Pros:
Beauty - This course is one of the most scenic courses on the property, if not the most. Playing along steep ridges on the northeastern side of the property, you will get probably the best views that all of Highbridge has to offer. At one point, you can get a great overlook of Granite's holes 7-11, and it's gorgeous, as well as stunning northern views spanning miles and miles
Isolation - there is nothing like playing disc out in these woods. I'm not quite sure what it is about Bear that the other courses don't have, but it was eerie. This course stretches so far out into the depths of the woods and the sides of what feel like mountains, and leaves you with a sensation that is fantasy-like. Once I finished with the course, it felt like I just exited Narnia or something.
Challenge - this course is the hardest course I have ever played, hands down. The plethora of par fours and fives are definitely true to their numbers. The majority of holes are multi shot, where your first drive is critical in whether you will get to the pin to even have a chance at a par. 99% of the time, if you miss or kick into the trees, it's bogey at best for you. Fairways are very narrow most of the time, and even the wider ones have trees scattered about to make you be precise.
Elevation - there many intense elevation changes here, and they're gorgeous and add some great character to the course. From the long, steep rolling fairways (no. 4), to playing straight, then steep down, then up again (no. 11), and across valleys (no. 12), there's plenty of awesome ups and downs
Signature holes - three holes really pop out in my head as signatures for this course. Number three would be my favorite. While most holes on the complex all together offer one or two routes, this one offers about four. You can go (right hand throws) big hyzer, straighter hyzer, straighter anhyzer, or flick/big anhyzer. I love the options you have on this one. It took me about two minutes to decide what the heck I was gonna throw on this. Number 11 is another I really like. You start off with a relatively flat first shot, then you have to navigate a steep valley, and go back up to the pin. 12 also offers a steep valley, but instead of going down then up, your objective is to go straight over it, and the pin is atop the hill across on the other side. This hole is also one of the shorter ones compared to the rest, a little over 300 feet.
Variety - there are a couple ace runs and mid 300 foot shots thrown in the course to break up the huge holes, as well as all kinds of different direction changes and shaped fairways
Concrete teepads
Cons:
Baskets - this is my no. 1 con of all for the whole thing. With the switching of Bear's and Woodland's baskets this year (a decision I still support nonetheless), Bear now has a bunch of those awful green baskets. They're ugly, and suck at catching. Just being honest. There is also at the time of this review, three different basket types on this course. The first 6 are the green ones, then 7 and 8 are black (hard to spot) DGA's, then 9 is a green one again, then the rest are Lightning DB 5's. Talk about confusing - I may be nitpicky with this cause I'm all OCD like but man that bothered me. If this basket situation can be resolved, I'll come back and add another half disc to this rating
Un-Fairways - some holes seem to be 95% poke and hope, OR have too much tree overgrowth blocking lines. One of the holes (13), seems to be not much more than a one or two pass mower width path, with thick, long bushes and grass even in the portion in between the trees that is supposed to be fairway. I like challenge, but a couple of these fairways seem to offer little flight room for the disc.
Monotony - while I did state there IS variety with a couple short holes thrown in, I do think things could've been done to make some of the multi shot holes less repetitive. Like said in previous reviews, it started to get stale after having so many holes where you shoot to a dogleg left or right, then shoot to another, then another, then the pin. I wish a few of the par four/fives would've been a little bit more open with a few more options. Also, while holes 8 and 9, which are both aceable, provide a nice break from the long grinders, it would've been nice for them to be spread out a bit more, instead of two right in a row.
Signage - Almost all if not all tees had no signage left at all - but of course I am working to fix this issue in the near future
THICK ROUGH - some of the holes would seem almost hopeless to search for discs in if you shanked one. This course has the thickest and worst rough of any at the hill.
Very physically demanding - this course took me about 2 and a half hours to complete, and there was LOTS of strenuous hiking with all the elevation changes. Not necessarily a bad thing per say, but it's something to keep in mind if you're not up for a long, workout type round.
Other Thoughts:
***** UPDATE *****
I am updating my review as of 9/27/20 - after playing a couple tournament rounds on this course, as well as another beautiful autumn round it is time my disc score reflects it's current shape. I played last week and it still had a mix and match of baskets, but a day or two after said round, they received brand new orange Prodigy T1 baskets. The pictures I saw looked SOOOOOO sexy and they fit this course perfectly. That, combined with the astonishing upkeep of the course, has led me to up this course's rating from a 3.5 to a 4.5. All the pros listed in my original review remain the same, but the messiness is largely gone - the fairways are fair and the grass is low. When there is professional signage added to this course, and maybe some alternate pin positions, it could possibly be a 5 star course in my book. And I usually don't like to give a 5 to any course that doesn't have a bit more variety of open vs. wooded holes, or some water hazards, yada yada yada. It is that good.
I was very interested to see how this course would be after reading other reviews and descriptions, and man it holds up. Even though this course throttled me, I still loved it - even with all the pros I've listed, there's just something very difficult to put your finger on, that's just mystical.
I'm happy I decided to give it a go before winter, and I'll surely be playing it again in the future. Just when you think HBH can't get better, then you find the Bear, lurking in the deep woods, ready to show you you're not as good at dg as you think, but to also teach you that it's still awesome regardless.