Pros:
What I personally like and how this course stacks up in my list of 18+ hole courses:
1) Holes with good risk/reward. Fair, but harsh punishment for bad decisions or execution. == B
(This grade is strange.....just like this course is. You will get punished pretty badly on many many holes on this course if playing aggressively (or if you cannot land your disc accurately). I like that part (the risk).....but I do not like that fact that there is no point at all to play aggressively since there is nothing to be gained (the reward). See point 2 for more on this, but I have big issues on many of the holes since there is no route to the basket from the long tees due to fairway shaping and mid-fairway obstacles. Look through the pictures if you don't believe me. So, all it takes is midrange, midrange, putt. Not so fun.)
2) Holes that have rewarding birdie opportunities for me. I'm a Blue level player (950ish skill) who throws 300' accurately, 360' max. == C
(The course starts out amazingly with holes 1 & 2 being the perfect challenge for me....and there are a few other good holes. Unfortunately things drop off precipitously after a great start. As just stated, there are a ton of holes that are impossible to deuce (barring crazy luck) but they are too short to be legitimate 2-throw holes. That is a formula for......booooooring. At every turn I was hoping for more legitimate/great holes but kept on being punched in the gut by lay-up, lay-up, putt holes.)
3) More wooded than open - lots of variety of shots required caused by hole shape and topography == B
(The course is almost completely wooded and there are indeed a fair amount of different shots required to navigate the course. But, they are almost all low power (60-80%) throws. In this regard, it is a really good place to work on the midrange game. Terrain is pretty flat with just a few slight hills.)
4) Natural beauty (Appalachian beauty preferred) and seclusion. == B
(Seclusion is great! Beauty is quite nice in several places, but the feel of the place gets pretty monotonous after a while - so many of the holes feel the same when strolling down the fairways.)
5) Bonus points for multi-throw holes with defined landing zones, good risk/reward and multiple options to play them. == D+
(I suppose that although it seems Michiganers traditionally call everything par-3, the 3 holes that are around 520' are legit 2-throw holes (par-4's). This is a bonus and boosts the score as these holes make for a more interesting playing experience. Problem is that at that length, they are pretty non-rewarding par-4's.....as in birdie 3's are routine and bogey 5's are unacceptable.)
Other Thoughts:
While I rate this course pretty well below the norm, I can see where many players not seeking the same challenge as me will simply love Oshtemo.
It's all about feeding the addiction, so I ranked this course subjectively based on my own "personal addiction factor". The grades above tell how well this course will draw me back to itself again and again and again. See my profile for specifics on my rating philosophy.
I fancy myself as a connoisseur of good course design and I am a competitive Blue level (950-ish rated) with mid-level power (accurate to 300' with max D of 360'). Since I have played a decent number of courses (180+ 18-hole, 100+ 9-hole as of late 2010), my hope is that players/explorers who have similar addiction tastes will find my ratings list helpful as they choose courses to play and explore.
I fully expect others with different tastes/philosophies to disagree with me.....and that's the fun of things here.