Pros:
WR Jackson is a whole new level of disc golf course than I've played before. Take a great course, make everything bigger, and you have this course.
- From the first shot off the first tee until the final putt, this is as close to 18 great holes as I've played. The first 10 holes is the best stretch of holes I've yet to play. Things only slow down for several holes before picking up for a challenging stretch.
- The best way I can describe this course is that it's a great course that is then expanded by 50%. For example, two very good to great courses I've played are Hornets Nest (in Charlotte), which plays at 6100 feet and Fox Chase (in Albemarle, NC), at 6500 feet. Stretch those out by about 50% and you have WR Jackson at 9300 feet.
- To its credit, Jackson doesn't feel like a killer long course. The fairways are, for the most part, wide enough that you can pull out driver and attack this course. The course lets you be aggressive without penalizing shots that are less than perfect. You see this displayed on hole #8, the longest at the IDGC at 916 feet. The course has a split fairway, while giving you plenty of room to chop it down to size.
- Plenty of chances to make up for mistakes here. One of the benefits of having so many par 4s is that you can still salvage par even with one poor shot. On hole #4, a 642 foot, winding fairway hole, I played a perfect tee shot, my best at the IDGC, uncorking one in the 350 - 375 range. Don't worry. I'm not bragging. That's also the number I bench. That shot was followed by a dud that smacked a tree 125 feet down the fairway. I was still able to salvage par with a good up and down, thanks to this being a par 4.
- Course takes great advantage of the terrain. #5 is an awesome looking, but somewhat intimidating tee shot. It's a downhill, 631 foot, dogleg right. Don't worry, there's an even more intimidating tee shot on the back 9. #15 is a tight fairway to land on this 524 foot, par 4. From there you have an uphill shot to the basket.
- One of the best things I can say about this course is that it's tough but fair. I've played tough courses where it seems the designer was just trying to stroke his ego, making holes and pin placements comically tough. This course almost penalizes shots that are too cautious. In that vein, this is a course clearly aimed at experienced players, not one for the faint of arm. Or noodle-armed. Or one-disc owner. Whereas Warner is a mental and physical grind, I could enjoy this course while playing it.
- I enjoy the station-to-station hole layouts on this course. By that I mean there are holes that you want to hit a certain distance to set up your next hole, often on doglegs. You get a good sense of this on #2, a 499 foot dogleg right, #17, a 512, uphill dogleg right and #18, a 716 foot, par 5, multi-station-to-station layout.
- There are plenty of benches throughout this course. You'll need them quite often throughout the round. Also, these are the best tee signs, and most useful of any of the IDGC courses.
Cons:
The biggest con, and it's relatively minor, is the three-hole stretch of #11 - 13. They're the three shorts holes on the course, all between 238 - 285 feet. All three have the same basic vibe to them - wooded and tight gaps to hit. Maybe because they were clumped so close together, and were all in a row, they felt a little repetitive. Ideally they would be spread out a little more, and not in such in such a tight awkward loop. They feel like they had to be squeezed in between #10 and 14, so they jump clumped them together.
- There were two long transitions and places where it could get easy to turn around. Going from #2 to 3, you go past #7, and then from #7 to 8, you (naturally) go back past #2. The hardest hole to find was #3, simply because it seemed to need another 'next tee' sign or two.
- This is going to be a copy and paste comment for all three IDGC courses. The overall difficult of the courses, terrain and elements are going to be a negative for some players. Basically, if you're not a good enough player, you should not play here. Know what you're getting into before you tackle this three-headed monster.
- Another copy and paste note. These courses probably present a higher than normal 'lost disc' factor. For errant throws, be prepared to spend considerable time searching or be prepared that you might lose a disc or two while playing.
- Final copy and paste note. Be prepared when playing. Pack plenty of food, water, bug spray and other essentials. You can purchase some items inside the center. Besides that there's one gas station a mile from the park. After that, it's another 15 minutes back towards Augusta and restaurants, gas stations, etc.
Other Thoughts:
There are courses one plays when you can tell it's something great. I've only played a couple that seemed like they have access to the VIP room. Jackson is part of that club.
- This course seems like it's so effortlessly great. You see Usain Bolt blow past the field in a 100m race, and it seems like he's not running hard. Courses like Renny, Stoney Hill and Sugaree are great (and are also in the VIP room), but those are all grinders. If a course could seem great without appearing to try too hard, this is it.
- There are about five or six holes on this course that would probably be the signature hole on a majority of courses. At Jackson, a couple of those are nearly forgotten.
- This course wasn't the most challenging, and didn't have to be. I really enjoyed that pars were all tough, but fair expectations. For the intermediate-level player that I am, getting par after par was a good thing. It beat the alternative.
- It goes without saying that the IDGC is a must play, must visit for any serious disc golfer. While the museum, shop and other courses are all great, this was the highlight of my visit.
- Jackson did seem to have the best mix of everything on any course I've played to date. I've played courses that were more fun, courses that were more challenging, courses that were more scenic and courses that had other small aspects that were better. Despite all of that, this seemed like the best overall course I've played. It's the new standard bearer in my book.