- Winter Park is a 27 hole behemoth of epic proportions. Massive elevation changes, brutally punishing roughs, extremely technical fairways (among the tightest I've encountered), excellent shot and hole variety, several water holes, and stunning scenery all come into play. The course can be tackled as an 18-holer by skipping the lettered holes, or as the full 27.
- Built on and around a large ski hill, the elevation changes are spectacular. Uphill and downhill shots are balanced nicely, with undulating fairways on a couple of holes. # 15 is a large downhill bomb measuring over 700 feet long.
- The risk/ reward on many holes is outstanding. Hit a good line and be rewarded with deuce and/or par opportunities. Miss and risk ending up in disc golfer purgatory. Often, a recovery shot is needed just to make it back to the fairway. Occasionally, not even a recovery shot is possible in the super thick woods lining the fairways, such as the woods to the right on #2.
- Many holes require extreme precision in order to score well. "Pinball" takes on a whole new meaning as several of the shorter length holes provide only the narrowest of gaps between trees. Hole E comes to mind.
- Shot selection is well-covered throughout. Winter Park goers should expect to utilize every disc and throw every shot in their bags.
- Red, blue, and gold tees allow discers of varying skill to enjoy Winter Park.
- Practice basket located near the donation box. Port-a-potties throughout the course as well as by the parking lot.

- The tee pads are the most obvious detraction from Winter Park's awesomeness. While I understand that concrete tees aren't an option due to other activities that take place on site, there is no getting around the fact that the tee pads are sub-optimal, and in places, even below average for natural tees. The golds are the most egregious offenders with a few tees comprised of uneven, mushy, sandy gravel.
Even a few of the better packed gravel blue tees are rutted or washed out. With the extreme technicality and (in places) lengthy distances, the less-than-stellar tee pads can only be considered a con.
- While the signage is sufficient to find your way around with a little work, the overall flow can be a bit confusing. Mountain bike trails zigzag across and along the fairways, and can easily lead you in the wrong direction. Gold tees aren't well marked and would be next to impossible to find without a guide. Several holes have long hikes between them. A few places (e.g., 13, G, H and I) are tricky even with signage.
- While the outstanding terrain remains a major asset, it can make playing the course a treacherous and exhausting affair. I'm a fairly fit young adult used to climbing all over the place on rough-terrained courses, and even I found several spots at Winter Park to be extremely tricky to navigate. If you stay in the fairway, much of this can be avoided; however, all but the best players can expect to be in the rough at some point during their round. Some efforts have been made to alleviate these problems, but even the earthen steps cut into the hillside have washed out a bit, becoming dangerous to traverse. Those not up for a major hike might want to play an easier course instead. On the other hand, those who love "adventure" golf will find Winter Park right up their alley.
- The course is pretty much closed and/or altered significantly during the winter months to accommodate the skiing/sledding portions of the park.
- A few holes play alongside roadside, skiing equipment, and maintenance buildings. This detracts somewhat from the seclusion and pristine nature vibe that surrounds much of the course.

- Don't be fooled by the lengthy "cons" section. If you love wildly challenging disc golf then Winter Park is a destination course. If tame park-style courses are more your thing, then definitely steer clear unless looking for an epic beatdown.
-Please make sure to hit up the donation box before playing. A few select individuals proposed, designed, implemented, and maintain Winter Park with their own time, money, and labor. It's obviously a labor of love and should be supported by all that play there.
- Super thanks to superberry and Erin for guiding us!!!

Winter Park is an amazing piece of property with an equally amazing course. It has 27 total holes and 9 of them are additional holes that can easily be skipped if you only have time to play 18 holes. There are two tees per hole and a few holes have a third (gold) tee which helps the course cater to a wide variety of skill levels. A few of the baskets have alt placements as well. The course has gravel tees but they were about as flat as they could be and didn't give me any problems.

There are big elevation changes on many of the holes, the shot selection is excellent, there are challenging putting greens, a good balance of open vs. wooded holes, a great variety of hole lengths and some risk/reward that will make you think about how to play some of the holes.

While there are plenty of excellent holes, I believe hole 15 is the signature hole here, a 715ft bomb from the top of the hill all the way down to the field below. And did I mention the view from up there? Awesome!

Something worth noting is there were a number of holes where I walked part of the fairway to find the basket before I went back to throw. I consider it a pro because on challenging, well designed holes the basket can't always be visible from the tee.

Navigation is fairly easy with a printed map and there is good signage so I had no problem at all navigating the course. Had I been without the map it could have been a little tricky in a few places.

I don't have any major cons at this course.

