Fun alternate layout of Dretzka Park that plays in an entirely different part of the park than the Summer course does, including 18 holes that go onto the actual golf course.

1) Scenic Beauty: The golf course section of this winter layout is especially beautiful. If you're lucky enough to have a year where MKE county installs the baskets a little early (usually happens around Thanksgiving), the course is stunning in the fall, and honestly, after a snowfall, the course is still a winter wonderland type sight to behold. With the elevation/hills you have to go up/down, it almost feels like you're on a ski hill sometimes.

2) Elevation: Unlike the summer course, the Winter course has a serious elevation element to it. Several big uphill/downhill holes add to the intrigue. Water comes into play on a few holes, but is often frozen over.

3) I'm normally not a huge fan of rubber teepads, but the ones on this course are about as good as they get. Long enough for winter play (let's face it, if there's any snow/ice present, you probably want to limit your run-up), and surprisingly grippy.

4) Baskets are the old summer course baskets, but they're still in good condition, and as of roughly a month ago, the holes all got new tee signage (they're no longer those janky wood signs!), which looks very sharp.

5) A slight re-design of a few holes for the winter of 2019 has added an extra dimension to the course. Hole 24, in particular, has evolved from a 350' or so straight shot to a 450' uphill bear of a hole where the basket is between two trees at the very top of the hill, allowing for some serious overshot potential.

Nothing too bad, but some things limit this alternate layout from really being a top-echelon course

1) The golf course segment of this layout is where it really shines, but the "Top 9" (truly, holes 1-7 and 26/27) is significantly less intriguing. A couple of cool holes into/out of patches of forest, but the "Top 9" by itself is pretty standard park-style disc golf and would rate a 2.5 if I were scoring it as a standalone 9 hole course.

2) This is not going to come as a surprise, being predominantly on a ball golf course, but the course, as a whole, skews towards wide open. Some people love this, but there aren't too many tight technical holes.

3) Emerald ash borer is a huge problem in this part of the country, and this course plays through several sections of the golf course that used to be lined with ash trees, which have been removed. Holes 15/16 in particular used to be significantly more challenging and fun, but have been reduced to straight up wide open bomb runs by removal of dozens of ash trees. I'm hoping this doesn't continue to kill off too many more trees in future seasons.

With many MKE County and other area courses pulled for the winter, the Dretzka Winter Course becomes a lifeline for area players who are willing to brave the cold, wind, and snow. I recommend playing it at least once if you're coming through the area, and to make it a regular visit if you're from the area. The golf course section of the winter layout is wonderful. If it's your first time playing, you may want to review a map of the course first - most hole to hole transitions are pretty straightforward, but Hole 7-8 (the transition to put you onto the golf course) is a bit of a hike, and is the least intuitive of them.

Be sure to pay attention to the weather - the course should be considered CLOSED any time when it's significantly above freezing, and though having a solid snow/ice cover should render the course playable in borderline 32-35 type temps, please use your best judgment when deciding on a day to play. MKE County Parks dept. has graciously offered this alternate course layout over the ball golf course for some time, but players deciding to play when it's too warm/wet/sloppy can put that in jeopardy. Please be smart.

Dretzka Winter has been a must play for me for the past few seasons and may be more enjoyable than the permanent course. It's laid out fairly well, but I'd still recommend printing or downloading a map if it's your first time out there. This year, you've got the winter course, plus the other 27 holes all available to you, which makes for a great outing.

- Rubber teepads on each hole that are laid out well and mostly level.
- Tee signs give hole info and next tee position, so if you don't have a map, navigation isn't impossible.
- The variety is nice. Long, medium, and short holes with variations in elevations and obstacles.
- Garbage cans and benches throughout help keep your bag less of a mess by the time you finish.
- Play goes back-and-forth across fairways, uses treelines for tunnel holes, and keeps changing it up to be interesting and enjoyable.
- Even though it's a seasonal course, the parks department takes good care to keep this well-maintained and empties garbage regularly.
- Parks Dept employees that we encounter are friendly and excited to see people out playing disc golf.

These are picky, so maybe more a word of advice than a true "con" list.

- First 5 holes are very open park-style holes that are good for warming up, but not challenging. Wind plays a lot into how these go, as well.
- Walk from 7 to 8 can be confusing, if you don't have a map.
- If it's warmer, wear waterproof shoes / boots. 1-7 and 26-27 can get swampy.

