Pros:
Creekside is one of the closest courses to my farm. Probably the best features of Creekside are the huge tee pads and the excellent signage, both tee signs and directional signs. Rhoades and I might have been the first players to play across the creek and even without the signs, we found our way through. We did almost miss #10, but saw it before teeing of on 11, which we originally thought for a moment was 10. The course flows and follows well and is an enjoyable walk through the woods. Though I do tend to appreciate more open courses more, Creekside is still an nice and fun place to play, with its well defined fairways through the forest. It is also good for same day, different course play, with its proximity to N. Asheboro, Johnson Street and private Cedar Lake, right around the corner.
Cons:
My first and foremost detraction from Creekside, like many Russell designs is the overly close proximity of baskets to disc disappearing water. We used to joke that it was a mental illness, but finally realized that it is a very shrewd business decision, because the more discs that Russell can make you lose, the more discs you have to buy, perhaps from his employer. 6, 10, 11 and 14 all fall into that category. 11's basket should have been moved away from the creek and planted in that big stump, which is, of course, now gone. It would have been a picturesque perfect ending to an already truly signature hole. 14's basket would be better placed on the island, making it a real signature hole, as well. And its short pad is way too short, even if the basket were moved to the island.
Secondly, I've always maintained that if you're going to have multiple tees on any holes, they should be on all holes. If that is not feasible, red and blue par rating should most often differ, especially on holes like 5 and 7. Rhoades and I have found perfect places for second pads on all of the holes without them. They would all be red, except for #8. Pads painted on sidewalks have always irked me, here, in Statesville and even when we pretty much had to do so at The SPC. I understand the cost cutting aspect of it, but it's still a design flaw. And the two gold pads...well, there's nothing I can say about them without sounding like an arse. When their paint fades, they shouldn't be repainted. 17 Blue should be moved off of the sidewalk and tucked into that grove on the rise, just to the left of the gold tee on the sidewalk..
And some of the par ratings seem rather arbitrary, like Crooked Creek at Northeast Park. Sorry to say, but there is not a hole at Creekside, from the red, blue or gold that merits a par rating of 5.
Other Thoughts:
If the Triad were to ever institute a tourney like the Triangle's Great 8 or Charlotte's Iron Man, Creekside would definitely be one of the courses to include.