Pros:
Several unique holes, a wonderful mix of dogleg left and right, short, long, and longer demand your constant attention. Mostly flat, but significant terrain changes come into play.
Large, dual concrete tee pads (long and short) on every hole.
Permanent (more challenging) alternate pin locations provide up to 4 different ways to play 6 of the holes. How's that for variety?
Great job adjusting the challenge from short to long tees. The long pads challenge both your distance and control as the fairways off the longs are quite narrow, which means there are fewer lines to work and a smaller window to hit. Fairways open up quiet a bit around the shorts, requiring far less precision on your drives. While this technique is employed on the Original course, it's executed to perfection on The Monster.
Supplemental holes A-F can get monotonous, but 6 consecutive long tunnel shots are great for testing how consistently you can throw flat and straight for distance. Can certainly affect how players finish in a tourney, as getting off the fairway here is likely to cost at least a stroke.
After you hole out on F, you've played 19 holes, have walked about 2 miles, and maybe you're feeling a bit drained. You approach the next tee and think "Am I seeing things? Was there an extra digit in there?" Nope - the tee sign is for real. Hole 14 tests your couarge,conviction and control, with 1038' between you and the basket, that requires more than a little control to avoid some VERY hazardous brush (650' from the short tee is no gimme either).
The Monster finishes with a great hole that corkscrews over a narrow gap flanked by trees and brush, with a pond waiting to swallow hyzers that fade hard.
Cons:
Not a good course to try out new shots or find out how that new driver works for you. You better know how you're gonna get to the basket from the tee, 'cause if you just wing it... can you say "lost disc?"
Although things open up in a few spots, you really need to keep your shots on a pretty tight line - The Monster makes you pay for shots that get away from you (sometimes in blood). The brush lining the fairways is thick, and frequently thorny (the stuff off the right side of 14 is downright dangerous).
Several blind holes and hazardous rough make spotters more than just a convenience. The brush on some holes is so thick that even if you have a good idea where you came down, finding your disc can still be iffy.
Home to Sistrurus catenatus, better known as the Massasauga rattlesnake - the only poisonous snake native to Michigan. They don't get very large (18"-30") but that dosn't matter much, does it?
Other Thoughts:
Hudson Mills is more accommodating to DG'ers than any place I've been to. Case in point: Sun, 6/26/11 was Disc Golf Appreciation Day, with events and prizes just for DG'ers. With two excellent, wonderfully maintained, 24 hole courses, Hudson Mills is a premier disc golf destination. It's specifically because of this that The Monster doesn't get the credit it deserves for being the tournament caliber course that it is. It's often just lumped in as one of two great courses at Hudson Mills, but this bad boy stands on it's own merit.
Take your time and make a day of it. Play one course, enjoy the scenery, rest at the Activity Center, grab a bite and recharge... then go out for another round.
Exceptionally well maintained: neatly mowed fairways, fresh wood chips around all the baskets, spacious dual concrete tee pads, nice tee signs with distance and hole layout for both tee pads, practice basket, score cards w/maps and pencils with erasers. The park office where you pay is conveniently located near the parking lot between the Original and Monster courses. Inside you'll find a well stocked snack bar (burgers, fries, chicken fingers, pizza, snack foods, drinks) with clean, comfortable tables and chairs and CLEAN bathrooms (indeed a rarity on on most courses I've played). This is the most welcoming place to play disc golf I know of.