+ Best variety of elevation changes, tight trees, and wide open bombs in the area - this makes it challenging (I think more challenging than any course in the region)
+ Also the best variety of tight holes requiring controlled finesse upshots and drives
+ Very well thought out back 9. You can really tell smart disc golfers designed the newest holes
+ The pace of the course is enjoyable (lengths of holes, types of throws required, tree layout)
+ Awesome white rocks painted with directions to the next hole
+ For a $300 donation, each hole can be "sponsored" and a customized sign is put up with whatever you want on it, which gives me hope it will stay this nice
+ Pretty well-maintained groundskeeping, but the course needs to be played a lot more to smooth out some of the rough areas (so go play it, a lot!)
+ I'm always struck by how delightful the varying degrees of tree coverage is here
+ Also some very frustrating trees
+ The "MANDO" helps you avoid the softball fields
+ Lots of chances to use all the discs in your bag (more than any other course around)

- Players have cut down some trees and branches that once made holes challenging
- I had two older teenagers steal a friend's disc right in front of me
- Hole signs have been vandalized, bent, etc.
- Lots of people walk all over the course with their dogs and whatnot
- Ground bees and mosquitoes can be a problem here if you don't pay attention to where you're walking
- Baskets are pulled in the winter

The excitement for this course to become an 18-holer was almost palpable. The week the back 9 was being finished there was a buzzz of conversation about the design of the course and how satisfied everyone was with the tee and pin placement. With all the tee pads all in place, the quality is undeniably very high. Even without all the signs in place, people were still buzzzing about this course's completion. Throwing into and out of the woods, uphill, downhill, next to the ponds, and through trees is pure joy here. There are a couple ace holes, but a couple deceptively difficult holes (#18 especially). Accuracy is a bit more important than distance on the hole, but some holes require both. The course doesn't favor RHBH too much and even the shorter holes have enough trees to make it feel comfortably challenging. Many people have lobbied for trees to be removed, which might be a good thing, but it really makes me mad when people rip them down on their own.

One small, but very satisfying detail that really made Wickes Woods stick in my mind was the smell of the brand new wood chips. It was like the cherry on top after the first couple rounds on the finalized layout. Another small detail is on one of the new holes, I don't remember which one, there is a very deliberate placement of rocks in a shape that is reminiscent of a sand trap/water hazard in ball golf. So awesome! Whether or not you will still be able to smell the woodchips in 2013, this course is a gift to the community and I really hope that everyone who plays here appreciates it.

Overall, this course is my favorite in the area. It's not as "grand" as Memorial Park in Frankenmuth, but its exquisite completion put it a step above it in terms of hole diversity and difficulty. This will be my home course in 2013 and it deserves more recognition now that it's a full 18 holes.

Thanks for reading!