I love this course, I wish it was closer to where I lived.

Great mix of technical woodsy and open fairways.

Good course if you throw sidearm.

Lots of alternate pin placements.

Lots of signage, easy to find your way around.

Can't really think of many cons. The last few holes have a fence which is a hassle.

-This is a very well maintained course!!!
-W.I.D.G. has and continues to put alot of heart into the course.
-The recently added juniors tees, are a great addition for the kids!
-Many Changes happening, that are surely to make the course more interesting and safer for other park users.

**THE FOLLOWING ARE CURRENTLY CHANGING, AND WILL BE COMPLETE BY NOVEMBER IF NOT SOONER**
-Holes 13-18, there is a constant chain link fence running within 10 feet of left side of tees, and 10-20 of Baskets (except 17)
-Hole 10 has a baseball field that's easily landed in and is regularly used by kids for practice...unsafe.
-Hole 18 has a road running parallel with the hole with standard chainlink fence as divider...could use a high fence or change location(DON'T KNOW IF THEY INTEND TO CHANGE THIS ONE)
-

Granted, I've only played courses from Northgate, WA to Bellingham, WA, but this is my favorite place to play....bar none!!! This is my home course, and it's this course that made me the discin addict that I have become!!! Tim and Danni Baugher, with the help of the tag holders of W.I.D.G(whidbeyislanddiscgolf.com), have put a lot of heart in maintaining this course, and making it become the great course that it is. It has a great difficulty. There are great signs showing course and hole layouts, and they are very accurate.The ever changing Island winds, make every round different, nomatter how many rounds you play. Tag holders are regulars and come out daily, always caring a smile and welcoming new comers. There was recently the first real tourney that involved sponsors (INNOVA included) and people from all around! THE RISING ISLAND OPEN was a great experience and I am deffinetly going to participate in DISC ADDICTION 2010 in November (first PRO tourney with other divisions as well!!!) Anyone who appreciates Disc Golf and has the heart that I do for it, should deffinetly checking out this course!!!

Textured concrete tees, easy to read informative signs, practice basket, well kept paths, good variety of holes and different strategies, easy to find the next hole.

14, 15, 16th holes are often very muddy and losing discs over the fence to the left has been quite annoying. I love the forest feel of the front 9 holes but the underbrush is just too much, if you stray off the path it can be a challenge to track down your disc.

I love playing this course because everytime I go it feels like I'm playing it for the first time. Whidbey Island's weather changes so much from day to day that it creates new challenges all the time. This course has improved my overall playing greatly. If this were an easy course I would get bored.

***[[[UPDATE - 17JUNE2011]]]
Changed my rating from 2.5 to a 4.0, here is why;
I took a year or so off from DG and in that little time this course has changed a lot! And ALL for the better. There is still plenty of good info in the original post, but here is the new stuff:
First holes 1 and 2 are different (for the better). They took out holes 10 and 17 for safety and relocated 10 in the woods, and added a new hole 11. After that tee 11 is the new 12, tee 12 is the new 13, tee 13 is the new 14 and so on through hole 17. All the baskets are numbered correctly though. And hole 18 is normal. (I've read that they are working on new signs.
This course is still very easy to navigate... however the new 10 and 11 are a little hidden and have no sign or concrete tee pads. That being said once you finish hole 9 follow the trail and follow the blue sign tells you to go right (downhill) a little ways down the path you will see a tee pad... just before you get to that there is a dirt tee area on the right which shoots back towards basket #8, this is #10 and it has two pin placements. Hole 11's tee is to the left of basket 10... easy to follow the path. 11's tee is also dirt and shoots back towards the way you came.
Added items... each of the signs have hooks on them for your bags, and I saw at least 5 or 6 trash cans.
This course has tons of work done and plenty of people who keep improving it.
I will upload an edited map with estimated locations of the new holes... but will be GPSing the course soon... I'll upload that course as well too.
Oh yeah they have Jr. tees on some of the holes now and many of the holes have multiple pin placements.

PLAY THIS COURSE... YOU WON"T BE DISAPPOINTED!!!

[[[Old original review]]]
BRAND NEW COURSE!!! That being said let's get to it;
FREE: is always my first PRO. (I love free DG).
The course sign at the beginning is very nice showing the course map (it's the same as in the link on this site).
Practice basket at the beginning.
The baskets are all matching and new. Tee pads are new and level and were dragged prior to drying to give that extra traction.
Tee signs are nice and give a pretty good idea to where the baskets are. They are high enough to see easily which is very helpful to finding the next tee after completing a hole.
There are also blue signs (with white text) that direct you to the proper tees when they are not close to the prior hole, as well as one when you first drive into the park that tells you where the disc course is.
The course is laid out in a very good flow from one hole to the next. First 9 Plus # 11 are very technical. (some might call it a con, but if they weren't this technical, they would be too easy)
The last 7 plus # 10 are pretty easy and in the open, but be careful not to lose you disc over the fence to the left, as it lines the last 7 hole to the left of each basket. This and the slope that most of the baskets are on are the only reason the last holes have any challenge to them.
The one thing that really stuck out in my mind is that when i was finished I felt like I had played two different courses. That is how much of a drastic difference that there is between the front 9 and the back 9 ("TWO 4 ONE").
Baskets (that are visible) are easy to see and should not be confusing at to which basket you are shooting for. Even the blind baskets are obviously the only one you will be shooting at (you normally can not see more than one basket at a time).
Not crowded at all (probably because it is new), but even it was crowded the course should still flow well.

