I've played 10 Ellis Maples courses: 2 in Virginia (Olde Mill and Lexington) and 8 in North Carolina (Forest Oaks, Deep Springs, Cedar Rock, Walnut Creek, Indian Valley, Boone, Bermuda Run, and Keith Hills). To me, the Ellis Maples courses I've played are above-average tracks that are quite pleasant to play, not boring but not eye-popping either. They're just...nice.
[BTW, I don't rate Deep Springs any higher than I would Cedar Rock, Forest Oaks, Bermuda Run, Lexington, and especially Olde Mill--DS is a pleasant-enough course, but the greens are too big-and-blah for my tastes, it has a couple of awkward sharp doglegs, and the finishing stretch of holes ( 16-18 ) is weak in my opinion. Still fun and worth checking out for yourself, though.]
My favorite EMaples holes are some of his par 5's, particularly those that utilize the tumbling NC terrain well like #10 at Boone GC!, #11 at Lexington, #9 at Forest Oaks, #9 at Deep Springs, and #5 at Olde Mill!. On each of these holes, the the landing spot of the tee shot is of critical importance, as balls landing on different sides of the fairway could end up miles apart, with one having the chance to reach the green in two and one forced to hit a layup to a tight landing area. So it's not just "bombs away" from the tee; rather, you have to try to catch the right portion of the fairway to gain the maximum advantage.
His greens are usually fairly large, and though sloping and quick at times, aren't spectacular. Again...nice. His bunkers are relatively benign and usually well-placed, often with flashed-up faces; again, nothing punishing, just nice.
But the one nine-hole stretch that goes beyond just nice for me is the front nine at Olde Mill GC in Laurel Fork, VA (not far from the Blue Ridge Parkway). Just a wonderful collection of holes, with a stunning routing, sometimes rapid changes in elevation, and a serene mountain setting. In addition to the par-5 5th mentioned above, the opening tee shot into the valley, the knob-to-knob shot of the par-3 8th (far and away my favorite EMaples par 3--unlike any other of his I've seen), and the par-4 9th with its drastically elevated green are worth checking out. The back nine is pretty good, with another tumbling par-5 finisher, but not quite in the same league as the front. Of all the EMaples courses I've played, Olde Mill is the only one I'd bother showing anyone in this DG, and I'd be quite interested to see what the reaction would be.