Pros:
The course has great facilities. A fully stocked pro shop, good restrooms, plenty of parking. There are plenty of garbage cans on the course to get rid of your trash.
The grounds are very well kept, and look like the course is mowed regularly. I was very impressed with the overall appearance of the course.
Tees in good condition, baskets were very nice.
My memorable holes consisted of (not sure of hole numbers, pictures are not current on the course page:
- I believe hole 2, a line of trees on the right, have to throw a severe anhyzer, or use a forehand, as the angle of the trees blocks a straight run at the basket.
- Fairly open shot, but the basket was in the middle of three trees grown up together, pretty neat.
- BIG downhill shot (1100 feet I believe) with the basket off right before some trees. Really gives you a chance to let it rip
- On the back nine, a really cool tunnel type shot with the basket right before a knoll.
Cons:
Overall it is pretty plain. There is very little terrain, and while the existing trees and water are used about as well as they can be, some holes are pretty much straight ahead and open.
As mentioned previously, water really puddles in the fairways. It had rained the day before I played, and it was just soupy on any flat or low-laying areas.
I don't mind pay-to-play courses for the most part, and it's not like the $5 here is completely unwarranted given how well the course is kept up, I have played other courses that are free and blow this one out of the water. For comparison Maple hill outside Boston is a world-class course and only costs $5.
Other Thoughts:
My rating of a 3 is based on the fact that the course is very well kept, even if the layout is a bit bland. Other than the aforementioned shortcoming and the drainage issue, this was a fun little course to play, and definitely worth the $5 charge.
If you are in the Portland area, this one is easy to find and a great way to spend a couple hours, it just might be crowded so plan for that.