I thought I'd revive this thread since it's older and I've been playing the course for the last 8 months and have some thoughts.
When I was considering LedgeRock for membership, I wanted to see if there were any opinions from GCA because the site has turned me on to so many great courses. I was also considering Moselem Springs and while the GCA consensus is very much in favor of MS over LR, I ended up enjoying LR a lot more and decided to join there. (MS was great though).
I'm sure things have changed over the several years since the last post in this thread and perhaps the difficulty has been softened in spots. You are now allowed to walk and carry and I have done so numerous times. It's not an easy walk, but I enjoy the exercise and there are a lot of short cuts to minimize distances. But the walk from 2 - 3 and 11 - 12 and 17 - 18 are steep. The benefit here is any other course I walk is a cinch!
Difficulty-wise, I see it as challenging, quirky and fun. I like that Rees took out a lot of the trees (isn't that applauded here?) and allows you to use the contours of the land and freedom of ball flight. Perhaps it's similar to Broad Run with the vistas and elevation changes, but it reminds me more of Rees' Totteridge, where lateral misses are much more accepted and there is a lot more room off fairway. The holes going up and down for the most part work so much better than across, where you'd be dealing with the ball well above and below your feet for the most part. You get that here, but with the severity of the property, using the dramatic vertical drops and rises and side bars (1, 5, 6, 7, 8, 12, 13, 18) gives the course a lot of randomness and variety.
The greens allow approaches aerially or on the ground for the most part (except 2, 4, 7, 10 (all par 3's) 10, 17 and 18). They are subtle, rumpled and quick. I'm still figuring them out. The bunkering provides angles and form, are usually on one side of the hole, yet the easier lies are typically when you have to carry them. There's temptation there and as one poster said, makes you think about some of your shots a lot more than you probably should.
By no means is it just a single handicappers course, too hard, too penal, etc. I'm a 16 and score just as well here as any where else. From the greens, the 7th and second shots of the 11th and 17th are pretty tough. Otherwise, some of the holes are shorter than their stated yardage because of elevation and it's a course you have to get to know, especially when you get out of position, figuring out the best way to salvage the hole. The areas around the greens and collection areas foster a lot of creativity as well (mainly at 6, 9, 12, 15).
As for forced carries, the only significant one is the second shot on 17. That shot is certainly one of the most difficult on the course, but a good drive from the Green tees leaves you a fairway wood or longer hybrid in, not all that much different from hundreds of long par 4's that test your acumen with the long clubs despite its visual intimidation. The second is forced with a 145 par 3, the fourth is longer at about 185 (with anything 160 and over making it over), but otherwise any carry is a mild one off the tee or over a small creek that is maybe 15 yards at its widest at 18. The carries are not awkwardly placed like they are at Broad Run as well.
Visually, the course is stunning. Being from the west coast, I enjoy horizons and most courses on the Mid-Atlantic are confined with trees or just the general topography. But with the hills and trees cleared out, LR has some great scenery, no houses and its surrounding natural landscape is a great backdrop for a round.
The drama, the quirk and the challenge makes for an exciting and thrilling round.