One small con is the walks between a few of the holes are fairly lengthy. The paths are fairly well marked so that's a definite plus.

Hole 18 had to be moved per request from the park which is unfortunate since it creates more unnecessary walking.

I thought long and hard about this, but in the end I just couldn't give this course a 5 for two reasons. Independently they aren't such a big deal, but together I'm sorry to say they're enough to drop my rating of this course to a 4.5.

1. Luck. There are a few holes where the fairway is so narrow that those holes rely way too heavily on luck rather than skill. No not saying narrow fairways are bad, but at some point they get to be so small or have so many trees in the way that a skilled shot has just a good a chance as a lucky one.

2. Pro par 4's. There are no holes on this course I'd consider a par 4, unless you're playing from the gold pad. If we're going to talk about being the best of the best, I think par 4's and landing zones add another element to a course which helps to elevate it to 5 disc status IMHO.

Again, those things are pretty minor and don't stop this course from getting plenty of well deserved attention. This incredible course is well worth going out of your way to play. It is fun, challenging and I can't wait to go back and play it again!

I played the blue tees due to the course being designed for them. It's hard to understand from the pictures the amount of elevation changes in each shot. Hole 15 is a bomb off the top of the hill which was fun and memorable. Once to the top of the hill through a winding back and forth lightly uphill shots, there are several holes in a tightly wooded area. Most of these holes are downhill or flat with rows of trees. After the wooded holes it is back and forth on the top of the hill and working back down the hill slowly. Once to the bottom there are several holes consuming a valley with a light creek. These holes are zigzagging the valley with downhill and flat shots that are fairly short.

It is of course a ski hill and mountain biking trail, so they had some limitations building it. I didn't feel the majority of the shots were solid and challenging holes. For a ski hill there were quite a few holes with little elevation and the elevations could have been used much more than it was. Quite a few wooded holes lacked an honest fairway. It was a good course, it wasn't a great experience as I've had playing other top courses.

I went to this course because it was on the top 10 at the time I went. It lacks some luster to be on the top 10.

I found this course to be a true challenge. In all the best ways though. When we got to the course there was a sense of AWE just looking at the fact that it was all over the Ski Hill. Every basket seemed to be placed in the optimum place for that hole. Some of them used the trees for obstacles, others used geography and a few used distance(or lack of).

Walking the hills was difficult, but I'm not the most fit discer. The holes that water was in play were disappointing, not that I want to lose discs in rivers and ponds, but I was expecting something tougher then a stream that is 3 inches deep.

The views from the top of the hill were amazing. The signage was decent, each hole was marked well and had the information needed but the signs pointing to the next hole were slices of logs with permanent marker on them. In other words hard to spot from time to time. All in all, I don't understand how this course FELL from the Top 10 best on this website! It deserved its spot in MANY ways.

This course is very well rounded from wide open bombers to tight tight tunnels. The people that made Winter Park did a fine job. This is a course that you can play and be the only one there on a weekend no crowds.. I have only a few courses that I come back to too check my progress as a golfer and this is one of them.

No tee pads is the only thing I can think of as a con.

This is a great place to play and we are lucky here in Wisconsin to have people who take the time to make couses like this happen.

- Course is set on and around a modest ski hill, and makes great use of the available land. Pretty much divided between holes on the hill/in the forest, and holes out in open land. There are designated mountain bike trails throughout, but they are pretty much out of the way of the discing.
- The holes outside of the forest/ski hill have a ton of character on their own. The most memorable is #15, a gigantic downhill bomber that will have you reaching for a driver again and again. Both the length and height of this shot are major factors; bigger arms may even need to take it easy for fear of overshooting the large, elevated green. Other holes have plentiful OB and good length to make things challenging. #1 has a road on the right (and a cool elevated basket), while #17 has a fenced-off OB area (though you can go the risky route and try to go over the OB area). Holes #16 and #18 have some deep retention ponds that play OB (whether there is water in there at the time or not); #18's is definitely in play and will have many players laying up. None of these are throwaway holes, in any way, and are all challenging and enjoyable.
- A good amount of holes are in the forest, but with clear fairways. The trick with these is to stay on the fairways at all costs, as they are typically bordered by tree-filled, sloping, tough jail on both sides. #10 is especially dangerous; a huge, huge slope behind the basket will devour anything too long. Good mix of shots; from a upward left turning spiral on #4, to a downward right turning spiral on #11. Most others just need a straight shot that sits down, distance and accuracy are equally important.
- Then, there is the deep forest. An overabundance of skinny trees on almost every hole, making each and every tee shot a clinic in accuracy. Even more important is staying out of jail, which is nearly impossible on any errant shot. On each hole, a bad drive is practically impossible to recover from; you have got to fight your way back into the fairway for a chance to get a look at the basket. Add in the occasional crevasse, rollaway green, OB creekbed, and some other nasty rough, and the seemingly easy holes become nightmarish. Plenty of arrow straight, super tight tunnel shots, some with a little curve at the end; an uphill anny s-curve, a downhill hard right dogleg, hard lefts, there are very, very few holes that don't have a tricky line in one way or another.
- Water really does come into play in many spots, thanks to the retention ponds, a small creek, and a wet crevasse. Great hazards, really changes the feel and difficulty of the affected holes.
- Extra bonus, with an additional 9 holes that can be played (A-I). When I played, we did all 27 the first time. We were running out of daylight on the second round, so we just played 18. Either way, the course flowed great and was designed exceptionally well to accommodate the extra holes.
- Great tee signs and baskets, tee pads are in good shape as well. Navigation of both the 18 and 27 hole layout is ridiculously easy, thanks to many informational signs.

