College Station, TX

Wolf Pen Creek

Permanent course
3.065(based on 17 reviews)
Filter course reviews

Filter reviews

Filter reviews

Wolf Pen Creek reviews

Filter
4 1
The Valkyrie Kid
Diamond level trusted reviewer
Experience: 45.9 years 1563 played 1507 reviews
1.50 star(s)

Possibly The Most Overrated Course In Texas? 2+ years

Reviewed: Played on:Sep 25, 2017 Played the course:once

Pros:

John Houck designed this course more than 10 years ago. I don't think this would be considered one of his crowning achievements. But, in his defense, much change has happening in these years, especially with the recent flooding, that might have negatively impacted his original design.

Another possibility is the restrictions the parks district might have saddled him with initially. An example of this might be, baskets 3 & 4 are both placed just a few feet away from a deep, nasty, thick rough jungle when there is this huge expanse of lawn that could have been used? Or has the jungle area grown outward that much? This lawn area isn't quite level so it's not used as an athletic field so was Mr. Houck told not to place any baskets there? I don't know? You would have to ask John? The # 4 hole here is just a terrible design. You're playing about 300' right down the walking path to a basket tucked into right next to this rough area. It's advanced level challenge on a rec course.

Wolf Run Creek has gouged out deep gorges down in the lower area. I can't decide whether I think this is an interesting aftermath from the flooding or an eyesore that could use some renovation? Either way, I think this has adversely affected the course. I can't imagine anyone thinking how much fun it is retrieving discs from these steep and sometimes muddy embankments. Holes 5-9 play alongside and across the creek down in this area. Some baskets are placed right on the edge. Players will throw their discs into the creek.

The baskets are Discatchers with black rims instead of the usual yellow. I found them to be, frankly, ugly and aged looking and really difficult to see against the bushy background. Add some rusting chains and they appear to be 30 years old. There are some nice colored, John Houck signs but some are missing and others look old and weather beaten. Did the floods do some damage to them? There are no tee pads.

Cons:

As other reviewers have mentioned, the # 1 tee pad faces uphill and is badly eroded.

# 2 plays from under a thick, overgrown tree. There's not room to throw from next to the basket, then you cross a road and finally, there looms the basket.

# 3 throws across the parking lot down to a basket stuck way down next to the jungle. Blah !!!!!

The aforementioned # 4 is just a badly designed hole.

Confusing walkout after # 4.

Holes 5-9 on flood plain.

Black baskets are difficult to spot against the foilage background.

Missing signs.

Tough to navigate and doesn't loop. Long uphill walkout back to parking and # 1.

Other Thoughts:

I was so over this course after 1 & 2 but I soldiered on hoping for brighter days ahead. It was like seeing that really terrible movie. Are you the guy who gives up quickly or do you endure the torture and watch it through hoping that it might get better? Wolf Pen Creek DGC never got better. Leave this course to the college kids. Even the mostly pathetic, trashed Oak Park course is the better option, IMO.

What would John Houck think about this course 10 years later? I believe he would be mortified and would recommend either a major redesign or removal of this course. It's like when you look at an old picture of yourself and think, "WTF was I thinking with that hair or those clothes"?
Was this review helpful? Yes No
Designer response by johnrhouck
Tracy, I'm so glad you brought all this up (and so glad I saw it). Things must have changed there quite a bit. If you look at the pictures of the tee sign and fairway for #4, you'll see it was originally a 600' hole with no trail anywhere. There was also no road on #2, etc. etc. I'll have to look into this and see what happened. Thanks, John
4 1
Pizza God
Diamond level trusted reviewer
Premium Member
Experience: 36 years 1689 played 554 reviews
2.50 star(s)

does anyone even play here? 2+ years

Reviewed: Played on:Aug 1, 2016 Played the course:once

Pros:

Course does have a few good holes
good use of creek and hills on the last few holes

Cons:

missing #4 tee sign and #9 is only a pole
grass tee boxes, #1 is horrible, and I mean horrible
Course says there are multiple tee boxes on some of the holes, they are not marked so there is no way of finding them. No different than just making up your own.
Baskets are black, they look cool up close, but I can't see several of them from the tee boxes because they blend into the background
Throws across park roads and park walking paths

Other Thoughts:

Let me say this up front, this is a John Houck designed course. I could tell, but this is not one of his better designs. I believe that there has been major construction on the park sense he designed it.

