Where to begin with this course!
The land is isolated and amazing. There are open holes, wooded holes, flat holes, holes with 100 ft elevation changes, water holes, dry holes, and so much more. The variety on this course is off the charts. If you do not have a variety of shots in your bag (including backhand, hyzer flips, sidearms, huge hyzer, etc), then you can easily find yourself in trouble. To me, this is the mark of a fantastic course. You will use every disc in your bag.
There are at least 4 or 5 iconic holes on this course, and the course changes drastically from short to long tees. You can even mix and match and play some shorts/longs to cater to almost any skill level.
Short Tees:
Holes 1 and 2 lull you into a false sense of security.
Hole 1 is a wide open shot with some bushes and shrubs on each side. At ~360 ft, there isn't a ton of trouble unless you venture way off to either side. UPDATE: The shrubbery on the left has been cut down, so there isn't much danger left now.
Hole 2 is also fairly wide open back past 1's tee. The only real trouble are a few guardian trees all withing 40 ft of the pin
Hole 3 is a big RHBH hyzer shot into a narrow opening. You do NOT want to go short and left as it is thick, thick woods. UPDATE: Some of the left side thick bushes have been cleared out to about 25 ft in, making it a little less dangerous.
Hole 4 is a blind 200 ft shot where you will want to walk up the fairway to see the pin. A small ravine lies down in the opening and just in front of the pin. The left foliage is thick, while the right is manageable. So do not miss short and left.
The first 4 holes are good, but nothing too memorable. Hole 5 is where things change.
Hole 5 throws RHBH around heavy woods on the left into a wide open field. A pond on the right should not come into play from the short tees. Even a good drive will then leave you with a precise 2nd shot to a pin perched up at the top of a small hill. Go left or right and you are in some bushes. Short and you are putting uphill 15 ft. Go long and you are in serious trouble. UPDATE: The main pin location has been moved down into the open field to avoid the bike trails. This makes the second shot much easier, and bigger arms will be aiming for a birdie 2.
Hole 6 is the first iconic tee shot. You are throwing downhill with about 50-75 ft of elevation change to a pin protected by multiple smaller trees. Go short and you will have a tough layup. Gun it long and you will fly right into a creek that is about 60 feet past the pin. A jump putt type throw will work for many on this hole. Take a picture while you are there! UPDATE: The park has added a net behind the pin to catch errant long shots. It only spans 50 ft or so at the bottom, so going wide left or right long still lands yuo
Hole 7 is a blind tee shot over an angled hill on the left. The pin is accessible off the tee, but requires a good shot hung out to the right. But go too far right and there is a large foot drop-off with rollaway potential. This is another hole where you will want to walk ahead to see the pin.
Hole 8 is one of the tougher holes on the front 9 and another beautiful hole. You throw down a tight fairway and try to position yourself on the middle/right side of the fairway. Your second shot is a RHBH hyzer shot to a pin tucked back and up to the left. Poor shots will leave you hiding behind trees or rolling down to a small dry creek bed about 30 feet from the pin. Watch for rollaways on your approach and putt.
Hole 9 is the second truly iconic hole. Only big arms will have a shot at 2 on this one. Mere mortals must play a placement shot to the base of a hill with a sidearm working well, then throw an approach shot up a hill with 50+ feet of elevation change. Drives short, long, or right will leave almost no angle to get up the hill.
Hole 10 is a gettable 2, but you must avoid some small fairway trees. The pin sits 15 feet up on top of a small plateau with a drop-off behind. Many good shots will still leave you with a challenging putt, usually uphill.
Hole 11 is one of the two easiest holes from the shorts and a must get if you are bleeding strokes from holes 7-9. Avoid hard right shots as a pond could come into play on an errant shot. Also, be careful not to go long left as there is a drop-off that makes disc retrieval very challenging. Other than that, its <200 and straight ahead.
The walk to hole 12 is a bit long and confusing. Behind 11's pin you will see two paths. Follow the right path along the pond, around the bend, then down a small hill until you reach a wide trail T. Hang a right and walk down a path that is wide enough for a car until you reach hole 12. Keep walking, I promise the tee is there. Hole 12 is one of the easiest holes along with hole 11. Several guardian trees protect the pin, but are inside 30 feet so even hitting them will still give you a reasonable putt. A short sidearm shot or simple turnover putter works well here.
Hole 13 is also a hole that can be birdied, but has the potential for disaster that is not present on holes 11 and 12. A short sidearm up the left path or a big hyzer shot both work here. The pin sits on a small hill, so even good shots can leave you with a challenging uphill or straddle putt around trees. Hit any early tree and you could end up in a big ravine to the right that separates the tee and pin.