- While a ton of the holes are super technical, they are also super short. A lot of them will yield an easy deuce if you can throw it around 200' on a straight line. Granted, there are tons of trees, hazards, and slopes to terrorize you, but they can be avoided with a controlled finesse shot.
- Not many multi-shot, landing zone type of holes here. That is, a few holes can be legitimate par 4's (especially from the golds), but it is mostly due to length over anything else. The one exception that sticks out is #11 golds, which is an elevated teepad, over the ski hill, and into the woods.

- This is one of the most complete courses I have ever had the joy to play. Super technical holes in the forest, with lots of elevation changes and some very nasty hazards. Long holes with additional hazards in the open, including a massive downhill shot. Holes in between that let you open it up, but will punish bad aim. Each hole has great character, and are almost all unique (a few tunnel shots are pretty similar). 18 or 27 hole layout, with multiple teepads, makes it a great place for almost any type of player who has some experience. The short hole lengths have you foaming at the mouth to deuce, while the tight lanes will easily keep you from getting a par. The only, only reason I can't give this a 5/5 is the lack of multi-shot holes that *absolutely* require laying up. But, that is my own personal preference. If you don't like that sort of thing, this could be, and should be, your favorite course of all time.

- An amazing mix of shots
- Not for the beginning player so it keeps the pace going
- Gourgeous area
- The best disc golf course I have played to date

- Didn't have enough time to play it twice
- Bugs were bad during mid- August

-Amazing, you have to try it

What I personally like and how this course (from the Blue tees) stacks up in my list of 18 (and more) hole courses:

1) Holes with good risk/reward. Fair, but harsh punishment for bad decisions or execution. == A+

(With narrow but fair fairways, huge hillsides for roll-aways, to natural OB's (and rustically unnatural fence-line OB's) and several holes with multiple legit paths to the basket, this course has you thinking and sweating it out at almost every turn. If the wind is blowing at all, there is no letting up at Winter Park.)

2) Holes that have rewarding birdie opportunities for me. I'm a Blue level player (950ish skill) who throws 300' accurately, 360' max. == A+

(This course was designed around my game and maybe even for those with even slightly less D than me.....which will be nice as I get older after manOpause. The effects of extreme elevation change from tee to basket have been ideally designed.)

3) More wooded than open - lots of variety of shots required caused by hole shape and topography == A+

(Right, left, up, down, straight, flat - this course has it all. Perfect mix of wooded holes to more open holes. The narrow holes in the pines at the top of the hill are a little repetitive and one (8 I think) is bordering on luck-inducing narrow....but they are great and fun holes. Holes 11-14 (includes G, H & I) are my favorites due to the nature of the multiple routes and variation......and their particular type of beauty.)

4) Natural beauty (Appalachian beauty preferred) and seclusion. == A+

(The beauty of this course is absolutely stunning! What is even more amazing is that it has 5 (or more) distinct "feels" that are all absolutely stunning: Tahoe-esque trails, dense prairie grass areas, northwood pinestands (where you can peek out into cornfields - knee high by the 4th of July, baby!), Appalachian beauty, and New England-eqsue manicured grass complete with split rail snake style fencing. It is so cool how you transition from one to the next and feel like you have walked into a whole new world each time. The view of Lake Michigan and the fish hatchery ponds are a nice added bonus....too bad the pond is no longer in play! Regarding seclusion, at least 16 of the holes have you feeling nicely off in nature.....which is more than you can ask for on any 18-hole course!)

