Fayette is seemingly secretive. I had that feeling as soon as I walked past the pool to the first tee pad. I saw a concrete pad and a stick with the number 1 on top of it but nothing else. You feel like you are walking up a huge driveway to a vacant and abandoned home with over thirty acres when you tee off on #1. I loved this starting hole! Doors are all unlocked and as soon as you reach the green on the first hole, you feel like you just stepped into what is presumably the mudroom. It felt so under the radar because literally no one was playing here except for me. Not to mention, the pool was emptied out.

-The landscape and terrain are just the way I like it! Several open holes with just a few more wooded holes than open. It's about 60-65% wooded. You know you are in for something different once you reach the green on #1. The next couple holes are wooded and then you go back out into the open back beside the pool on #4. You play along the pond on holes 13-15 and end with a full driver rip on #18. In between, you play through a wooded trail with some seriously tight fairways. The balance is excellent.

-#5-7 is an excellent three-hole combo. I loved all of these holes. They show a remarkable amount of elevation. #5 is a short par four that plays a lot longer. I measured it at exactly 400' with the range finder with a 40' elevation rise. You start off in the open on flat ridge and throw up the hill into a wooded pocket. The approach in the woods is very tight and makes for a hard par four despite being a pretty short one. You want to really try and land at the face of the mouth of the woods. I threw an over stable driver just a little too far because I thought it would turn left once it approached at the curve but it went a little too far past the opening in the woods and I rolled back down the hill into the open after hitting a tree. I was left with a tough uphill anhyzer and wasn't directly in line with the basket since I wasn't quite at the face of the woods. I still birdied cause of a 45' uphill putt. I made do with what I could from my drive.

-#6 is one of three big downhills. This hole has the greatest use of elevation and is truly a fantastic hole. Definitely a prospect for another signature hole, the main one being #14 which I'll get to. #6 is longer than 400'. It's maybe 425' but the downhill is severe enough to where distance is not really a concern. This is a pro par three for sure. It's out in the open, but in a shady spot with many tall and pretty pine trees (many over 75' tall), so there are designated lines with limited options. The first half is very gently downhill while the second half is where the big drop really kicks in. The basket is a good way away to the right side, so this is clearly a lefty backhand, righty flick hole. I threw an understable midrange and it looked perfect off the tee. Held the line properly and looked to make it all the way down to the green. However, the big elevation drop toward the second half makes a backhand prone to fading much harder to the left. I was maybe 60' from the pin on the left. Even my understable mid hyzered out. Hole has an elevation drop just over 60', so it is by my standard "an extreme downhill.".

#7 is probably the designated "gauntlet". Very tight and dead straight. Only 230' but significantly uphill and very rough on both edges. A birdie is a very good one here. Not quite as difficult as #6, but still tough.

-Being what I would consider a blue level course, the three par fours all play somewhat easier. #5, #14, and #15. #5 as I previously mentioned is a stationing par four. #14 is probably without a doubt the signature hole. This hole is a big downhill dogleg left with the view of the second pond. The approach is on the bank between two ponds (the other being the one next to #13). I enjoyed the sweeping left downhill drive and how you plan to go far left in order to have a shorter and easier accuracy up shot, as a longer second shot would be more intimidating throwing between two ponds. #15 is lined up next to the second pond and goes over a small valley along the gravel road. This is a real grip and rip par four with more open space to the right. These holes aren't super long. Longest being 550' and they don't require as much distance to birdie, even though it can be used to an advantage. The par fours are mostly the redemption holes, as most of the par threes here are difficult.

-Amenities: Nice clean bathrooms and trash cans near the 18th pin (in the open near the horseshoe pits).

-Property is very interesting as well as offering different extracurricular activities. Plenty of fish in the ponds, a 10' swimming pool, horseshoe pits, and some really cool woodwork design near the parking lot. Right by the blue hut, there's this large built wooden train and a custom made buggy made of wood, stumps, and tree logs.

-I want to give Fayette a higher rating because I love the terrain and fact that it's about 65% wooded and about 35% open. There are some significant issues with some of the fairways. Some are more serious than others and this is my main gripe. #10 is the main culprit. 290ish dogleg right and shaped like the less than symbol "<". The angle at the landing zone is less than 90 degrees and discs simply don't fly like that. #8 and #12 are both very tight down narrow and rugged trails and both have major curves (#8 right and #12 left). #12 is almost a horseshoe shaped par three. 265 feet ish with an elevation drop of 35' and a very tight fish hook type line to hit. #8 plays on top of a ridge with a steep backdrop that might be over 50' below. One bad kick left or a drive the curls slightly too late will likely glide down and sail to God knows where.

#3 is a crappy filler. Shortest hole (about 170') with two very tight routes around a larger tree. Really doesn't measure up to the first two holes. They are rugged and rough, but they are very interesting and fun to play. #3 is just a letdown in my opinion and it could've been more creatively designed.

-#16 could be an excellent big uphill hyzer hole. I love the green on the boulders, but the fairway is a split formed by two narrow trees that simply need to go because both gaps are under 10' wide. Easy fix here. Just remove those two trees because this is a big hyzer hole you don't want to pitch up on. #9 needs just one or two trees removed. I enjoyed this hole and love the location of it. This is a clear back hand right to left hyzer. It's still gettable, but you have to sneak through some narrow trees with a rather big flare. These two holes are about 95% of the way cleared, and both are well thought.

-Played in the summer. #12 was overgrown with what was presumably poison ivy. Very overgrown on the sides of the green. Being a blind downhill hyzer, if you hit the line on this hole (which would be impressive because it's really tight), you could lose sight of your disc after having a pretty impressive shot.

