I stopped by the Schoolhouse Nine last Friday morning, and really liked what I saw. The shaping of the greens was easily more interesting than most courses I've played in the United States. I greatly enjoyed that it took me less than 45 minutes to play, as a single, taking my time. I'd highly recommend it to anyone in the general vicinity who has a couple of hours to make a detour and play. It's right on the route between DC and the best part of Shenandoah National Park (the central part), and not far out of the way from Richmond or Charlottesville to that part of Shenandoah.
Highlights:
The putting green reminded me of the Himalayas.
The natural-looking tiers on the 1st, 2nd, and 7th greens reminded me of the 12th at The Old Course.
The 3rd green is somewhat obscured by a bunker from the tee and slopes, gently, front to back.
The tiny greens at 5 and 6 are exactly the challenge you need from ~80 yards.
The very back of the green on the uphill, semi-blind 7th is lower than the front 3/4.
9 is a bit Redan-ish, but with an 8-iron, the opportunity to draw the ball in is limited.
I liked that it wasn't necessary to bring more than a 7-iron, and also that you could leave your bag by the 4th green and use just your shortest wedge and a putter for the next 3 holes.
Without a scorecard or yardage indicators of any kind, this was a great test of feel. (Maybe they had scorecards in the pub, but nobody was there when I arrived.)
Mike and Brett did a great job here, and should really be commended.
I will caution readers, however, that the conditioning is not stellar. The greens were true, but s l o w. There was a lot of rain the day before (during the first round of the U.S. Open) so this was to be expected. I'll say it again: they putted true. More problematic: there is just one height of cut through the green, but it was at least an inch, maybe two, last week. Hopefully, as the volunteer grasses give way to the fescue/bent/blue mix, they'll be able to mow it more closely. It's awkward trying to hit a wedge from that rough when you're teeing off. However, I will say that I missed an embarrassing number of greens and not once did I draw a bad lie in the rough.
By not mowing the tees closely, there is a possibility of the angles of holes changing drastically from day to day. For a special challenge--for tournaments?--the routing could be adjusted, too: playing to the 7th green from the 4th tee, and then proceeding backward to the 4th green before teeing off on 8.
If the Schoolhouse Nine were near my house, I'd play it every day. If courses like this were built in urban areas, golf would soar in popularity. 20 acres, $10 per round if you buy a punchcard, 1 hour to play when crowded, interesting greens that require precise short irons... what a great formula.