5) Bonus points for multi-throw holes with defined landing zones, good risk/reward and multiple options to play them. == D

(From the Blues there is only one multi-throw hole....at least I consider it a multi-throw hole as I have neither the arm nor the guts to cut across the OB area to get within gimme up-n-down range.)

Special note: Winter Park has poked some holes in my rating scale.....but, it has also set the standard by which all other courses will be rated. With the bonus point for #5, it got me to a perfect score of 100. That is not a problem in itself, but I got to perfection and there is room for improvements - the biggy being more multi-throw holes. And, those are planned and half of them are already implemented (I looked at the completed ones but did not play them or grade them). What a great problem to have - a course that blew up my rating scale! The bigger problem to me is that I do not live in Kewaunee!
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It's all about feeding the addiction, so I ranked this course subjectively based on my own "personal addiction factor". The grades above tell how well this course will draw me back to itself again and again and again. See my profile for specifics on my rating philosophy.

I fancy myself as a connoisseur of good course design and I am a competitive Blue level (950-ish rated) with mid-level power (accurate to 300' with max D of 360'). Since I have played a decent number of courses (150+ 18-hole, 90+ 9-hole as of late 2009), my hope is that players/explorers who have similar addiction tastes will find my ratings list helpful as they choose courses to play and explore.

I fully expect others with different tastes/philosophies to disagree with me.....and that's the fun of things here.

This is a very fun course with lots of fun variety and challenge. It does a great job of using the elevation of the ski hill to create some very fun and tough holes with big elevation changes, and some with tricky greens that can lead to a nasty roll away. There is a nice mix of tightly wooded holes, grassy fairways defined by woods on either side, and some more open shots where you can air it out a little bit.

You'll need many different shots to be successful here, as there is a great variety of up/down hill along with a nice mix of hole lengths and shapes. It feels pretty balanced for righty and lefty players, and makes you hit left and right turning holes of several different lengths.

There are two tees on every hole, the original blue tees with nice signs, and a shorter set of tees to make it a little more beginner friendly. The baskets are in decent shape and catch well. The flow of the course is good, and there is good signage to direct you around the course and make it clear how to play the original 18 or the full 27. There are basic course maps available to take with you that are nice to have.

The tees aren't great. The gravel tends to get rutted and spread out, and doesn't provide the best footing. Some of the tees were quite sloped and made for precarious tee offs on longer holes. There were only signs at one set of tees, so you had to do a little extra walking at times to see the tee signs.

The big downhill bomb is a very fun hole, it's too bad there weren't one or two more using the elevation to make such fun holes. The last few holes are a bit of a letdown after the rest of the course, and after #15 in particular. 16 and 17 just play around the flat grassy area, and 18 plays back up the hill to near 15s short tee leaving a bit of a walk to the car.

This is a very nice course, and worth a trip to play especially in combination with Silver Creek nearby. It's a tough course that will challenge most players from the longs, and isn't easy from the shorts. Beginners might find it a little tough and punishing, while more experienced players will need to bring all their shots to be successful here.

What a nice course. Easily up there with the best that I have played.
- It offers a great variety of shots. I threw my shortest disc off the tee and my longest and everything in between. It also makes you throw left, right,and straight in a good balance.
- It has elevation which is key in being a very good course.
- It has some water which makes a course better always
- It has wide open let it rip holes as well as fairways that are no more than 5 feet wide at times while still being fair
- There are 27 holes which is 9 better than most courses
- It is secluded so you do not have to worry about it being packed or even having to wait at all
- Even though there are several paths and getting lost could be very easy, the signs tell you exactly where to go
- The course itself is very nicely maintained and has benches at most holes and a few port o pottys out on the course too
- overall this course is just super fun

- the teepads are gravel which is kind of a bummer, but in all reality i had no problems with them at all. I normally slip a lot and did not have any problems at all
- the bugs were bad especially on the loops for the extra 9

This course is an absolute must play. It is kind of out in the middle of no where, but it is worth the trip. I cannot wait to get out there and play it again. Just make sure you bring some bug spray and every disc in your bag cause you will need it.

-Grub & Pub less than a mile away
-27 holes(either 18 or 27 hole configuration)
- Nice Innova DisCatchers
- Some open holes( to just rip it on) but most holes have tight fairways that are heavily wooded(real technical)
- Play more like a private course my first time in over 8 trips that i've actually seen another group playing....
- shot selection and disc placement key element to do good here
-Signage is very helpful and informative
- one hole has water in play(even tho it was drained,when i played)
- lots of holes have alt. pin placements
- 7 Gold tees making the course even tougher!!!!!!