If you can play this one, go for it. Disc golf is a year-round sport and even in the Frozen Tundra people are starting to see how enjoyable winter golf can be!

When the ball golf course closes at Dretzka, the disc golf course transfers over, and quite well.

Rubber tee pads, which are pretty solid. They could stand to be a touch longer, but they grip well, and are almost always cleared off. Level, and pretty darn good for being temporary on a seasonal course.

Wood signs at each hole, with distance and path. Rudimentary, but another nice touch on a seasonal course.

Distances here aren't huge, but they're just right for winter golf. Lots of elevation in play, including a nice ski hill bomber (at least for my Int arm).

For being on a ball golf course, they do a great job of incorporating trees and obstacles. Lots of tunnels and lower canopies can force your shots. The holes tend to play along the sides, or shooting across, the ball golf fairways instead of just open shots straight down them.

Navigation can be a little wonky the first time you play it. Being seasonal, there's no permanent "next tee" type signs. Fortunately, this is a well played winter course, so there's usually some locals around to help with that aspect.

Some of the course can start to feel a bit wide open. It's not all open, but if there's no wind (there usually is), and your drives are on, you can score well here.

I really like this course. In fact, I'd say it's right on par with the summer course. If I lived closer, I'd play this bad boy all winter long. Well designed, not a beat down....all good things when you're trudging through snow and bone chilling temps.

Plenty of parking, and never too full.

Definitely worth checking out!

I was previously unaware that such a thing as a specific Winter Course existed but was glad to pull up to Dretzka and not only find a nicely playable course, but a completely different one than I had ever played.

It was a very enjoyable experience.

The pads were large rubber mats that had been kept clear of snow and ice by some surely sainted individual. Very easy to throw from. Don't break out you 360 here but it's for plenty of room for anything else.

Baskets are the normal DGA baskets from the course so very nice and catching very well.

The holes are mostly 350 or less with several under 200, but no mistake in the cold that is plenty long.

And the variety is great, tons of trees, small openings off the tee and some awesome risk/reward shots.

I also liked the fact that they had little wooden signs at each tee showing the placement/distance/direction of the next pad.

It's also very long and plays to the full 27 hole potential.

Awesome course, in some ways better than the normal one as far as layout goes.

The signs could be more clear on a few, and on the map I didn't see all of the holes.

I missed a few because I either or lost or found the wrong pad.

Partially user error here though.

I'd have liked to see one or two a bit longer but that's not a big deal.

Overall this was really fun to play and I'd play it a lot if I lived near.

Very weird thing; do your discs tend to fly less HSS in the cold? Seemed like I was flipping everything every snow round I've played this year.

I'm rating this course as a winter course ONLY because that is exactly what it is. And with that said it's a very nice one. There are standard concrete tee pad sized rubber mats on every hole. Depending on the location of the tee some stay drier than others. These are regularly shoveled off and since it's a well played course the tees stay pretty clear of snow/ice build up. The fairways and route from the basket to the next hole are very easy to figure out. There are very basic hole signs at every hole with the distance and direction of pin hand drawn on. They also have the hole # and an arrow directing you to the next hole which was extremely helpful as a first time visitor here. There is a bit of elevation, both up and down hill here, with a decent amount trees mixed throughout. Not too many trees but a good enough amount for a winter round. The real challenge here would seem to be the wind and disc skippage. That and again obviously the winter conditions of cold hands, iced over basket areas, finding discs in the snow, etc. This to me is not a con at all. It makes you plan your shots more than you normally would in the other seasons and really makes for a challenging round. They have Mach 3 baskets here. These are the same ones I'm assuming they use on the standard course but just move for the winter layout. These are all in fine shape. They're broken in well with the year round play on them. They caught great when we went even with the cold chains which were all rust free. It's set up nicely too so that you can play either 9 holes (1-7 and 26 & 27) or the full 27 holes. It's free. The local club/s around here do a fantastic job keeping this playable and enjoyable. I will note that there is a (frozen) water hazard here in a creek that runs through the golf course section. This can still technically be a water hazard but for most of the time this set up is in it's frozen over. BUT they do list it on the signs which is good to know. There are multiple trash cans throughout the course too. There's a nice satellite map of the course layout by hole 1 which helps for newbies.

