.3/5
This course is awesome. I'm so glad that I made the trip down here to play it. Although I finished plus from the short tees, I still felt satisfied. Only a great course can leave you feeling that way even though you didn't perform well.
Where do I begin? Well, first of all, I played from the short tees so my review will reflect the shorts only.
Man, this course is way sweet. The course has only 2 holes in the open...all the rest play within mature forest, with plenty of elevation changes to keep things fresh and interesting. The tee boxes are generous, and for a forest course, I was pleased to see the highly visible Innova baskets (with yellow flags on top to boot!).
The course winds through heavily wooded property in Burr Oak State Park, which is basically Wayne National Forest territory. The holes will test every shot that you have. There are some holes that are super long AND in the woods which makes it even more difficult. In fact, some of the holes are so long in the woods that I gave the design a 4 for that reason. That said, there are discernible lanes to shoot through on virtually every hole. There are uphill and downhill shots. There are ace runs. It has it all.
So what is lacking? Well, navigation and signage are lacking. This is the only reason that I didn't rate this course way higher, and these things will be fixed in due time and then I will update my review accordingly. But as for today, I can tell you I had a hell of a time trying to navigate this course. For the most part, the navigation is okay even without signage, but there are a few key points in the course that require some foreknowledge or else you'll do some walking around (hence why I gave a 2.5 for navigation).
Here's some things to watch out for: 1) After hole 1, walk along the road that is behind the basket and that goes uphill. That will take you to hole 2's tee, which is just inside the wood line on your right. I made the mistake of turning right from the basket and walking into the woods via a wide path that went into the woods. That will take you to hole 2's basket, and then you'll have to walk uphill on the fairway to get to the tee, so don't do that. 2) After hole 5, hole 6 runs left and uphill. I made the mistake of turning right after 5 and walking down some walking path that goes to nowhere. 3) After hole 9, DO NOT walk into the woods to the right of hole 9's basket. I walked for a considerable distance into those woods, and while it had some beautiful views, I wasted a bunch of my time basically hiking around with a bunch of gear on my back like some kind of Army basic training exercise. Instead, you need to double back from hole 9's basket and walk past hole 1's tee. Hole 10's tee is inside the wood line on your left once you get past hole 1's am tee.
The bottom line...This course is an amazing piece of work. I love it. I can't wait to go back next summer after it's all done. My average score on this course is 3.3, which I have rounded up to 3.5. I will make it at least a 4 or 4.5 once the tee signs and navigation are fixed.