OK there are many, but most are small details and can be fixed with time and maybe some volunteer help. Since this course is new and is the ONLY one on Whidbey Island there are some little things that may have been over looked and is the only reason I gave this course a 2.5 rating... once some of these small things are taken care of, this course would easily be a 3.5 or 4 in my mind.
No trash cans (easy fix).
No benches (easy fix) and would only need a few every other hole or even every 3rd hole since most holes are close to each other.
The tee sign are good, but don't give a very accurate feeling as to where the basket is when the basket is not in plain view (you can walk a short way and find them, but a little more detail on the sign would help).
The first 9 plus #11 are tunnel (trail) shots. Not much room for error.
A lot of the baskets are in the woods (just off the trail) and are well protected by trees and brush. This makes for a challenging shot(s) but leaves the ground very rough and un-level near the baskets (I feel that as more rounds are played, the foot traffic will solve a great portion of this problem).
I said that the technical part of this course was a PRO, but if you miss the trail and end up in the brush, it will be hard to find you disc and or just get to it. There are sticker bushes, thick brush and trees tress trees on the front portion of this course.
Some (maybe 2 that I remember) of the tee pads have little patched area in them, that at first look worse than they are, but are a little un-leveled (didn't effect my throw).
The majority of the holes are left to right (Anhyzer RHBH) shots which seemed to get old real quick (but was good to make me play shots that I don't normally try).
The back 9 could be crazy if there is any baseball, or soccer games going on, as that may scare the uncontrolled new player like myself.
The only bathroom is in the center of the park (not too close to the disc golf course) but close to #10 basket)
Hole #9 finishes way far away from #1. (I like my courses to allow a quick 9 holes which start and end close to each other) It's a picky con and doesn't really make me dis-like the course, but If you plan to quit early #10's basket is about as close to the parking lot as you will be.
Basket #18 doesn't end very close to #1 either... but considering the park layout and what land they had to work with... it's a good design none the less.
There are no maps or score cards at the beginning... (you can play this course with out it, only a couple places may have you searching, but it should be a quick search.) Print the map off this site before you go. (I will put up a score card soon, when I get one made up)


DON'T LET THESE CONS DETER YOU FROM PLAYING HERE. This course is NEW and is well worth your time.

(UPDATED INFO): I met with some the park managers and they are already planning to fix some of my concerns... in particular; Trash cans will soon be added.
Some of the front 9 holes will be cleared for better chance of NOT loosing your disc. This will be in done by volunteers and if you are willing to help please drop me a line and I'll make sure you know when they plan to do so.
Benches were also talked about.
Moving the practice basket to somewhere away from the bushes and houses and out of hole 1's flight path.(Practice basket has been removed, waiting to hear of it's return and placement).
And maybe some bag holders.
They also said that they are trying to buy some property back behind the park, which is where I thought would be the best spot in town for a course... I hope they get get it.

(ORIGINAL REVIEW)
The park is open 5am - 10pm.
There is a practice basket right in front of #1's tee box a little to the left. It is well market "PRACTICE" so you shouldn't confuse it with the #1 basket which is in the trees in plain view.
I would park closer to the entrance to the park away from hole #1 and closer to hole #18 for two reasons, 1> so you have less distance to walk at the end of your round, and 2> so that your car is not in disc range at hole #1.
Bring bug spray, it wasn't too bad but I would have liked to have it.
Long pants are a smart idea if you plan to go into the trees and brush (and I'm sure you will).
Long sleeves and sturdy shoes are a good idea too.
There are houses through the trees on the right of the first 5 or 6 holes so be aware of that before you throw as well.
This is also a very popular walking path and your chances of seeing people and dogs on this path is high. Foot traffic has the right of way as do all other park goers.
Some of the holes are very short but well protected. No ace runs in the trees for sure! ( shot in the trees quite a bit and threw two disc over the fence taking the penalty shots and still shot +3, so the course is forgiving).
You should be able to bring you score down on the last 7 holes. #10 is the only hole that I really think is a true par 4, but I'll take #18 as a par 4 as well due to the length of it. Some of the 3's could be 2's, but that would deter beginners.
Beginners: If you have a little control, and a few shots in your bag... this is not a horrible course, but not the best to start with either. However this course will make you a better and more confident player when you learn here and take you skills to a more open course.
Write your name and number on the bottom of your disc in case you can't find it. Most Disc Golfers will call and return them.
(my son found a blue disc with no name on it. If you can tell me the hole and the disc brand and model) I will gladly return it.

e-mail: [email protected]

If you have any questions that aren't covered, feel free to e-mail me. I live very close to the course and either know the answer or can find out.

PLAY THIS COURSE!!! IT IS WELL WORTH IT!!!