Pros:
You probably already know the pros of Hobbs Farm, since it gets a bit of attention nationally. The course has significant portions of entrancing beauty and consistently challenging disc throwing.
-Amenities: There are 2-4 complete tee-off stations at each hole, with great signage, broom, and benches. Spiffy Prodigy baskets (very weak on the weak side), next tee cues, and a practice basket to complement. Nice walkways/bridges on a few holes.
-Natural Beauty: Don't let the lackluster parking lot fool you. Some holes are pleasant, like (1) or (9). Some holes are secluded and special, like (2)-(6). Then there's hole (13), which on my first Spring appearance was the most beautiful hole I've ever played--downhill out over an inlet of a lake that stretches with nothing but nature in sight. (My second visit, in winter, the water level was down and it wasn't quite so scenic.) Overall, after playing at opposite times of year, I think Hobbs Farm rates highly in this respect, but not necessarily in the elite tier. I sure would love to see Houck design more courses with this terrain instead of some of the ho-hum Texas plots I saw in Austin.
-Elevation: Consistently used throughout the course to great effect. There are a handful of holes where you'll be like, "That's a big downhill," and others where the elevation will blend seamlessly into the terrain to create an elusive unity.
-Water: Of several types. Creek crossings mid-fairway and near the green, a kind of lake to throw over, and a bog dead ahead or parallel on (7), (9), and (17).
-Multi-Tees: With multiple tees on every hole, the difficulty can be varied tremendously. I played blues for the full experience, and my second time played the reds, which were dramatically easier and on their own would not be as good a course as the longer tees. Hobbs Farm is probably one of the rare courses that can truly be a blast for everyone from novices to pros.
-Shot Shaping/Gameplay: A lot of really great holes. Super challenging and rewarding from the blue tees. I could go hole-by-hole and exude about many of them, but I'll try to summarize instead.
I think the trademark of Hobbs Farm is how gentle the holes are. There are no super sharp turns, no real cliffs, no tiny gaps or claustrophobic woods tunnels swatting your disc horizontally. Rather, the challenge is to be as smooth as possible--to throw with finesse, to throw smoothly on the exact same scale as the course, to gently settle into the fairways, to slowly curve around a lengthy turn. And that's an immense challenge. To truly be gentle, you have to exert superb control. When you tee off in the woods, it won't matter how well you can bomb or how well you throw sharp doglegs or how well you hit initial gaps if you can't smoothly hyzer at the somewhat precise distance point Houck designed. (I used a lot of midranges, despite the substantial length, for this reason.)
-Variety: There are several different personalities at Hobbs Farm. (1), (7)-(8), and (18) near parking are pretty open but make all sorts of work out of the hills. (2)-(6) in the dark green woods are some of the finest holes in existence, including two monster par-5s, with killer tee shots, downhill thrills, creek crossings, and magical woods approaches. (9) and (12)-(14) are almost at the same level--in tighter, yellower woods with continuing elevation use, they present lots of trouble for any errant throw. The remaining holes feel like connectors, playing through diverse parts of the park and each having a little something to be interesting.
Cons:
Only the very small.
-Slump: Why not a 5.0 for Hobbs? It slumps, badly. (10)-(11) and (15)-(16) aren't particularly beautiful or interesting. These aren't bad holes, and a course full of them would still probably make a 3.0 course. But it does mean that Hobbs Farm could be better, so it's not a 5.0. The only course I have rated 5.0 is completely unrelenting.
-Drainage: (2), (5), and (6) were marshy both times I played.
-Time Play/Exhaustion: One of the longer courses I've done. Don't expect to be in and out real quick. Playing with a partner from the blues, I definitely noticed my game slipping towards the end due to the effects of prolonged heat.
-Disc Loss: High probability. The bog and lake take lots of plastic, and there are some holes where a shot deep in the rough may never be located.
-Parkgoers: A walking path could result in waiting, especially on (11) and (16).
-Navigation: A couple of not-quite-intuitive transitions, mainly from (15)-(17). You can figure it out without a map though.
Other Thoughts:
Hobbs Farm is Phenomenal. Writing this review was a lot of fun just thinking back over my favorite parts of the course, from the hilly opener to the dream hole par-5 (2) to that sweet par I swung with my mids on terrifying (12). Based on my current experience, it doesn't belong in the top 20--it's got flaws and weaknesses, but boy are parts of this spectacular. Play it, no question.