It starts off with hole 1, the tee area is almost totally unplayable. Not only is it uphill, but it is majorly eroded. I would up just taking a stance and throwing as a run up would have been dangerous

Hole 2's tee box is under a tree, there was no way to throw from next to the tee sign (as you do in most grass tee courses) I had to just throw the hole blind as I could not see the basket. After I threw, I found out there was a road across the fairway. The basket was towards the playground,

Hole 3's tee is almost to the road, I had a hard time finding this one because I didn't think it would be throwing over the parking lot. Again, I had to throw this hole blind as I could not see the basket. There are no trees on this hole, there is one light pole (broken) near the basket. And sure enough, I hit it on my upshot :p

I looked for several minuets for this tee sign or pole. I can only assume it is completely gone, or is off in the overgrowth and unplayable. I threw from where I thought it should be based on the map at hole one. This throws down along a walking path. Poor design.

Hole 5 was a little hard to find, I found the basket and had to backtrack to find the tee. I sunk in the mud trying to get to it and it was 100 today. Good hole though. Blind shot around the edge of some overgrowth.

Hole 6 is your run of the mill 250 shot over a small creek. with the hill right behind the basket, I was able to make a run for the hole and not worry about the come back putt. But the basket is leaning quite a bit.

Hole 7 had hidden danger with the DEEP creek behind the basket. Nothing in the way, just don't overthrow it.

Hole 8 is up next to the pavilion, I have no idea where to tee off from here. The trees in front of the tee sign block any shot. I actually played from the pavilion with a big huge hyzer shot.

Hole 9 tees off near the road, only a pole marks the tee. There is no shot from the right side of the tee and on the left, there is a pretty deep rut. I played from the sidewalk. The basket is near the bridge. This is a munchkin basket. It looks like the basket sank and the pan was raised up so you have a much smaller window to put into and the chains actually hung below the pan.

While not a bad course, this course is in poor shape. It does have a map sign near hole one, but it has been damaged (vandalized) and at least 2 tee signs are missing. This course could really use a slight redesign. Move holes 1 to 4 so they are playable and don't threaten other park users. Plus hole 1's tee box is unplayable.

edit note: I looked at the media files on this course uploaded in 2008, the roads and pathways were all added after this course was installed and the tree's grew up in front of hole 8
Was this review helpful? Yes No
Designer response by johnrhouck
Thanks, Bryan. Please see my reply to the review above.
1 7
AndrewB
Experience: 2 played 2 reviews
4.00 star(s)

Great Course, Okay Experince 2+ years drive by

Reviewed: Played on:Mar 25, 2016 Played the course:once

Pros:

-Open, feel free to air it out

-Chance to utilize all of your discs

-Multiple tee positions

Cons:

-When I went it was extremely wet, and muddy

-After first 4 or 5 holes becomes difficult to navigate

Other Thoughts:

This is a great design in a great area, I just had a bad experience.
Was this review helpful? Yes No
3 1
papabearvas79
Experience: 11.8 years 15 played 5 reviews
3.50 star(s)

Wolf Pen Creek 2+ years drive by

Reviewed: Played on:Feb 6, 2016 Played the course:5+ times

Pros:

Nice layout, suggest looking at the map available online before playing for the first time. Well kept. Decent degree of difficulty.

Cons:

Dirt tee spots. Holes 5, 8, & 9 typically stay muddy around the chains making it difficult and nasty to navigate around, lets say you make the bucket, now you have to retrieve your disc, in the mud. Now im not a very large guy but even with my wieght i sank past my ankles more then once on hole 9 just trying to get my disc out of the catcher.
This park tends to be full of college kids with a certain ideal in mind that they have no need to be courteous to anyone trying to play through the third hole. Almost everytime i go i have to try and get some one/or group of people to be aware that they are in the flight path and with as hard as most of us throw it wouldnt feel great to be struck by one of these discs. I suppose this adds to the degree of difficulty having to go around inconsiderate park users.other then this my only other complaint about this course is the nasty amounts of dog poo throughout the whole park. For the love of decency folks. Pick up after your animals! Turning a nice park into an unenjoyable experience. Not cool

Other Thoughts:

I play this course at least twice a week and will continue to do so. Would be nice to see some of the minor issues fixed like the muddy 5, 8, & 9 but if not im still going to play. Also wouldnt hurt to replace signage for hole 9. Someone decided to take it home.
Was this review helpful? Yes No
6 0
c_a_miller
Diamond level trusted reviewer
Experience: 11.9 years 299 played 207 reviews
3.00 star(s)

2+ years drive by

Reviewed: Played on:Oct 6, 2013 Played the course:once

Pros:

This is a longer 9 hole course in the CStat-Bryan area in a nice park. The baskets are nice DisCatchers and in normal Houck fashion there are bright colorful tee signs at each tee as well as a big overview map at the beginning of the course.