- gravel tees
- can be a bit muddy when it rains
- no bathrooms on site just portapoties

the gravel tees are better now.. they have level a bunch of them off... actually can see some of the gold tees.... this course is a monster, congrats to neone who goes Under..... i play it at least 10 times a year... course takes bout 3 hours to play so no for the unconditioned....

- 18 + 9 holes for variety
- A semi-private feel to it
- Fantastic scenery
- Lots of elevation

- Natural/gravel tees
- Some holes are a bit rough
- No on-site refreshments

I played the course while on vacation in August. My wife and I pulled up to the course and were pleasantly surprised to be the only ones there. I strolled around the chalet to see if there was anywhere to check in or pay green fee but it was closed. Found the drop box by the message sign. My wife decided she didn't want to play, taking her camera instead to get some nature shots as I played. She wasn't disappointed.

The course starts and ends at the base of a ski/sledding hill. The course winds its way up the hill and zig-zags through some dense forest. There are 27 holes out there, but instead of 18 holes and a separate 9, the add-on holes are played by splitting off from the official 18 and playing a loop of holes here and there. So, you can either play 18 or 27, but you can't easily just play the 9.

Along the way, there are a couple of vantage point, particularly in the upper parts of the course where you are treated to some spectacular scenery of the river valley that the course sits beside.

Overall, the course is a challenging par 3 course with nice variety and balance of shot shapes. Fairways seem to be appropriately sized for the lengths of the holes (tighter shots on shorter holes). The add-on holes are primarily finesse shots through the thicker parts of the course and are a lot of fun to throw. I wouldn't try playing some of these after it's rained, however, as there is some very steep terrain to climb and was a bit treacherous for us even when it was dry.

A high point of the round included the obligatory long downhill crusher of #15. I was kind of disappointed with the only par 4 on the course, #16, as this is basically a wide-open, throw it as far as you can and a short pitch to the basket for a drop-in 3.

It's a very good course and I will play it again next time we're in the area.

Winter was my first time playing a ski hill course and I loved it., especially coming from flat IL. The course designer did a fabulous job with this course. This course had a great variety of shots which is one of the main things I look for in a course. I love having to use all of my discs instead of just roc and putt. It has open, tunnel, elevation!, pins on slopes, wooded, multi routes on a hole, water, mandos, and much more. A practice basket by the first tee and parking lot was also always a plus, especially since the 1st basket is 420' away lol. Another plus is alt. tees although I only had time to play the blue. There are also gold tees, see the bulliten board for more info at the course. It's great how you play the course easily as a 18 or 27 layout. The extra 9 are loops of the 18 so you can easilly play either layout. Great signage makes this possible.

The signage is top notch with tee locations, distances, routes, basket location, rough location, and especially the names of the holes. I love that every hole has a name and a amusing description on the sign.

Some of my faves from the course inclusde #1's pin, in rocks and elevated AND tucked into the woods. It's great how you're punished by a downhill slope off the fairway of 2 and behind it's basket to the right. 3 is awsome, tunnel with elevation up then down and then up again with the pin well protected and on a slope. 8 is a pretty rediculous tunnel lol. 15 for the awsome hilltop shot. I feel they could even put a tee farther back because even though it is 750 feet the elevation makes it pretty easy to throw really far. I threw it about 30 feet short and at that time I only threw like 350' flat. I think the big guns could use an even longer hill shot lol. 18 is a smooth 300' over water. Hole 8d is also really great, check out the course pics although they dont do this beautiful course justice.

Tees are the main issue why I wouldn't give it a 5. The tees are just gravel and some are in dangerous places where if you follow through off the tee you could be rolling down a hill. If the tees were a couple feet back or if some dirt mounds could be put in front of some tees that would be great.

It is not kid friendly although they have good short tees the walk will be too much for most little guys.

Make a donation, the guys out here do a fantastic job. I'm sure I will be here again as I have family in the area.

Pro - Trees... they saved me a couple of times.

Winter Park is a challenging course to say the least and this course has everything you can think of. Hills, wooded holes, long drives, steep drop offs around some of the baskets, water hazards, and in some of the areas the wind currents can be very tricky as you transition from wooded areas, to open areas, then back to wooded areas. Plus, to top it all off... it's 27 holes!!! How many other courses can say that? A good drive can save you on some of the holes if you're not a good putter like me, but you have to be careful as some of the holes are deceivingly shorter than you think.

Con - Trees... they screwed me a couple of times.

Concrete tees would be a good addition.

Because of the variety of challenges, if you're looking to take your game to the next level... Winter Park is the place to go to as their pro tees will have you using every throw and disc that you have. However, if you're looking for a little bit more of a laid back round, the short tees ensure that you have a fun round instead of a frustrating one.