Hole 14 is yet another iconic hole. The pin sits just out over a large pond that you must carry. Since the hole is only in the 260 range, it is very reachable. But the pond will mess with your head. The pin sits dangerously close to the pond, with a drop-off a mere 20 feet away. Safe players can throw a bailout shot out to the right and/or long, an easy layup, and run away with a 3. Riskier shots can yield a great birdie or much, much worse. UPDATE: A drop zone has been added along the right side path from the tee to the pin.
Hole 15 is a very straightforward, reasonable tunnel shot. Although the gap is air, any misses in the left rough can be brutal, with the right not being as bad now that some of the shrubs has been removed. Keep it straight, putt for birdie, but don't stray too far left or right. A good sidearm shot works well here and plays away from the trouble on the left. Pay close attention along the right side of the fairway as you walk up. A sign and path to 16 should be visible.
The walk to hole 16 can also be a bit confusing. There is a path that runs along a hillside directly to 16's tee. The access to the path is on the right side of 15's fairway about 100 ft short of the basket. Just backtrack there after finishing 15 and if will take you right to 16. The tee for 16 long is surrounded by a retaining wall. UPDATE: The newly added short tee is accessed by following the winding path down and to the left of the long tee. Multiple trees have been cleared, but the shot is still a challenging uphill hyzer with a dangerous dropoff to the right.
After hole 16, there is a short hike along a path, up a small hill, across a bed of big rocks, up another small hill, along a car path about 300 feet, and up a path to the right to a slightly elevated hole 17 tee. This is also a blind shot with a low ceiling, although the opening has been cleared a bit. There are trees on both the left and right, and a pin that is perched on a hill with a 15 ft drop-off in front/right of it. Good shots here are hard to come by since the window is so small, but it is still very deuceable. Be wary of roll-aways on your putts and don't be overly upset with a par.
Hole 18 is the last of the iconic holes. The tee shot seems harmless, but danger lurks. The rough road to the right is sometimes played as OB, so you must watch shots too far right. Also to the right is some grass that can get waist high or taller during the summer months. But if leave your drive too far left you will have no angle into the protected pin tucked back in the woods to the left. The opening is very reasonable, but placement off the tee is key if you want to attack the pin. A birdie 3 is a great score here, but staying inbounds and taking a 4 is not bad either. If the road does not play as OB, feel free to let loose over the road. Follow the road a few hundred feet back up to the parking area and near hole 1's tee.
Take a rest, you earned it.
The long tees are an entirely different animal. Here's a brief summary of the best holes from the longs:
Hole 3 is a great placement par 4, with a long drive and good approach into a protected green needed for a birdie 3.
Hole 5 is arguably the best hole at Wildlife from either tee. A 380-400 ft shot over a pond is required or a bailout drive to the left. A 3 from the longs is an amazing score, although much more manageable now that the pin has been moved down into the field.
Hole 6 is fantastic. Its the same downhill shot as from the shorts, but with the tee up another 20-30 ft and tucked further right requiring a tricky, blind turnover line that makes birdie very challenging. You also have to give it a bit more power, which brings the creek behind into play if you push too hard and somehow clear the maze of trees. The net behind the pin will really help here if you crank on it too hard.
Hole 7 is a legit par 4, but not long. 30-40 ft elevation change on your drive up and right around a corner. Great shots still leave you with a hard 2nd. Very challenging par 4 even though it only measures around 470 ft.
Hole 8. Almost 1000 ft long. Drive down a tight window to a landing area 400 ft ahead and 50-70 ft below the tee, with lots of trees left and stinging nettles everywhere. Then another 450+ up a tight tunnel with trees everywhere. Then, still another 50+ around small trees to the pin. Wow.
Hole 11 is a 360 ft shot over another large pond. Attack at your own risk, but you can deuce it with a huge power hyzer that fights through the trees protecting the green. Short shots can hit the hillside and easily roll into the mucky water.
Hole 14 is ANOTHER pond shot. 300+ ft is needed to carry the pond. The right bailout available from the short tees is harder to access and is very narrow, with bushes and trees if you go too far right. There are no easy plays on this hole.
Hole 16 is probably the course's signature hole from the long tee and requires more than just a brief description!
You throw from an elevated tee, down a big ravine, over a shallow creek, then back up a small hill that slopes to the right. This is truly a placement shot and very difficult due to the low ceiling. Do not go too long or you will be in a world of hurt! The bushes are thick and getting up anywhere near the pin is very difficult.
Even great drives will leave you with a difficult 2nd shot with awkward footing. This is due to the fact you are going back up a short hill, but also the hill fades down to the right. You will have to make a standstill blind shot to a pin perched on a narrow path which loves to create rollways. No description can do this hole justice and you will play it 20 times and still not know exactly where to place your drive.
Hole 18. 30 ft downhill shot out into an open field. A drive over and past the short tees is very good. Even a great drive will leave a challenging 2nd shot. Only the biggest arms have a shot at 3.