Pros:
(3.448 Rating) A course with solid variety and charm.
- GAMEPLAY - I found the Preserve to be a very entertaining and varied mix of holes. There are five par 4s mixed throughout. Some long open shots, some pockets, raised placements, sweeps, short threads and some technical moving lines. None of the holes were bombshell looking gauntlets to me, but I found it to be great golf overall. Since Pecan has been decimated by a colossal tree loss, I think the gameplay feel here at Preserve is currently superior.
- NATURAL BEAUTY - Although there are a couple plain parts, the overall beauty of the parcel is well up there. I slotted it at around 75 percentile among the 668 courses I've thrown as of this review. The first ten holes sparkle noticeably more than the remaining holes. My favorites looks wise were (3), (9) and (10) which are all heavily wooded threads. I did like the pyramid on (12) which spiced up in what could have been an extra bland hole.
- AMENITIES - Like Prairie and Pecan, Preserve has a two tee layout. The White shorts will appeal to MA3s and MA2s, while the Blues should appeal to MA1s. Both sets of tees are concrete and are of good size. Baskets are MachVs and signage was adequate. Benches are present at a vast majority of the tees.
- NAVIGATION - I had a guide, so I wasn't paying super close attention. There are colored coded posts at every pad. I recall a few navigational cues after tapping out. The other two courses I played here I did solo and did fine, thus I sort of assume that the tools are here enough to be able to figure out. The course plays in a clockwise loop starting at 9 o'clock.
- 4 COURSES - With the recent addition of Pitcher Plant, Graham Creek now has 4 courses. I was able to hit 3 of them, excluding the noted new addition. If we rated places instead of courses, Graham creek is an easy 4.0 rating on my ledger.
Cons:
A solid course all away around.
- TEE SIGNAGE - The tee signage from the Whites do not show an artistic description of the hole which is too basic for course this good and this complex. I didn't pay attention to the blues signage, but I think it was similar. Also no course map posted.
- TIME PLAY - Not a quickie, My threesome was here almost 2 hours. Time play has zero effect on my ratings.
Other Thoughts:
To me, the Preserve is currently the Crown Jewel of Graham Creek. Had I visited here prior to the vast tree removal at Pecan, I may have had that one a quarter point ahead of this one. Preserve scores with positive marks in all the key areas. Great variety, robust challenges, good looks and proper amenities. Solid 3.5 level course to me. Normally I wouldn't say 3.5s are destination worthy outside 90 minutes, but the 4 course aspect makes this place much more worthy of a long drive. Reminds me of courses like Redstone Arsenal in Huntsville, Oregon Park in Atlanta, Jacobson in Kentucky and Kiekhaefer Park in Wisconsin. I highly recommend checking it out to the I10 disc golf adventurers.
- THANK YOU - I joined an awesome twosome right away on tee (1). Thank you Eli and Chad for being my guide and for the delightful round.