The first half plays in a semi open field with a lot of length and tough basket placements. There is a fair amount of elevation. Hole 1 and 2 play uphill while Hole 3 plays back down on a gentle slope.

The last five holes play around a creek and are much shorter. and very scenic feeling as it plays in a bowl like area. The walking path is mostly secluded from this part of the course.

Natural tees have turned into a solid dirt, so the tee pads are as good as they are going to get without putting in concrete.

There are bathrooms and water fountains on the park as well as a playground for kids.

Cons:

The flow of the course is very bad. The designated parking lot is a quarter of a mile walk to the first tee and the course does not finish anywhere near the first tee or the parking lot. But walking never killed anyone.

The first tee pad is literally on a 45 degree incline on a hill. You can tell most people that play, play on top of the hill as there is a now a rutted box at the top.
If you over shoot any of the last five holes you may have a wet or lost disc. The last few holes do not play super long compared to their lengths so be aware.

Other Thoughts:

The fun factor was lacking here compared to Southern Oaks which is this course's rival in the 9 hole courses in the CS/B area.
You can play here and literally less than a mile away is Oaks Park which is a fun short course that is very different from here. This still is one of the better courses in the area.
Was this review helpful? Yes No
10 0
scuddyp4
Experience: 16.8 years 32 played 11 reviews
2.50 star(s)

Wolfpin 2+ years

Reviewed: Played on:Sep 12, 2011 Played the course:2-4 times

Pros:

-This course has a good mixture of medium length and shorter holes. Holes 2,3 and 4 are a little longer while 1, and 5-9 are all birdiable (is that a word).
-Baskets were all in good shape.
-Signs at most of the tees that I can remember
-Tees weren't too terrible although they are natural.
-There were some holes that had really fun lines. Hole 2 was a really interesting hole that required pretty good placement off the tee. Hole 4 was nice. It's slightly downhill and you can just air it out and watch it glide.
-The park is in really good shape. There wasn't trash laying all over the place and there were definately adequate trash cans.

Cons:

-Layout could be a little better in that the course starts and finishes on different sides of the park.
-I wasn't sure where the best place to park was. I ended up parking in a parking lot and walking across an intersection by hole 8 to the park. Then having to walk across the whole park just to get to the first basket.
-The last 4 holes are all pretty similar. The only difference is that 9 has some elevation change. But they are all just pretty straightforward shots that need to not go in the ditch.
-Overall nothing that would stop me from playing this course again (except that I live in Houston(But, that has nothing to do with the course))

Other Thoughts:

Overall, this is a pretty good course. There wasn't anything that made it stand out among the courses that I've played. If you live in the area it's worth playing. However I would probably prefer to play Research Park. I wouldn't travel over about 25 min. just to play this course but if you are in the area you should maybe check it out.
Was this review helpful? Yes No
4 1
Turner512
Experience: 13.6 years 44 played 15 reviews
2.50 star(s)

Decent 2+ years drive by

Reviewed: Played on:Aug 29, 2011 Played the course:2-4 times

Pros:

Good hole placement and fairway choice. Some different opportunities on most holes. Makes for fun play. Nice tee-signs and not too difficult to find holes. The first 4 holes are pretty open longer (at least for the course) shots that are fun for big arms. The next 5 holes are around a creek making placement everything. Short holes there.

Cons:

Last 5 holes feel repetitive to me. Hole 3 is just an open hole. While being fun for some people, the fact that you are your only mistake for that hole seems no fun to me. 7 (or maybe 8) is like that also but shorter.

Other Thoughts:

Course is worth playing but definitely not my favorite in College Station. If you are looking for an good course play Research and if you are trying to play a good 9 hole play Southern Oaks Park.
Was this review helpful? Yes No
4 4
mc lazer
Experience: 17.8 years 28 played 16 reviews
3.00 star(s)

best scenery 2+ years drive by

Reviewed: Played on:Aug 27, 2011 Played the course:5+ times

Pros:

Hot chicks everywhere. Nice mix of short and medium distance holes. Hot chicks. Not a lot of traffic so you can take your time. Oh yeah hot chicks.

