A very pleasant, lakeside 9-hole course that sits unto itself on the resort property, down a big hill from tennis, basketball, and pickleball courts; a small unmarked baseball field; picnic pavilions; an indoor faux ice skating rink; general store; etc. Maybe this separation means you can play without too much interruption. I did encounter a dogwalker on the course during a practice round (day before a tournament), but there were not a lot of people period on the course during that round. Disclaimer: Was late in the day and during March. One has to remember that this is a private course within a campground, so the campers have rights to the property that day visitors will not.

Because there are two baskets per hole, you can walk around twice (or throw 2 discs while walking around once) to get in 18 holes. Totally works for me!

Though some holes are kind of jumbled on one another (no. 2 tee and no. 4 short basket, no. 1 tee and no. 9 short basket, e.g.), for the most part, they are nicely-spaced out. The course is on a parkland slope to the lake, so there is good elevation for most of the holes. Nothing outrageous but the slope certainly affects disc flight and makes the course much more interesting than it would be if it were flat!

The parkland trees (clumps of them) can also provide some challenge. Pretty easy to get into. Most of these clumps are pretty dense!

The hanging basket at no. 2 may be the gimmick hole, but water-carry hole no. 6 is the true signature hole. You can play long safely around the perimeter, but you are not likely to make par or birdie. It might be more important to you to keep your disc! If you don't have a comfortable 300-foot throw (I would imagine), you don't need to be trying to get over the water from the blue pad. I was told the forward green pad is the drop zone. You still probably need a comfortable, reliable 200-foot drive.

Closing hole 9 is generous to the short basket. Much harder to the far basket, further down the hill and tucked in a small grove with creek behind it. And the rough to the right of the fairway is unadulterated forest. I learned the hard way (during the tournament) that one needs to practice course management here.

Indeed, throughout the course. Getting uphill and into the cove at no. 4 is not as easy as it looks. Getting up the narrow lane to the far basket at no. 7 is not as easy as it looks. At least, for the average recreational player.

Overall, the course offers real challenge that you just don't get at most 9-hole courses.

It is very, very easy to get in the water for those of you with a big arm. Also there are lots of death putts and death approaches. My Blowfly came in handy though was no match for the wind on the first day of the tournament. Still (if you truly want to leave with all of the discs that you brought), this course forces you to play conservatively around the water. At the end of the day, I think this is a good thing: helps you develop your course management skills, know when to concede more strokes and make them up elsewhere. As possible.

It is a pay-to-play facility. You can play all day for $10, but there may not be enough extra things that interests you. I am not sure what day visitors are allowed to do, so you definitely want to call or email before heading out! If you fish or sail, maybe bring your equipment for that. If you can get on the tennis/pickleball courts and the faux ice rink, do those. But if none of that is your bailiwick, then you might think $10 just for the disc golf is too high of a price. By comparison, Forest Valley (yes, at the opposite end of the spectrum of difficulty) is $20 per day. I think once you have played to the yellow basket and then to the blue basket, you'll probably be pretty much done with the disc golf course.

The resort is pretty far west on Route 3 from I-95; I think my GPS said 8-9 miles. If you don't live in the area and were coming here just for disc golf, I don't think it is worth the effort.

However, if you are *staying* at the resort or on a disc-golf day trip in greater Fredericksburg, that is a different matter altogether. You augment play at this little course with the bigger layouts at Curtis Memorial, Pratt, Loriella, and Cannon Ridge. There is also 6B&G: a tiny 9-holer at a brewery/restaurant off of Route 17. The food is good there, and if you are a beer drinker, they have plenty choices.

Although it calls itself a resort, Wilderness Presidential Resort is more like a very large, wooded campground with a great deal of sports facilities. A lot more to offer than a typical campground but a campground all the same.

-A 9-hole course on the property of the Wilderness Presidential Resort. The course meanders on a slope of a hill with water in play from a lake. Mostly lightly wooded and some open holes. Also a few roller greens, and a hanging basket.

-It would seem to me that the course has been updated since the last review more than 6 years ago.

-The single turf tees are excellent, with two Discatchers on each hole. I played long baskets, and they catch well! There's a course map as you enter the course.

-Tee signs have excellent map graphics with next tee, hole number, distance, and par.

-Navigation is counter-clockwise and next tee is easy to see from played basket. Some baskets are hidden from tee.

-The elevated parking lot was a first for me, you can see the entire course from parking, and I would imagine very scenic in the warmer months. I played in December. There's a General Store across the road from parking for snacks.

-From the bag on the tee I threw mid's, fairways, and drivers.

