Aesthetic-- plays through a low land area in a large-ish metropark in a small town on I-94 and 275. Plays very close to the highway and airport and is LOUD most of the round.

Teepads-- huge and in good repair. because they are built on mounds, they aren't wet while the rest of the course is drenched.

Teesigns-- typical metropark signage. not overly descriptive. shorts do NOT have signage.

Routing/nav-- easy peasy. follow the trails and it's a snap.

Baskets-- all in good repair. could be a little more visible in the thick thick woods.

Water-- this course must be built on the lowest piece of property possible... by the time we got to #10 there was near a foot of water on the fairways. We had to turn around and go back to 18.

Variety-- the course does have a nice mix of straights/rights/lefts but there is no difference in the terrain you're playing on. spotty trees, scrubby, thorny rough dominate the scene.

Risk v Reward-- none really. aside from leaving the fairway, the water doesn't really come into play much (unless you're b3nder)

stereotypical metropark setup. nothing special.
wasn't overly impressed.

• Very nice mix of holes
• Free to play (Kensington and Hudson charge)
• Generally low traffic, from my experience.
• The Tee signs are top notch!

• Bugs - see other thoughts.
• Brush/rough, in some spots is very very brutal. It takes much longer finding errand shots if you're the type that doesn't give up.

The bug situation was, unbearable.
First time here, we left after 6 holes because it was so bad.
The second time we brought Picardin on clothes and Deet 10-15% for us. This was not enough, by hole 8 we still were being eaten alive. At hole 9 we met another group that was using Deet 95%... that seemed to work. Until I got home and discovered my first tick bite. Not fun at all.
The next time I goto Willow, it will be early Spring, Fall or Winter.

Well marked and clean/cared for Metropark. Features a new message board, always-stocked with scorecards with maps and pencils. Good tee signs all still there barely any signs of vandalism, course is never trashed or even very busy. Some holes are unique and good practice you can't get anywhere else around.
24 holes with cement tees for long and short!
Practice basket, ample parking.

Summer: It can get so flooded you can't play it in the spring. The mosquitoes can get so bad the league changes courses in summer to avoid them, massive poison ivy you can't avoid- even in the winter.
Some woods holes are tight the point of being absurd. You can only hit so many 5 foot wide fairways in one day.
It is pretty overgrown lots of recent work but still a lot rougher then necessary off the fairways.

Even the most hardcore dg'ers will avoid this course late spring-summer they rarely even hold events and even cancel league here during this time! All this for good reasons- it can flood, the bugs swarm to the point of being cloud-like, the rough crowds in thick and the poison ivy and thorns run rampant! Great for fall-winter!

Get to work on your accuracy with plenty of non-intimidating, yet moderately long holes. It's important to play a little more conservative early on, especially due to the tight fairways but Hole 15 allows you to go all out, measuring over 700 yards.

Excellent signage and all the holes are clearly marked. The concrete tee boxes are good and the beginner boxes offer a nice starting point for the beginner offering good angles and lines of sight.
24 holes, very clean, no vandalism, plus it's refreshing to have some privacy and take your time.
Not a lot of punks or for that matter, people at all. Even better, the few I've come across were very nice.

Because the fairways are narrow, there aren't a lot of holes that allow you "to open it up" and sling it. The brush is dense and unforgiving -- it would be easy to lose a disc or even a fellow player in there.
Holes do seem repetitive at times.

The bugs can be brutal, but the nice course and lack of annoying humans make up for it. Just bring the OFF with you or else play at your own risk.

A real refreshing course, not a lot of foot traffic and very well kept up with signs, tee boxes and pins that were all first rate.

There's a cool practice pin to the left of the first tee area, placed after hole No. 24. Check it out before you play.

Gotta love the Metroparks - all signs marked; scorecard with map on back; well kept fairways always nice to see. Also nice was what we didn't see - other golfers. A real seculded round to be had. The best hole on this course is over 700 feet from the pro tee. It slightly tilts downhill through some brush and then out into an open field. Your mid-range shot(s) will have you trying to ease over a stream and hit the chains. A very unique hole and one of the best I've thrown on.

Aside form this one hole, all others are fairly static. There is virtually no change in elevation throughout the entire course, and every other hole looks the same. Add to the fact that the mosquitos are rampant and the brush is sharp, and you can easily become frustrated here.

This course is extremely challenging in that the fairways are tight, and the rough is almost unbearable. Playing it safe is the way to go, and the pars are quite padded to help you out. The negative reviews I've read on here seem a little overexaggerated. The bugspray is recommended, however. Just take a bath in it and you'll survive. They will swarm you but if they can't find you they can't bite you. I had no bites upon inspection after the round. I will definitely be back in the fall to play this one; the skeeters should be gone by then.

This course has an extremley low traffic level. Short tight fairways throw the woods definitly challenge your control and accuracy. Some holes are nicely mowed out surrounded by trees with a chance to really give it a rip but still require accuracy.Cement Tee pads on every hole and signs. Scorecard with map provided in mailbox by first hole. This is a great course to play a snow round, with lots of coverage from the elements, wind and snow.

Mesquito breeding ground, can become very, very, very, very, very, very buggy during the early spring to summer months. Can become flooded during the rainy season creating lots of standing water in many fairways. Making your way to the last holes can be a little confusing the first time crossing back across hole two to 18.

$4 daily metro park pass or $20 annual, easy acess to I-275.
The best time to play this course is between September, and March just to avoid the bugs.

As with all the Michigan Metroparks, the course has great signage and tee pads. Also, the fairways are mown tightly.

The biggest pro with this course is that it is very challenging and will give your game a very complete workout. Most of the holes are moderately long, so power comes into play, but only if accompanied by accuracy and smart shot selection.

The course has some very good holes as well as a couple par 4's.

There are many points where choices need to be made, particularly in regard to how hard to get on the throttle.

It's likely that you'll not see any other park users during a round and the wooded seclusion is very attractive.

Willow does have significant drawbacks, however, as the previous reviewer has pointed out. The course is a bit of a beast and I think would be best as an 18 hole layout, instead of 24. This is particularly true in light of the fact that many holes are redundant in terms of design.

Although I prefer tight, technical courses, I feel that this course takes it too far for 90% of players. Many of the holes could be greatly improved by removing a few trees and widening the fairways at key points.

Particularly in the summer months, the schule can be very nasty. Some blind shots, coupled with the schule can make for lots of time hacking through the brush looking for discs.

A lot of the time the course can be quite swampy and full of mosquitoes. The months when you have the best chance of a good experience are only May-June and September-December.

Remember: Don't be a dirty disc golfer. If you pack it in, pack it out!