Bring some extra balls. For those looking for clues to the course's character, the first hole, a 429-yard dogleg par four, offers little. It's flat and generally plays the way you see it. That makes it the exception to the rule here. A better example of what you'll be facing is the second hole, where the course begins its 300-foot ascent to the top of the valley.
Carts are mandatory here, but that's a good thing.
Only a billy goat would relish walking this course. A sprinkling of them is fun. But Hockley Valley has lots of them, perhaps too many for some tastes. There are plenty of compensations. Among them are the six par-threes.