As I stated in the title, this review is for the casual golfers, not the pros and experts. There will be no talk of "must deuce" holes except for holes 5 & 17, which are par 2's to begin with. There will still be ace runs though, because quite a few holes are in reach for the average golfer from either tee. However, many golfers will probably find the mix of length and skill needed to play from the gold tees too much for a few of the holes.
Springwood was designed primarily for very skilled golfers, so first and foremost let me say, it's a tough course. There is a six hole rookie run for beginners, but frankly 6 holes doesn't seem like worth the time. I play from the blues primarily, mostly because I don't have the arm to par the few very long holes on the course (3, 8, 11, 13, 18) from the gold tees. There is quite a good length to these holes, blue or gold, so be forewarned. Emphasis is placed on shot placement, and missing the fairways often leads to penalties, both actual, and physical. The rough here is absolutely unforgiving- expect to either lose plastic, or blood, or both. It's thick and full of briers, spiders, and mosquitos, and some of it is physically both OB and private property. Additionally, some of the fairways border backyards, a cow pasture, walking paths, roads, and ball fields, and they can be quite narrow. For the most part, you need to have controlled distance and accuracy to score well. There are a few easier holes that mix up the difficulty, in addition to some really nice, interesting holes that make good use of the available land. But the course was built around the rest of the park, and as a result, it can sometimes feel like an afterthought. Holes are often placed between other activities, and when the park is busy the people engaged in those other activities occasionally get in your way, or vice versa. Holes 3 & 4 are going to give average players trouble when baseball/softball games and tourneys are ongoing (weekends mostly), and the same for holes 11-14 when the soccer fields are in heavy use (weeknights and occasional weekends). Vehicular traffic through the park can be heavy during those times as well, which can influence shots on holes bordering the roads, which many do. But play has shown that a round can still be played if one takes these into consideration. If you want to play the course with very little chance of dealing with other influences, I highly recommend Mon-Fri from morning until about 5pm.
The course itself is a decent mix of throws, mixed in with minor elevation changes. It's fairly open, with only a few wooded holes, but though the course has been wedged in, it was designed so as to turn these limitations into strengths. For the most part this has worked, though on a few holes (3, 13, 17), it has not. Hole 3, which wraps around the baseball fields, has a number of things working against it, especially if you're not on your game. The fairway narrows, even more so thanks to mando light towers, trees, the OB fields and walking path to either side, and an angled hillside, which all add up to plenty of ways to miss your target and add strokes to your score. It's one of the toughest holes on the course and one of the most likely to endanger folks on the ballfields and walking path. 13 is narrow, long, and straight, with ball fields to the left and backyards, some fenced-in, on the right, which at certain times can also be trouble. 17 is short and narrow, bordered by the road and thick rough which is also OB and private property. Its a short and dull par 2 that feels like filler, and could have been replaced by splitting either 3 or 8 into two holes.
Speaking of 8- it could really be great, but currently its a long meandering and snaking hole with unimaginable rough on the right and, well, some more on the left. It's a work in progress, but its very slow going. The fairway down the middle is narrow and not enough, at the moment, to compensate for the walls of trouble to either side. Someday it will be a nice little hole, but for now its something you may want to avoid, or at least play it with a spotter.
As for the rest of the course, it has a few nice holes to keep you intrigued. 2 is a really nice tunnel hole that takes advantage of the rows of pines along the baseball fields. 11 is a terrific risk/reward hole where making par is often a function of avoiding the dense rough and having the courage to really go for it. 12 is a tricky shot with a steep angled hill on the left ending in a 90 degree turn. And 15 is a great par 4 that starts in the woods and ends in a field surrounded by trees with OB's to either side. The course finishes with a par 5 uphill hole with an elevated basket and a much-debated tee shot from either tee.
All in all it's a decent course to test your arm and accuracy, and it will keep you thinking. So why only a 3? Too much OB and too much danger to the public. On nearly every hole, the rest of the park comes into play, and when that's constantly in the back of your head, it influences your play. Sometimes, it forces you to skip holes due to other park patrons' proximity. Other times there are throws that just don't seem possible. Most of the time the park is fairly empty, but when it's crowded, you have to be careful. My other problem is that this course was specifically designed to NOT be played by the majority of the public, but resides in a public park. I feel it should have been designed as 18 holes for everybody, and I definitely think there could be red, blue, and gold tees on every hole so everyone was included. But specifically excluding so many is a concern for me since this is not private land, especially since more beginners are going to drive to the closer Springwood Park instead of driving way out to Cedarock. And that, I think, is why the score is so low.