Cons:

steep banks on the creek can roll a disc into the nasty water.
Was this review helpful? Yes No
2 0
Noobaque
Experience: 13.8 years 39 played 3 reviews
3.50 star(s)

not bad 2+ years drive by

Reviewed: Played on:Dec 23, 2010 Played the course:once

Pros:

great well kept park. lots of cool placement shots require some skill to get it in bird range.

9 holer with par 4's....sweet

the creek on the back 4 is pretty cool to navigate

Cons:

some next tee signs would be cool, some of the holes were troublesome to spot. even more so if you were playing the short tee's.

AFTER HOLE 9 MAKE SURE YOU WALK over the bridge towards the ampitheatre....or your gonna have a hard time getting across the creek to the parking lot...or walk across a pipe like i did.

Other Thoughts:

other than navigating. this course didnt suck..its open, but required a different type of needle threading to make it fun for all levels of players.

restrooms at the parking lot with a playground i believe.
Was this review helpful? Yes No
6 0
dreadlock86
Diamond level trusted reviewer
Experience: 16.9 years 382 played 306 reviews
2.50 star(s)

oh $hit, you sendin' the wolf?? 2+ years

Reviewed: Updated: Played on:Oct 8, 2010 Played the course:once

Pros:

-like 2 courses in one!
-variety in hole lengths
-nice houck signs, solid discatchers
-front 4 are long and mostly open
-back 5 are short but fun, avoid the creek, duece or die
-dual tees on 2,4,5,6
-natural tees in reasonable condition
-very close to Oaks Park

Cons:

-back 5 is on a flood plain
-creek is easy to avoid but very deep if one goes in
-navigation can be an issue with the long walks between 2/3, 4/5, 9/parking lot
-favors RHBH but doesn't overly punish others

Other Thoughts:

This nice 9 holer is spread across a big multi-use park. The two contrasting areas of the park offer a nice change of scenery halfway through the round and different kinds of holes. Big distance with minimal obstacles on the front 4 (except #2) and short birdie opportunities while avoiding a creek on the back 5.

While it is nice that the holes are not all crammed together, there is quite a bit of walking between the two areas of the park, between each of the first 4 holes and from 9 to the parking lot. It would almost be worth adding another hole to the front area or just moving the tee for #3 closer to the basket for #2.

The course is certainly a lot of fun to play. All the holes are very birdie-able except 2 & 4 for those that can throw around 300'. The creek on the back 5 will keep you on your toes but most will be challenged by the distance on the front 4.

Wet weather will probably make this course pretty unpleasant. The back will be flooded and the natural tees will be a mess.

This course makes a great complement to Oaks Park which is very close. A great option if you're trying to avoid the crowd at Research Park.


**Like this review? Hate it? Message me and let me know why! I want to make them better!**
Was this review helpful? Yes No
1 4
joesiya
Experience: 23 played 4 reviews
4.00 star(s)

Nice, short course 2+ years drive by

Reviewed: Played on:Jun 6, 2009 Played the course:5+ times

Pros:

Nice layout. Signs at all tee boxes. Semi challenging and easy to navigate. Good beginner to intermediate course. Usually not very busy.

Cons:

Duck Jams...the city allowed them to destroy the layout of the top four holes.
Was this review helpful? Yes No
12 0
srm_520
Diamond level trusted reviewer
Experience: 20 years 156 played 142 reviews
3.00 star(s)

Two Courses in One 2+ years drive by

Reviewed: Updated: Played on:Jan 4, 2010 Played the course:once

Pros:

There is a good amount of risk versus reward on the final five holes of the course with the creek, and big arms will enjoy the first four holes that are wide open and long. Basically, this course gives you an opportunity to practice multiple parts of your game. Holes range from 170' to over 600' depending on your tees, so there is a diverse range for shots, as well as a few very minor elevation changes to keep things interesting. RHBH players are favored on this course, but even then the course is fair to players.

The overall park facilities are good, with decent bathrooms, and a playground area for the kiddies. There is also an outdoor amphitheater, so even though the course doesn't conflict with the area, things could get potentially crowded on theater night.

BEST HOLE/S: #2; #6

Cons:

The design for some may be a con depending on your viewpoint. You basically have four long mostly open holes, with holes like #3 feeling mundane and filler. Then the change to five shorter technical holes can be essentially viewed as the same type of hole five times.

There are some definite drainage issues around holes #8 and #9 making them play harder than they actually are (summer is worse with the plant growth), and it's very easy to lose your footing on the muddy soft ground. In addition, a map is essential for first timers since there are a few long transitions between holes and namely between the open hole #4 to the tighter #5.