-Still no tee signs. Just sticks with the hole number at the top of them behind the tee pads. There are concrete pads in, which is an improvement since sidewinder22 played but Fayette is not easy to navigate with the lack of tee signs. No hole info and no diagrams. No hole # on the baskets either. U disc is strongly recommended if you don't have already.

-You really feel like you are at old man Myrtle's house at Fayette County 4H. Lots of shocking hole design with some intimidating lines and some serious elevation change. I was pretty overwhelmed with the design of the course. Lots of spectacular holes that I absolutely loved, and some that where a little too jagged and scabrous cause they were maybe only 80-90% cleared out. Hole #8 was especially nerve racking. Me being a pretty small and skinny guy, I don't have too great of a sidearm. I often have to rely on my turnover game but I would NEVER backhand on #8. If I did hypothetically, I'd probably cut right at the wrong timing and either kick a tree and fly 50' down below the fairway and maybe 150' away from. Either that, or I'd miss the trees on the right while curling right and go too far past the landing zone and be far down the hill left looking for a disc that I didn't see land since it landed down the drop off that I couldn't see. Think #15 at Ashe County is scary with the massive backdrop on the left? This hole is right up there with it. The fairway is maybe 150' straight and about 120' to the right of the landing zone. A par is a very good score. A birdie would be incredibly rare, even though it doesn't seem impossible. I want to like this hole, it's just very treacherous and dicey. #8 was better than #10 for sure, since the angle isn't anywhere as severe. #10 was a hole I didn't enjoy, but it isn't as daunting. You could throw a straight putter out of the woods and be left with a short upshot.

-Fayette County 4H is one of those courses that I give a 3 and wish I could rate higher. I've played a course in Calera, Alabama called Double Creek with lots of unique and diverse design and another one outside Columbia, SC called Saluda Shoals. Fayette is very much a man of his own with many different challenges and unexpected signature holes like those two I just mentioned. There's probably more than one here. #14 is definitely the main one and I think holes #5 and #6 are a couple more as they are all outstanding and really stick out. I've played many 4.0+ rated course with none of the holes being as good as these three. There's just a lot of incalculable risk with little reward on some of the weirder holes. With some trees removed on the overly tight holes and maybe a couple of pins moved into different spots, you'd have a spectacular course. It has the potential to be better and I'd rate it higher if these design issues were mitigated.

-I also REALLY love the first hole. This is a super pretty, super fun 290' par three that's up a large hill perched into a wooded green on the right. Big left to right driver rip in the shade to a protected green. Roughly 300' and plays a little over 400'. You want to throw a big flex backhand that goes right pretty quick, since the hill slopes downward to the right. Only a few trees in the fairway to worry about, but one being a good way ahead of the pad slightly to the right. Do what you can to avoid that tree while continuing to navigate up on the right side of the hill. Calls for angle control while battling up the hill. This is a very long 300'. I faded left a little too quick and was in the woods maybe 60' left of the pin and about 15' feet below it. Great starter!

-Aside from #12 and some rough spots on #9-11, course was in good shape. You can expect to be in even better shape in the winter. Only one review on site back from 2018 so I was concerned that Fayette 4H was possibly a lost cause. Luckily it isn't and is still playable without too much potential for losing a disc. Turns out the local club does hold events here, so the locals do seem to care about the course.

18 mostly wooded holes with white banded MVP Portal baskets playing through typical wild and wonderful WV mountain terrain and two ponds. Good variety of holes. Loved the basket position on hole 16 on top the cool rock formations.

Course was in pretty good shape with little underbrush. There was a boy scout crew working on the course maintenance when I was there. There were flags marking the tees and for navigation to next tee which wasn't too hard to figure out most the time although the course map was quite helpful.

Nice county park with amenities including pool, basketball, tennis, horseshoe pits, fishing, hiking, pavilions, picnic tables, nice restrooms, trash cans, and vending machines.

The course is brand new, so most all tees are natural. There was one concrete tee on hole 17, so maybe all concrete tees in the future? Only one set of tees and basket positions catering to intermediate/advanced level players and probably not a great course for beginners.

Not two loops of 9 holes back to parking lot. The course is a bit of a hike. No benches or tee signs, at least not yet. I had a hard time spotting some of the white MVP baskets in the woods.

Safety on hole 4 throwing over the pool. IMO the basket should be moved to over where the tee for hole 5 is and move the tee for 5 over down the hill.

Overall I really enjoyed the course, there are some really cool holes. I think with a couple design tweaks it could be a really great course. There are a couple holes I wasn't thrilled with, namely holes 4, 8, 10, 12, and 14. Hole 4 mentioned in cons for safety reasons and I think moving the basket to were tee 5 is would make it a more interesting hole.

Hole 8 is weird because it's tight and almost does a U-turn around the side of the mountain, if you get off the fairway which isn't hard, you might have a hard time repelling down to your disc and climbing back up.

Hole 10 is really short hole with a sharp dog leg, maybe some kind of roller could get within the putting circle, but I think there are going to be a lot of 3s on this hole with very little scoring separation. Hole 12 is similar but slightly longer with the dog leg left instead of right.

Hole 14, beautiful and what should be the signature hole with the basket perched between the two ponds and throwing from the elevated pad. This should be such an epic hole and tee shot, but you basically have to pitch the disc off the tee and layup in front of the pond for a tricky approach shot. IMO the basket should be moved over the other side of the pond where 15's tee is. Move 15's tee over toward where 14's basket is.

Pro Tip: Park at the pool. The course starts right next to the pool fence on the right side.