Pros:
-Saw this course last year on the site and instantly wishlisted it. Ever since, it was the main course I wanted to play. So me, a North Carolina resident, decided to register for the Magic City Mega Bowl and it was an awesome time! This course is outstanding! You are playing disc golf in a hilly terrain forest. It's extremely challenging. Course has an epic start with a scary first hole playing entirely on a ridge touching a monstrous yet scenic hill. The finisher is a fun steep downhill placement shot over a creek.
-Even par was 1020 on the longs and about 940 on the shorts. None of the holes, even from the longs are super long. Longest hole is just under 600', but the course is very wooded with demanding fairways and serious consequences if you miss them. When I think of a 1020 rated course, I think of 900' par fours and 1200' uphill par fives with OB stakes everywhere and maybe a couple of considerably unfair holes. This course isn't like that. Some amateurs will have the capacity to shoot their best round here. It's short from the shorts and the fairways are all fair and wide enough. Trouble arises when you fail to discern whether it's worth going for a death putt or laying up. The longs are longer, obviously, and more demanding than the shorts. If your putting is on point, you'll probably be satisfied with your round here. It's probably one of the most manageable pro courses you'll play. It's like a fine Russian Tea. Tangy and sour, but tastes divine with its polished fairways and scary greens. I think I had the capacity to shoot under par on the longs and have my highest round yet. I made many mistakes but still a 975 rated round.
-Elevation is well used and plays a part in making the course the monster that it is. Many steep elevation changes. The first hole has a slow incline in play the entire way. The next two holes play across valleys (you throw over two valleys if you play #2 long). Holes four and five are both big downhill shots. The higher elevation changes are consistent on the first five. But you'll see many more. #10 short is a super fun major downhill ace run that you gotta love! #11 is a huge uphill hole with the shorter pin being barely perched on a mound. Many dangerous pin placements on steep hills as well that make the elevation more of a challenge, especially if you are throwing back uphill. #18's downhill finish is probably the most enjoyable generally speaking.
-Not a ton of water in play. However, the creek is very smartly used. #5 in general is an awesome hole. Straight downhill and throwing over the road that's partially guarded by a fence. The B pin (the longer one) is just a few feet from the creek. Awesome green and awesome tee shot out of the woods. The creek is entirely in play on #6, making its green a little bit more demanding as well. #18 is very difficult from the long pad to the A position, since that one is over the creek. You have to throw a slow, almost nose down hyzer that turns a little bit left. If you go too far left, you'll probably be in the creek. The creek is only about 30' short of that basket. Very difficult to reach for a 275' straight downhill hole. The short pad is much easier since the hole is straight ahead.
-Two sets of pads and two pin placements on every hole here. Course is challenging regardless, but it can be played as a 4000' course or a 7000' course or really however you want to play it. Coming from a player that strongly prefers to play the longs, I will say that some of the shorts looked extremely fun and maybe funner from those pads. #10 comes to mind since it's a lot more downhill from the short pad than the long. The short pad is straight ahead from the long pad and to the right side up a big hill as you approach the basket. If you've played here, you may have different holes that you enjoy more from one pad than the other. You could play an awesome mixed layout of your personal interest here!
-Overall, this course is brutal. But has some very attackable holes that can help your score. Don't let your guard down! There's redemption and room for forgiveness. The first two holes are extremely hard. I parred both of them in the tournament (played longs) and bogeyed #4, even though that hole is a lot less difficult than the first two. After the first two holes, you'll play a few that are a little less brutal even though they are challenging still. They are shorter and don't have as much potential for trouble. Holes #13 and #16 are short (under 250') even from the long pads. They are tight with difficult lines to hit. They are very reachable. A birdie or a double bogey awaits you on those holes. #18 is pretty similar in comparison to those two.
-Nice lengthy tee pads. Nice tee signs too that give descriptive hole information.
-Plenty of benches beside the long pads. Could be a con, as there are none by the short pads, but many of the short pads are further up the fairway. You could sit on a bench on many holes here and walk to the short pad.
-My favorite hole is actually #15 in the long pin. From the long pad, it is 463' long. With Inverness being the pro course it is, I think this is a par three, even though it's difficult and long enough to be a par four. I was able to get a two on this hole once. The fairway is straight for the first 375'. After that, it fades left. Strongly favors righty backhand throwers to have a chance for two here. You could throw a more stable, higher glide driver that'll fade left at the end. The pro division averaged over 4 on this hole. There's a ton of risk going for it but often times when you throw a distance driver, it'll go straight and fade left. This hole is much easier from the short pad. The short pin is straight ahead and more of a legit par three from the long pad, and is a very simple ace run from short to short.
Cons:
-Walking past the baskets on holes #13 and #16 is dangerous. There are drop offs past the pins on both holes. I've heard of snakes being around on #16 past the basket. There is water past the dropoff on that hole so I believe there are snakes around that dropoff. An issue because if you land short and then miss the putt, you'll likely roll down the hill. There are probably snakes past the basket on #13 too. I went long and was in some weird lie loaded with debris and thorns. I rushed my upshot on this hole cause I was nervous standing in that stuff. The rough in some other places can be extremely hard to escape from too.
Other Thoughts:
-Inverness is incredible. As hard as it is and as scary as it can be, it will reward good shots. Some bad shots will still be exculpable and allow you to still have a good look for par. If you come here and decide to play the short pads, do not let the distances deceive you. A lot of them are short and seem pretty harmless but they are not. This course can be really hard on missed putts. Many baskets are on ledges, perched on big steep hills, or have trees blocking a straight putt at the pin. Accuracy is very crucial. There's a chance you'll be putting 30' uphill. However, going safe will often lead to an easy tap in or maybe a 10-15' putt.
-Plenty of epic shots. The first hole is probably the most memorable. The look of it is extremely daunting, especially from the long pad. The hole probably rises close to 40 feet in elevation from the long. As you walk to the short pad, you'll see the bottom of the hill from a different side. The right side of the fairway descends very steeply, while the fairway slowly ascends straight ahead. The elevation rise doesn't look very high as you look at the fairway. The ground around the tee pad to the bottom of the hill on the right side of the fairway is even, so I'm basically saying that the hill is WAY steeper on one side than the other. May not be your favorite hole here, but it's undeniably unique.