This review is solely for the Kodiak Course at Woodland Valley. Among pros are very sufficient tee pads, brick / paver, great traction, and the machV baskets are quality and catch discs very well.

From a design perspective there are a 4 or 5 excellent holes that shine via playtesting and also visual beauty.

The tee signs are extremely detailed, down to accurate elevation change depictions. Second to none.

There are major problems.... luckily they are addressable, but I've seen no sign of improvement over the last three years so I'm not holding my breath.

1. The rough: the idea of this specific course is pro level challenge. On a pro level course, it is often expected to encounter fairly dense rough as these high level players are expected to remain in the fairways with more ease than most. However, on the majority of the holes, if any shot is even remotely imperfect, you can count on it getting pulled into the impossibly dense rough. There is no other option than a pitch out ever. There is no chance of saving your par, it's over. Repeated play IS NOT beating in the rough AT all. It needs to be lightly thinned out, bare minimum, even at pro level player expectancy. Especially due to poor hole design... which leads to con #2:

2. The course is not professionally designed. It's obviously designed by well intended folks, but people who have no previous design experience, and likely don't play much themselves to understand actual disc flight patterns, etc. Coupled with the horrendous rough, this can lead to very frustrating, nearly impossible disc golf on many of the holes.

3. The Par decisions on each hole is a total random crap shoot. Hole 1 is an absurd approx 450' uphill wooded par 3. Later on there is a 350' level par 4 that is super easy. There is a 450' Par 5 that is easy to eagle. Then there's hole 9, a narrow 900' pipeline with a huge backwards dogleg left near the end. Best case scenario, par 5 isn't enough. I've analyzed this hole thoroughly today. In order to Par it, you need to throw 3 ideal mid range to putter shots consecutively with absolutely zero error or the rough just destroys you. You have to land perfectly every throw. Then you have to throw back down the dogleg, perfectly with some sort of turnover miracle shot, then make your putt. I very seriously doubt this hole has EVER been parred as a max par 5. I feel like I'm doing a good job when I walk with a 7. I'm not a local, but I can only imagine tales of people walking away with 10-15 strokes feeling confused and dejected. It's just absolutely unreasonable. This hole should either be substantially thinned out, or just redesigned. The pars seriously need adjustment.

4. Course maintenance: Woodland Valley is pay to play. It's a business. I'd expect this to mean they regularly maintain the fairways. There were substantial limbs down, temporary piles of brush right in the middle of the fairways etc. on this difficult of a course, the extra kick while you're down is almost too much to bear if you are paying.

There is huge potential here! Feedback just needs to be heeded and put into action. Perhaps the help of a professional, experienced course designer. Play this course for a grinding challenge and for the scenery. If you want a better overall experience, play the "intermediate" Grizzly course at Woodland Valley. It is superior in every manner.

- Huge overall challenge for those who seek it
- A variety of shots and lines
- Two beautiful, well groomed courses in the same facility for you to relax on after the beating.
- A large amount of potential for improvement
- High quality baskets
-Nice Brick teepads

- It's rough in more than just the golf challenge! If you go off the fairway on the Kodiak (and you will), you will be punished severely.
- Not at all suitable for beginners or easily frustrated intermediate players (though this was the intent)..
- No loops back to the clubhouse means you're in for the usually 3+ hours long haul when you set off for a round.

The Kodiak is the big boy at Woodland Valley Disc Golf, and boy does it ever fit its purpose! While the other two courses on the grounds sport pars of 61 and 58 and feel relatively easy, the Kodiak dares you to come close to its relatively massive par of 72. Fans of the easy pars on the black bear and grizzly course will likely be put off when they realize the first hole, a 430ft uphill slog through the woods, is a par 3. The fact is, the Kodiak is designed that way not to frustrate, but to provide a true challenge to the handful of pro level players that frequent the area. It also works as a good measuring stick for up and comers, as only the most consistent players will get through with a reasonable score. While there does seem to be a few more long, downhill, incredibly wooded "bombs" than anything else, the Kodiak is more than accommodating when it comes to providing opportunities to hit trees on other types of shot. There is an excellent smattering of straight, uphill, downhill, left, and right shots. There's even a selection of "hit this line or else" ace runs.

As on the rest of the course, there are high quality baskets (mach 5 I believe), so there's no worries about inordinate chain outs due to shoddy equipment. Now that the brick teepads are in, the drives are much less sketchy as you can at least count on decent footing while trying to stretch your frozen rope shot beyond the norm.

I do have to point out the issues here as well, so let's discuss the rough. Due to being both newly cut and being the third course on site (and therefore in the least accommodating section of the property), the rough on the Kodiak is atrocious. While the Black Bear and Grizzly have some thicker spots that can cause trouble, the thick, plentiful flora of the Kodiak will devour errant shots. This should slowly get better as the course sees more use, the process will likely take a while as the hoards of casual and intermediate players that have packed down the other courses so well will largely avoid the Kodiak.

Overall, the Kodiak is a brutally challenging, rough, unfinished course, but there's a good reason I'm still giving it a 3 for now. Once this course gets the spitshine it needs, it's going to be among the greats. There are at least a dozen holes that I would describe as fantastic, with well thought out lines and landing zones, as well as highly creative use of elevation and landscape. The remaining holes are either too early in their development to tell their value or a few tweaks away from catching up to the rest, so a true disc golfer will be able to see the potential in this rough around the edges behemoth. Those below the level of a touring pro may not be able to tame this beast, but with a little vision and patience, you may still be able to befriend it

UPDATE - Last I played, the Kodiak was not being maintained very well and the fairways were getting overgrown. Hence, the 2.5 rating. A bummer as I was hoping it would go the other way...)