Every finesse throw you have, you will need here. Elevation, tightly wooded, all you need in a challenging course. What looks like a great drive can easily turn into a triple bogie. tough pin placements make for challenging putts.

Gravel tee pads could be better in some areas. Fairways in the woods could use some grooming. Could be a few longer holes. Tim kopacs is tiny! Mainly the course is just missing length. The gold tees just make you want to throw up in your mouth for they just make you need to be lucky or throw 900 feet. Not fun at all. Did i mention how tiny tim is! dont get me wrong though Winter is amazing!!

If you live in Wisconsin or even anywhere and love to disc, Winter is a must. The creator/designer/caretaker Tim is a disc golf fanatic who keeps adding new things every year. Get to winter and bang hot young woman

One of the best courses I have played! Where do I begin? Plenty of skill shots and a nice variety of distance shots as well. The addition of the 9 letter holes makes an already challenging course that much harder. The yellow rims on the Innova baskets makes it very easy to see where your shooting. Also hole seventeen is one of the most unique shots I have seen..... a long mandatory dog leg around an old log cabin. A beautiful hole that challenges your distance hyzer shot.

I don't have many cons to this course other than the obvious. Its well known that Winter Park is a ski hill in the winter so it lacks concrete tees. That isnt a problem for me except for hole 15. The tee gives you no chance to have proper footing for a good power drive, although I will say that is has improved since I played it last in the spring.

The reason I started playing disc golf is because I love hiking. Winter park offers you a good work out on rough terain along with beautiful scenary. If your out of shape and don't like the rugged forest courses this course is not for you. If you like a course that captures the true essence of disc golf in all of its natural glory..... GO OUT AND PLAY IT TOMORROW

Simply amazing course.... the views, elevation change and sheer number of shots is astounding...
Excellent example of risk vs. reward design...
(When applicable) the course is in excellent shape, fairways mowed, rough trimmed.... but then there's the woods...
The woods... it's just well, EVIL... in a great way... I have never enjoyed having a course kick my a**, stomp me while I'm down, and then kick me more.... I can see TOP PROS enjoying a round on this course...
I should add that benches have been added on about 9 holes... according to my buddies, these were put in over the summer..

We played the course after a few days of rain...

First off, the terrain in general is NOT for casual players, especially the "new" 9 (ie letter holes).... this is one of the roughest hikes I've ever done, even worse than the Rocky Mountains...
The tees are HORRIBLE, bad lie at best, slip and fall down a ravine at worst, I have NEVER seen a course with such potential for self injury as here...
Most tees, your group (I played with a threesome) can't fit near the tee...
The terrain (that makes this course so great) can be downright deadly!!... a few walks in particular stick out... hole B to C... really, I have to climb that!!!... Pay attention to where you walk!

I played this course under less than optimal circumstances (severely injured lower back 3 days prior to playing, played with a back brace on, day after fresh rain....)
The course is an ABSOLUTE MUST PLAY!!!!!!!
The terrain is INTENSE, the shots/course is AMAZING!!!!!
The course NEEDS HELP! I understand concrete pads are out of the question, but the tees could at least attempt to be level.... there NEEDS to be some handrails/stairs on the course...
now I'm a stickler for amenities.... (tee pads, benches, bathrooms) and despite the shortcomings (Pads, safety) this course is STUNNING!!!!
I'm rating it a 4.5 because the course/land is so good! It gets -1.5 for tees/safety, and still comes out to the best course I've played (well, this or Valpo as of 10/09).

I'm going to paraphrase a line I see used w/Nockamixion alot... Everything that makes this course so good, also makes it evil.

I'll add more later, (we rushed through the course to beat the dark, and I didn't have time to take in all the details) bottom line, PLAY IT!!!!

* edit 10/23/09
In retrospect, my cons may seem harsh, very harsh... I know the locals are working their butts of on improving this course. I am eagerly awaiting playing it again next summer... the pros FAR out weigh the cons...

1) Incredible property with even more room for expansion I am sure. There are another 9 holes out there somwehere for sure. Lots of wooded areas have been untapped and maybe a couple more launches down the skihill would be allright!

2) Very well maintained . . . very clean and most branches seem to always be cleaned up. This is of course due in part to the incredible volunteers who work up there and the money that is contributed through the donation box. I gave more than they requested of $3 because I felt it was worth it and I only had $4 in my wallet so what was I going to do with the extra $1 anyways.

