Pros:
- Great variety in distance, terrain, and difficulty
- Elevation is often a factor
- Concrete tee pads and good baskets
- Nice setting (dense forest in the Cascade foothills)
Cons:
- Remote location
- Private and often closed, so you have to call ahead
- So many trees, it can be frustrating if you end up in the rough
Other Thoughts:
First of all, the lowdown on playing at Camp Tadmor: it's a private Baptist summer camp in the hills about a half-hour east of Lebanon. You can't play at all between mid-June and mid-August due to summer camp sessions, and the rest of the time you still need to call ahead, because they rent the place out to private groups as well. Smoking, drinking, drugs, and swearing loudly are absolutely prohibited; respect their rules.
You wouldn't think a bible camp's little-used course would amount to much, but it really is one of the best in Oregon. The first hole goes steeply uphill through trees, the second is a dogleg left, the third is downhill toward a meadow and then flat, the fourth is a nasty uphill with an extreme dogleg right, the fifth is a long s-curve through the trees... and so on. The second-to-last hole is a monster downhill toward a small lake, and the last one goes 250' over the corner of the lake. Because you're only allowed to play when camp ISN'T in session, it'll probably be very quiet and peaceful, and you might even have the whole course to yourself.
Almost every hole has an obvious, well-sculpted fairway. Go off course, though, and you might be in a world of hurt. There's very few blackberries and no poison oak, so you'll probably find your disc, but with all the trees, you might not find an easy route to the pin. Accuracy is rewarded much more than distance... and I don't think I'd recommend this course for beginners.
By the way, Tadmor used to be even further out of the way, but with the recent opening of the 18-hole course at Waterloo County Park (which is on the way from Albany or Corvallis), it's easier to justify the drive out there. Still a full 2 hours from Portland, though.