AGAIN this is a winter only course. So besides the obvious negatives that come with playing in cold weather I'm only going to list cons based on a winter course. With that said the walk from 7 to 8 is a little tricky for first time players. The baskets for the most part seem to be just straight ahead of the tees. There's more distance variation here than the other reviews led me to believe but most are in the 200 to 300 foot range. This is misleading though because in the winter and in this set up makes scoring well here still not super easy. The bugs can get really bad....oh wait, it's winter.

Me and my wife had a blast playing here. Again the locals keep this in excellent shape. I'll play here anytime I'm coming through the area, summer course too. Dretzka's my favorite course in the Milwaukee area, and I've played all the bigger ones and over 100 total, and the winter set up lives up to the summer version very favorably. Highly recommend if you're in the in the area and love discing in all seasons.

I've been a huge fan of Dretzka Winter much more then the summer course due to the elevation changes, variety of shots, distance the course offered, and the scenic factor. Many deuces available to build your confidence and potential aces.

Since changing holes this year the challenging holes have been eliminated by shortening and over grooming in some cases. For competitive play the course got a lot easier then past years. A few if the teepads in addition to being slick because of rubber were also on somewhat bumpy and uneven ground making it challenging to get good footing.

Dretzka Winter is still a very worthy course to play and very scenic. Usually very well maintained and my only concern would be the shortening that occurred.

-24 holes!
-Only a temporary course, so it's nice to play when you've not seen it for a good six months.
-Lots of majestic pine trees.
-Wonderful change in elevation.
-Beauty of a ball golf course.
-Course is installed when the normal 27 holes are pulled for the Winter and Spring. Nice amenity!
-Good solid permanently anchored baskets.

-Temporary course means temporary tee pads. Pads are black rubber mats. Not my favorite.
-Course can be tricky to navigate the first time around. The map that was uploaded here is poor.

Dretzka offers a fresh 24 holes of Winter golf when the normal 27 are pulled. The first 7 play around the three sides of the parking lot, while the next 15 play on the ball golf course.

These 15 are "extra" temporary, but that just means they are pulled earlier than 1-7, 23 & 24, as the grounds crew ready's the ball golf course every April.

When you climb the hill between 7 and 8, and look down the old ski hill and spot the basket for #8... know that you are in for a treat. This course makes you feel you are alone out here, and it's in Milwaukee!

One last note: When the 15 holes on the ball golf are closed in late Spring, you can still do 8-9 holes of this course until the regular "Summer 27" are back in the ground. 8-9 holes include 1, 2, 3, possibly 4, 5, 6, 7, 23, and 24. Hole 4 may close, as it goes across a Rugby field which is utilized by late April.

**Original Layout**
The teepads are actually kept cleaned off by the locals. Challenging course for winter play. Lots of elevation change. Good mix of long and short holes. Large mature trees with little to no random low hanging branches.

**Original Layout**
Although there are alot of trees, they do not come into play on the majority of holes. Though, the holes they are on make it incredibly challenging (a good thing).
Not available for play during summer :.(

**Original Layout**
Come play The Big Freeze tournament at the end of January each year. It helps to have someone with you who has played the course before since it can be hard to follow.
**New Layout 2012-13**
The bottom side of the Original Layout remains essentially the same, very minor if any tweaking.
The top side has completely changed. A few holes have remained tho, Hole 2(Was 5), Hole 7(was 6), Hole 26 (was 23), and Hole 27 (was 24). The holes by the rugby field are gone :'(. And it has become a deuce-fest. The new 5 & 6 are really fun holes though, and a great addition. The 3 completely new holes are alot of fun. They are deuce holes, but require well placed shots to do so. I would have like to see these 3 holes added without changing the topside.
Overall, I am really not happy with the new layout. 8 through 19 are still essentially the same and I could play those over and over. The top side well thats a different story, 20-27 are still fun but not very challenging overall. 1 through 7 are a let down and just unappealling.
I am not changing my rating cause overall it is still better than a 3. I seriously considered originally giving it a 4 but now it is at definite best a 3.5.
I still suggest playing the course cause it has alot of FUN holes and ace runs are a plenty.

Just the idea of setting up a whole new, more open course for the winter is pretty sweet, since looking through snow for your discs is already hard enough without having shule to deal with as well. I've never heard of another course doing this, and I'd say that's one big pro that makes Dretzka unique.