3) Incredible elevation changes. You start off at the bottom of the hill working laterally, then you gently climb the "bunny slope" over the next 3-4 holes . . . including one hole set down into the wooded area to the side of the bunny hill. The 4th hole is a tough uphiller because you have to throw first around a bend and timing the cut on the disc might be tough . . . but fortunately the fairways are fairly forgiving when they are using ski runs as fairways. It would be tough to miss this so badly you get punished by the woods. The 5th hole reaches the top of the bunny hill and #6 goes up and over a little crest to where the chairlift ends. Then you go off for some galavanting in the woods for a bunch of holes (if you play the extra lettered holes). There are some tough slopes on these tightly wooded holes too, that could easily give you a rollaway or a shot off a tree could put you in some precarious positions having to deal with more trees and more slopes. One massive ravine that is only a few feet from the basket on hole #8D. #10 is across the top of the hill with the basket set just inside of a wooded gap. Walk down the hill a ways to the 11th hole that brings you down a little shoot down a hill to the base of the hill again. Some more wooded holes #13 is a big downhiller with a massive left to right swing. Looks like an almost impossible gap to hit despite it being pretty wide. It will test your shot making for sure. #13, 14 and G, H, and I are all pretty tough demanding holes with tight woods and big swings in elevation. Great section of the course in my opinion. #15 is the top of the mountain throw down the hill fairly close to the chairlift. It's a cool 715' down the hill to the basket with a 500' throw reaching the botom of the hill and allowing you a chance to throw your approach under the basket. It is a tough 3 unless you get the flight correct and can carry out into the flats towards the basket. That is about the recap of most of the incredible elevation on this course. Simply put it isn't just wasteful elevation change it all has some challeneg besides just being up or down or sidehill. There are other factors that need to be considered.

4) Variety is the spice of life. This course has the elevation changes, tight wooded technical holes, left to right holes, right to left holes, water, OB, a couple big ripper holes. It has pretty much everything you can ask for in the design of a course.

5) Nice baskets and very nice tee signs. They really help you understand how to execute the shots.

6) Nice benches at most every tee and garbage pails help to keep this course pretty clean.

7) 10' gap down a treelined fairway of spruce or pines . . . I don;t remember . . . on Hole #8. Shoot it hard and fast and keep it straight for a chance at 2 but hit a tree and shoot off to the side maybe has a 4 written all over it. Good challenging hole!

8) Love the risk.reward of a lot of the holes around the baskets. If you are accurate and can gun all the gaps you will do well and if you can make 30-40' putts with no problem on varied terrain you will have no problem, but on occassion the less caliber player will need to simply lay up and take a tap in bogey to not risk 2-3 rollaways!

1) Biggest issue and only major con I can see is the lack of concrete tees. I understand why they don't think they can use them, but it is the only thing keeping me from giving this course a 5 rating. It is by far the best designed and best property I have played on and like I said below I have played some pretty great courses (some of which were at one point ranked in the top 10 and all have received 5 rankings from some users. I don't know what it will take to get my first 5 rating but this course is the closest I have come so far. It is my favorite course and it certainly is an awesome property and the designers and builders did a great job in using all of the awesome features of this course without any waste. Now lets see if we can get you guys some concrete pads!

2) There are a few slick and dangerous spots on this course that may or may not improve over time. Some of the severe slopes are just slick clay and I doubt mulch will even stay there in a rainstorm, unless the trees do enough to slow down the rain from moving across the soil. This makes it tough to get good footing on many shots, but I have seen worse on skihills before. Just get used to it.

3) Uphill gravel tee on #6 is the worst on the course. I have already mentioned the importance of good footing on tees but this i sby far the worst one.

4) Barbed wire is visible in some spots on this course. It got me when I slipped on the slick clay in one spot and nearly ripped off half my shorts as I tried to battle the slick slope. I will wear these shorts only for disc golf now, but be careful to watch for barbed wire!

5) Not beginner friendly, but I cant fault the course because it would be tough to make this course beginner friendly. It was intended to be a blue player or higher and I am not quite there but I still enjoyed it. I will not factor this into my overall rating but I still wanted to mention it!

I played this course in the rain after already playing Silver Creek, Indian Creek and Picnic Hill. My favorite course to date would have been Silver Creek but Winter park surpasses it because of its more dramatic elevation. They both have great balance and they both have an outstanding variety in shot types, foliage density, elevation changes, water etc. The only thing keeping Winter Park from the 5 rating is probably their teepads. It has been said so far that the teepads will probably never become concrete but it is the only thing keeping this course from being my only 5 rated course to date. And I have played some great courses who have received 5 disc rating before like Freeman Lake, Bryant Lake Park, Charlie Vettiner, Justin Trails Classic, Vallarta Ast, Dretzka, The Sinks. My point in sayng this is that this course has EVERYTHING except good footing on the teepads which is a huge impact on the game and the fun you have. If you are slipping all over the place are you really gonna throw as accurate as you nromally do??? No way. You are gonna hit more trees, be more errant an dhave less of a good time . . . because you know you can execute the shots but the footing is keeping you from being able to do so.

