Pros:
The Jamestown Reservoir course is pretty epic. The course, the views, pretty much the whole experience. They're not lying when they say this is a championship caliber course. Every kind of shot and disc in your bag will probably be used at some point. It will take you probably, at minimum, 3 hours to play the whole thing. It took us just shy of that and we were only able to play 20 holes. It was still set up in the Spring layout without the water carry holes by the beach.
The baskets are DISCatchers with brand new(ish) bands and chain assemblies. These are easy to spot and catch fantastically. About half or close to it had two baskets per hole. Can't speak on if this is normal or if some of these were from the holes not in play down by the reservoir. Either way there's 2, sometimes 3 pin positions on most of the holes.
The tee pads are very large and level. Plenty big enough for a long run up. These were all nice and grippy and aligned in the right direction to the pin. Very well done with these.
The tee signs are top notch as well. They show an overhead shot of the hole with hole #, all applicable pin placements, distances, next tee arrows, pars for every distance, any OB present and there is even an overlay of distance markers every 100 feet on each sign. There is literally nothing more you want from these. Probably the best signs I've seen to date.
The flow of the course is pretty easy to follow in most spots, especially with the next tee arrows on the signs. Be sure to take a picture of the map by hole 1 or have one on your phone though because there are a couple tricky spots. Nothing too major but you'll want to avoid any extra walking if possible.
The elevation here is crazy. There are huge uphill shots. Monster downhill bombs. There's holes with both those things in the same hole. The mix of wooded to open skews more toward the wooded. There is not an unfair hole here. There's plenty of punishing holes with an errant drive or approach shot though. Great design. Fair but extremely challenging for rec level players. Fair but still a good challenge for pro level players. Execute and you'll be alright. Don't and you'll struggle.
A couple water carries over the reservoir look to be pretty fun, especially if the wind is up. If you have a big arm it shouldn't be a problem though.
The course is permanent and free to play, which is almost criminal if you ask me. This and Idlewild are the 2 best free to play courses I've been to. That's some lofty company.
Cons:
My biggest con was the fact that they only had 20 holes playable when we went. It was mid June and the reservoir appeared as low as it gets. Really wished all the holes were in but it is what it is. Still a brute of a course.
As mentioned in other reviews, the ticks! I was pulling them off me for the next couple hours. Be sure to check yourself over after your round. The plus is that it's so windy that it keeps the Mosquitoes at bay pretty well.
A couple of really long walks from one hole to the next in the layout I played. I think it's normally much more seamless though.
The rough can be pretty brutal in spots. There's a real good chance you'll lose a disc while playing here. I'm honestly shocked that we didn't but we came really close a handful of times. Using spotters would be highly recommended to cut down on lost plastic.
Other Thoughts:
It sounds like this is the best course in North Dakota. I'd be hard pressed to believe there's something that can top this monster. This was the main reason for our trip to North Dakota and it didn't disappoint. It was actually better than I thought it would be. And we didn't even get to play the full layout. If you're anyway near here I'd highly recommend this course. Top ten or very close to it for me out of 400+ played. Not too far off the expressway but it's not a quick round. Plan for a minimum of 3 hours to play this. Minimum. Be sure to pack plenty of liquids and be prepared for a grueling amount of up and down hills. Not for the faint of heart. Must play course.