The rubber tee pads were all in great shape, and are solidly set in place. A really great feature, doesnt get icy like concrete can in winter, much better grip for snow boots.

The course map and Winter Tee signs are really nice as well: A chunk of board screwed to a tree next to each pad has the hole map & length drawn in sharpie, as well as the direction to the next tee. Function over form, I love it! Very easy to read. I think it is a testament to the local club that their temporary winter course has better pads and especially better signage than many top-notch year round courses do in places where it doesnt snow. They even have signs to tell you where the next tee is in places where its not obvious.

The course itself is a very nice mix of fairly technical and fairly open holes, none of which feel like pointless filled holes. With a few notable exceptions, the flow is very easy and obvious, making this a pretty FTF course.

The course starts out by the parking lot and football field, with some shorter holes weaving through the trees. Definitely forces you to shape some shots around trees. Even on the more open holes like 4, which tees off under a football goalpost, the basket is protected in some trees for a nice combo of open drive and careful approach/putt. Minor terrain in play.

After #7, the course switches styles and scenery, when it moves away from the road and through a line of evergreens onto the ball golf course and old ski hill. #8 starts you off with a 450' drive down a wide tree-lined ski run, that plays about 100' shorter due to the elevation. Its the kind of hole that makes you want to empty your bag (twice). #9 also plays along what seems like old ski runs at the bottom of the hill with some terrain.

Once you cross the frozen river into the woods on #10, the course moves to the somewhat flatter area of the ball golf course. Many of the holes weave through mazes of scattered trees on the sides of the BG holes. Some cut back and forth across the frozen creek that bisects the course, and let you air it out a bit on the long open avenues. Usually even then, the basket is in some kind of tree cover trees. Requires a lot of different shots, curves left and right, with several lines to choose from on many holes. Several baskets on downhill greens by the riverside make for risk of rollaways on putts. The trees in particular make for many interesting holes that are each a bit different in the scope of their challenges. Overall, still not too tightly wooded

On holes 18-22, the course hits the slopes again for a variety of fairly challenging elevation shots, before returning you to the parking lot area on the last two holes. 18 shoots up through an area of tiny pine trees (marked with orange flags DO NOT step on them) that will make this hole even better in the next few years as they grow up.

22 plays along the top of the hill, and is one of my favorite holes on the course. The drive is mostly open for the first 200', but the basket is guarded by two giant pine trees that force you to shoot between them. On top of this, about at the twin pines the fairway starts to slope slightly downhill to the trees past the basket. This makes it a challenging shot to gauge, since if you thread the twin pines, its hard to get the disc to stop with overshooting the basket.

It doesn't seem very technical at first glance, but its harder than it looks in several subtle ways, which pretty much defines this entire course. In addition to the many good-sized trees that you have to bend around, wind can also be a factor on just about every hole on this course. The holes face all different directions, so its tough to know which way its going to come from. Not really strong winds, like those at Hiestand, but just enough to mess with your lines a bit and make the trees loom larger.

The course also has a very nice mix of distances on it. It has both short ace runs (like #5), and a few shots close to 400' up a ski slope that will really push you, (like #22). It manages to not favor big arms too much, despite being mostly on a ski hill and ball golf course. Its not very tight and technical either, though it gives opportunity for a good variety of shots.

SIGNAGE: Initially, it was hard to find the first hole, since this course evidently starts in a different spot than the regular course (Updated directions since then).

Also, the transition from 7 to 8 was a bit confusing. From basket 7, walk past the building through the opening in the trees. you'll see a sign that says to go 315' for hole 8. Keep going straight to the ski hill. you should be able to see tee 8 a ways further off.

Hole 23 shoots out of the trees into the same area as # 7. Its tee sign says 8 instead of 23. This is wrong, and two seconds of sharpie work would fix it, and seems like a pretty obvious mistake on a course otherwise so well marked. Also, coming the other direction from 22, you cant see 23's tee tucked back in the woods, so remember where it is after you play 7.

Sometimes the directions to the next tee on the signs were a bit misleading.

1) On some holes it shows an arrow pointing to the direction to the next tee.
2)On others it has a square with an arrow coming out from it.
In the latter case, the square is the next tee location, and the arrow is the direction that next hole actually plays. Sometimes it seems like these two are mixed up, and the arrows are very general. They are good guidelines, just not very specific. Fortunately the flow is pretty good with mostly short walks between holes, so just follow the footprints and you shouldn't get lost.