There is huge assortment of different holes requiring different shots and will really test ALL aspects of your game.

Great signage on each hole, and between holes telling you where to go if you are playing all 27 or just the 18 (or I suppose you could do only the 'extra' loops that you see fit) These 'intersections' are clearly marked throughout the course.

Great Innova Discatcher Baskets

Elevation changes are incredible. From a huge down hill 700ft ripper hole (15) to rolling hills in the WOODS I've never seen a Wisconsin course with so much elevation diversity.

I've never seen a Wisconsin course with such a monumental mix of varying holes. Tree holes, open holes, elevation holes...and mixing all of those three categories.

gravel tee pads - can't be helped the city says no, but still it gets a bit dangerous when you're teeing off on a hill and the tee ins't really level.

The great elevation changes do have their drawbacks though. A few holes in the woods are down right dangerous if there was a rain recently. These fun holes turn bad when you are grabbing trees to not fall over.

Let me start by saying that if you make the trek, which you should, play the entire 27, and play from the long tees. SO MUCH FUN

There is not a single hole that takes away from the course. If I ran the course I wouldn't change one hole. The flow is great and always keeps you guess what is coming next - in a good way.

The course itself is off the beaten path, I think that fact both helps and hurts this course. You won't find many jerk teen amateurs on this course because it is so secluded. It hurts because with more people around to play it I think that the city may drop the lack luster ski hill for a nice pay to play course focused only on DG.

Bring shoes with traction. Hiking boots maybe. Not flip flops. A bag with quad straps is recommended because of the steep hills and slippery ground, you won't want to be worried about your bag when you are concentrating on keeping your balance.

For all of you guys with the carts on wheels - leave them at home- some of the trials between holes get steep and confined in a hurry.


I applaud the people who do all the work on this course - it has potential to be a 4.5 rated course, but the city needs to release their grasp on a failing ski hill and embrace the DG.

-Oh man, the VARIETY
-incredible signage with lines, length, and special next hole location signs
-elevation...UP down UP down
-27 unique holes!
-not ONE throw away hole
-new Discatcher baskets on many holes
-almost every type of shot used
-incredible risk/reward placements for baskets

-gravel/earth tee pads
-paths to many holes were mud/clay and super slippery. almost dangerous
-many holes could use some cleaning up of twigs and branches
-some tee pads were worn heavily from rain and usage

WOW. The fun factor at Winter Park is through the roof. I don't know how many times we walked up to a tee and were like "really?wow.". Whether it be for the elevation change, the super tight tree lined shot, the super risky basket placement, or in the end a complete over water shot. Fun fun fun.

The course is on the outskirts of a super small quaint town in eastern Wisconsin, right off of Lake Michigan. It uses a ski resort and much of the hills surrounding terrain FULLY for an amazing amount of variety. One of the best I have seen. It plays almost as three separate styled courses. One in the tight trees, one through green ski hill elevation, and another in the muddy ravines.

Holes are lengthy and technical from the pro tees and shot selection comes into play very often. Many holes stand out as sig holes and that's a great sign of a course. The downhill 700' bomb, the 200' super tight tree tunnel shot with the basket behind a tree even if you make it, the extra g/h/i holes in the ravine. wow.

This course does have some cons which keep it from receiving a higher rating though. The gravel tees are just ok, and some are just plain bad. Don't know if it would be even possible to do cement seeing how it is on a ski hill. Many paths are mud and slippery on pretty steep hills. A shoe with incredible traction is a must, and the course is definitely not for those weak at heart in the exercise department. I can't imagine this course would be much fun in the spring when everything is probably mud. One hole, H I believe, I actually had to grab the basket on a muddy slope as I started to slip back down.

Much of the course needs some nature cleanup. branches, twigs, raking of the fairways. This could help make it look more presentable.

We talked about ratings on the way back from this great course and we all pretty much agreed a solid 4 is where Winter Park stands. It personally reminded me of a tighter less manicured Hickory Hills in Traverse City,Mi...which I also gave a solid 4.

To the people who work on this course, great job in design, keep it up. It is truly a nice little gem in the Wisconsin disc golf scene.