Pros:
This is a very good course, enjoyable play on a tough, fair course.
- Course does a great job of using natural obstacles - well placed baskets behind trees, along the edge of the woods, elevation variations, etc.
- Good variety of hole layouts. Two birdie chances to start the round, then plenty of tougher holes. I liked the tight, wooded, downhill shot on #4 followed by the tight, uphill, dogleg right on #5. Even the open holes required some strategic shots, especially #6 & 7. You'll definitely find a couple holes you really liked on this course, and also a couple you really don't care for.
- Great mix of open and wooded holes. I really liked the back-and-forth flow of open and wooded holes throughout the course. There are a couple open, followed by a couple wooded holes throughout, so you never felt like you were getting too many of one.
- Course has long & short basket placements to spice things up. I really enjoyed some of the longer basket placements, especially #10. Instead of a average, ho-hum hole, the long basket plays into the woods.
- Nice clubhouse with a huge selection of discs. Newbies can rent discs or buy ones if they choose. The guy working there was really helpful. I also liked the added touch of having cans of bug spray right outside the front door. It's the little things like that which go a long way.
- Nice detailed course map and scorecards are available.
- Low risk of losing discs for having so many wooded holes. The wooded holes aren't thick with trees, so should be able to find any errant shots.
- Great natural scenery. For the most part, course is very secluded from the rest of the park.
- Park is very clean. I don't remember seeing any trash - bottles, cans, etc. anywhere on the course. Maybe the $3 keeps the litterbugs away.
Cons:
No major problems to speak of, only a couple small things.
- Course had minor flow problems on, or between, a couple holes. On #3 tee, it's hard to pinpoint which opening in the woods is the fairway. Markers/ribbons on trees would help. Between #2 & 7, the long tee pads are somewhat close, so better signage/tee marker can clear up an possible confusion. Also walk between a couple holes was slightly confusing. Again, these were minor problems.
- Baskets are metallic colored, instead of bright yellow DISCatchers, so they're hard to spot on some of the wooded holes, especially when playing on a cloudy day (like I was).
- For those who care, you don't pass any water fountains or restrooms once out on the course. It's a short walk back to the building, so it's not a real problem.
- There was little variety in shots/hole layouts from the short to long tees. Almost every hole had the long tee essentially placed right behind the short tee 50 - 150 feet back, so you didn't get different looks or angles playing one to the other.
Other Thoughts:
I really enjoyed this course. To date, this is my favorite course in Virginia, and in the top 10% of all my favorites.
- It is a better version of Hornets Nest in Charlotte. Hornets Nest is my old home course, but I'm proud calling NQ a step up from HN.
- The course kept things very simple. Sometimes a well-placed basket behind one or two trees is just as difficult as one placed behind 20.
- This course had more dogleg right holes than normal courses. There are seven true dog legs (#4, 5, 9, 10, 15, 17 &18), with some being minor/gradual doglegs to extreme ones (#5).
- There were a lot of fun, well laid-out holes on this course. The back-to-back of #15 & 16 was a great stretch. #15 tees off at the edge, and over, a slight ridge to a dogleg right. #16 is a wooded hole to a basket in the bottom of a slight ravine. Both take smart shots; both have good risk/reward factor, and both have nice scenery to take in.
- I think all types of players will enjoy this course - from beginners to advanced, to those who prefer open courses to wooded-hole fans. Everyone should enjoy the variation.
- The $3 daily play/$25 year-long pass is well worth the price. Anyone living in Williamsburg is getting there money's worth for the season pass.