Other than these few small issues, the signage overall was fantastic and really improved the experience.

COURSE: The middle section of the course seemed mostly flat, but the many trees help compensate for this. The ski hill holes are mostly open but again, the elevation helps compensate for it. Thus, this course gives a nice variety of elevation and fairly wooded holes, but rarely much of both at the same time. This is really the only mark I can find against the course itself. Overall its a well-balanced mix of distances, on fun holes that all have something to offer, though few are truly memorable or challenging holes with that "wow" factor that makes a course a 4 or above. What it really comes down to is that it has elevation and some trees, but it could use more of both, mixed together on the same holes. However, it manages to avoid being repetitive or boring over the course of 24 holes, which is not an easy thing. It is a very enjoyable, well-done winter course that's harder than it looks.

I played at 7am when it was as many degrees outside before the wind chill, and had to throw with gloves on. This course really kicked my butt, especially in putting. I must say, though, I've seldom had as much fun playing so poorly. Since wind is a factor, come ready to feel 10 degrees colder than the weatherman says, and you'll be fine. Some spots are a bit icy.

Again, I've gotta commend the area Disc Golf Club for putting together a separate 24 hole winter course, and doing such a good job at it to boot. Great idea, great pads and signage, can't wait to play the summer course.

1) It has a winter course. Thats why I am writing this review, and that is also what this review is about. The summer course is setup totally differently!!! Please consider this fact when evaluating my review.

2) First 4 holes are wide open.
This allows for a little warmup (in the ever chilly weather this winter seasonal course is open) before heading to some more tight technical wooded holes. #4 starts under a football goalpost and heads right back into and across the teeth of the standard S.W. winds and is 415' long. The basket is tucked in amongst some mature trees that are about 350' off the tee. You better make it near the trees in 1, or you better simply layup to the beginning of the trees so that none of the limbs are in your way for your putt (s).

3) Hole #5
This is my favorite hole on the top 9. . .slight anhyzer hole about 200' through a fairly narrow stretch of trees. #6 and #7 are also set in the mature trees, all presenting their own challenge.

4) #8 is 450' straight downhill (it is actually an old ski or sledding hill. This is a really fun hole to play. The massive 50' evergreens on the left can easily catch an errant hyzer that got some wind under it and the scrub to the right can be equally punishing if you end up in there.

5) Holes #9 through #16 are all somewhat wooded either at the tee, at the green, and even a few of them have trees lining the fairway the entire way. It really places emphasis on shot location rather than distance.

6) Holes #17 through #21 weave back and forth up and down the same slope that #8 is on, but the slopes are not as severe, and the holes aren't as long, really giving you a chance for a good score. BE CAREFUL of the winds as they can whipup pretty strong. You might not even feel them on the Tees of #18 and #19. #18 is guarded with mature evergeens so the wind shouldn't be a factor. #20 goes down the slope at a slight angle which is kind of a nice change from going straight downhill.

6) ALL TEES HAVE RUBBER MATS that have been clear everytime I played. Be careful if there is any moisture as they can be slick.

7) The course gets a fair amount of play so after a fresh snow one can expect somewhat of a walking path. Granted you also have to throw it straight to end up on or near the path.

8) #23 teepad was recently levelled and fixed . . . it had been on a slope for 2 years and was an easy place to slip and fall. (2 other landscapers and myself spent about 90 minutes levelling and putting in the timbers to divert the water around the tee area so we will see how it does this winter.)

1) The first few holes and plain and simple, but as I said above, it is nice to have a couple to get warmed up before having anything too technical.

2) The walk between #7 and #8 is long, but only because the course is setup to have a 9 hole loop back to the parking lot, but the other 15 holes are removed from those 9. Not a big deal, but worth mentioning.

3) The rubber teepads are better than nothing on a winter course but they can be slick many times. For some reason when they get setup they often times end up on little slopes, so I am always trying to find the most level area to place them.

After two full winters of playing this course and 3 years of playing this game I am beginning to appreciate this course . . . especially when there is no snow on the ground. It still is not a good course for me because there is a premium on a 300-325' drive which leaves me looking at 50-60 upshots or maybe 30' putts if I pull off a great throw . . . if I could add another 25-30' on my drives I would enjoy this course much more.