As a Rochester guy I've played the course half a dozen times. It's definitely a lot of fun. It is very wide open which makes it different from a lot of the courses in the area. The routing is VERY strong, making perfect use of the Western New York terrain of rolling hills and marsh and sending holes in all different directions. I may say it is an almost 'Ross-like' routing from Nelson, flowing, constantly returning to the clubhouse, and very walkable. 2 and 7 are excellent short fours with lots of strategy, with 16 being a solid third. All of the par fives are solid, especially nine, which has a great elevated green benched into the hillside below the clubhouse. 5 and 13 are excellent long par fours that require two very solid shots to make par without being unfair.
I have two qualms with the course. Firstly, although there are a few wild surfaces (The crater green at 2, 3, 9, 16), most of the greens lack a lot of character. Most of them are low profile and subtle. Therefore, none of them are bad, but they don't contain a tremendous amount of interest. Secondly, I was not impressed with Nelson's use of lakes at 3, 14 and 17. The lake on 14 is clearly manufactured and entirely unnecessary for irrigation considering the presence of the other two lakes. Here, Nelson had an opportunity to create a great short three in between two bruising par fours, but he fell short because of the lake. The current hole is still good, but its artificiality is irritating. 17's lake appears to be natural, but it is very cliched long par three over water at the end of the round.
If the bunkering (generally good in placement but boring in presentation) were injected with some excitement, I would rate this course very highly. As of now, although I think Whitten's review is typically overzealous, Ravenwood is my favorite public course in the area along with Greystone and Mill Creek. I think it is a fine effort from Nelson, and it is definitely worth playing if you are in the area.