-Fairways along the water I saw a few long sticks with hooks to grab discs. The water is very shallow a few inches to even walk out a ways with waterproof shoes or even take your shoes off when warmer to grab a disc.

-Resort guests playing the first time will find the course challenging. Beginners, and Recreational challenging enough and enjoyable! Intermediate and Advanced a few challenges on a very workable course enjoying the scenery.

-The Wilderness Presidential Resort Disc Golf fee also includes other property amenities, and there are a variety of overnight accommodations including camping and RV hookups, cabins, and luxury accommodations. You no longer must be a guest of a member to play, just pay the fee. The resort is within easy reach of Loriella Park and Cannon Ridge. At least a few dozen courses within an hour Hawk Hollow, Blockhouse, and Lake Marshall.

-It's a 5-minute walk downhill from parking to the course and I couldn't help but think why not add a few warmup holes, a tremendous elevated open tee shot with distance from parking, and another hole across the water to a basket. A lot of available space to add even more holes on the parking side of water to stretch the course. When your finished playing, you're going to be walking right back up that hill.

-Skilled players may find themselves wanting more, the lines thru trees and brush are wide on 6 of the 9 holes, and the open on the other 3 may also find a repetitive round and a little ho hum.

-Lost disc potential can be high. The heavy here and there brush and trees are going to be very bushy in the warmer months. You may have to disc dive for an errant throw. Water behind long basket #5 and along holes 1, 3, and 6 could capture a disc.

Hazel Grove DGC on the Wilderness Presidential Resort is the perfect place to introduce Disc Golf to newcomers to the game staying on the resort. As I strolled along the fairways, I was wondering how many guests bit by the Disc Golf Bug and found their way to a local course when they returned home. The course is perfect for an introduction to the game from tee box experience to basket. Veterans can vacation with a perfect place for family activities, warm up your game, and hit the stellar 18-hole courses in the area. I have no personnel cons on the course, Hazel course is what it is, a course to accommodate their guests, allowing non-staying guest a chance to play. On a personnel preference would have like to have been squeezed more on most fairways and found myself with wandering eyes to the next hole thinking it may bring something more, but there's enough to keep it at a good round!

My overall rating is anchored on a 4.0 based on the Resort player experience, beautiful scenery on course and bordering it, solid tee box experience, a course with ease, and resort amenities. The time to play taking photos was 35 minutes.

The Hanging Basket:

-Open tee to open short basket hanging off two wooden post and cross pole at 176 feet. I felt that the hanging basket was a good plus for a resort course and fit right in for the course. After throwing to long basket, threw a second disc to hanging basket and ended up right behind it.

Notable Basket:

-No. 5 long basket at 305 feet is open tee down slope to an open basket roller green with the lake just off C1. Half hearted made a birdie run.

Signature Hole:

-No. 9 Par 3 long basket at 340 feet is a straight away open tee downhill to a basket with tree cover. The first 270 feet is open, and you'll see the short basket at 250 feet and a good distance marker, you'll not be able to see the long basket. The fairway on the right is heavy woods with extended branches all the way down. At 270 feet is a line of bushy trees on the left shooting thru a gap about 40 feet wide and at that point the fairway drops to a roller green basket in the wooded gap with a ditch filled with water at the C2 border behind basket. It's a fun throw to complete the round, represents the course with trees and brush, and the open fairways.

Trouble Hole:

-No. 6 Par 3 long basket at 411 feet, and short at 267 feet is a straight open tee to open basket with no trees in play, just water carry or add more distance going around left with dry land. To reach short on a straight line at least 230 feet, and long 375 feet to keep it safe. The short basket is a roller green into the lake at C1. The long basket is on a crest with a roller green to the left or behind into heavy brush, and to the right or front the lake just outside C1. Hole 6 is the most likely hole to lose a disc, and likely scenic with green grass in the warmer months. I choose to keep it safe with a turnover (lefty) aiming for short, but a late release put me a long way from long basket, on approach hit the crest on the left and rolled into the brush, and dumped putt to avoid the roller into the lake for a pickup bogey.

Very short Nine Hole course. Probably not made for experienced players, looks like it was made more for the resort than players.

Have to be a guest at the resort to play.

Not worth staying at the resort for disc golf reasons.

9 hole course on a peninsula next to a lake. New discatcher baskets. THe course is simple and straight forward but not much of a challenge. It was designed with the resort in mind for campers that have never played before. For experienced players it is a place to throw some plastic.

You have to be a member or a guest of a member to play the course.

I contacted the director of events at Wilderness last spring and inquired if they would be interested in building a Championship 18 hole pay for play course. They had just built a zip line/challenge course open to the public as a test and were very interested in opening up a larger course to generate income. As of now everything is in the pre-planning stage.