The one other issue is the tee box area. There are natural tees, and apparently alternates, but even though there are top quality Houck signs - the alternates aren't easily spotted, and the distances don't seem to fit with the holes. These are minor issues, but something that could certainly give this course a boost if improved.

WORST HOLE/S: #3

Other Thoughts:

Wolf Pen Creek is, in my opinion, pound for pound the one of the strongest courses in the College Station/Bryan area. Being only 9 holes, there are always going to be arguments between how it compares to the Research Park course. Some things you may want to consider though in this comparison is that on a beautiful day - Wolf Pen Creek is probably going to be less busy than Research Park, and Oaks Park is only a mile away if you need a scenery change. As always, there as issues, but I believe this course has used the land to its greatest advantage, and makes for a great round of golf.

Having finally played all of the current courses the Bryan/College Station area has to offer, I have made two separate lists for you to consider when making your next visit to Aggieland. I have ranked them first by overall course quality and then my personal enjoyment rating which varies a bit from the first list. Please note however, I enjoyed all of these courses, and none of them stood out as the clear favorite.

Course Rating and Quality:
1. Research Park 3.5 discs;
2. Southern Oaks Park 3;
3. Wolf Pen Creek 3;
4. Austin's Colony 2.5;
5. Oaks Park 2;
6. Bonham Park 1.5;
7. First Baptist Bryan DGC 1;
8. Tiffany Park 1.

Personal Enjoyment: (1 is best & 5 is worst)
1. Southern Oaks Park
2. Wolf Pen Creek;
3. Research Park;
4. Oaks Park;
5. Bonham Park;
6. Austin's Colony
7. First Baptist Bryan DGC
8. Tiffany Park
Was this review helpful? Yes No
5 0
OneBallWonder
Experience: 25.8 years 45 played 16 reviews
3.00 star(s)

Fun 9 Holer 2+ years drive by

Reviewed: Played on:Mar 27, 2009 Played the course:once

Pros:

Variations in hole design make for an interesting day of disc golf. The first few holes are open, long bombs, then the climate of the course changes to a flood plain with a winding creek. The creek is not large, but large enough to swallow up arrant shots.

This is as complete a 9 hole course as I've ever played. The majority of the holes do favor the RHBH player however, but it is not completely unfair.

Cons:

I don't know what the state of Texas has against concrete tee pads. This is another course with naturals, and they were muddy the day we played.

The flood plain is exactly that. It is a flood plain. It will flood all the way up to the ampitheater.

The walk from the 9th hole back to the parking area is a little bit unreasonable.

Other Thoughts:

Stupid Texas Fire Ants....
Was this review helpful? Yes No
8 0
sidewinding
Gold level trusted reviewer
Experience: 16.2 years 81 played 67 reviews
2.50 star(s)

2+ years drive by

Reviewed: Played on:Mar 6, 2009 Played the course:once

Pros:

The first four holes are in a different area of the park, more difficult, and not as interesting and fun as the last five holes. #1 is 305' but uphill so it plays about 350'. #2 is a 507' fairly wide tunnel and is the most difficult hole. #3 is 366 with the basket in the middle of a huge open field. #4 is 606' with a slight anhyzer approach route at the end.

The last five holes are all open but play back and forth and beside a narrow but deep creek that cuts it's way through the park. The creek provides a slight pucker factor but is actually pretty easy to avoid. This is the funner side of the course as it has an almost putt putt golf course feel to it and the longest hole in this section is 311' with the others averaging around 250'.

The tee signs are very good.

Cons:

Dirt tee pads.

The signs show short tees but I could not find any sign of them.

There is too much walking for nine holes. There is a long walk between 2 and 3, 3 and 4, 4 and 5, and a long walk to get back to the parking area after hole 9.

The #4 tee pad is hard to find for first timers and it's fairway is a norrow strip of land between the creek and a swampy pond area and can get very soggy.
Was this review helpful? Yes No
2 7
Jeff
Experience: 15.7 years 3 played 3 reviews
4.50 star(s)

Awesome 2+ years drive by

Reviewed: Played on:Oct 25, 2008 Played the course:5+ times

Pros:

Very well kept. Great mix of long and short holes. Diverse course. Nice area in general. Fun to play.

Cons:

Only 9 holes. Easy to lose discs in the creek.
Was this review helpful? Yes No
7 0
ERicJ
Diamond level trusted reviewer
Experience: 16.3 years 286 played 154 reviews
2.50 star(s)

Favors Righties 2+ years

Reviewed: Updated: Played on:Oct 18, 2008 Played the course:5+ times

Pros:

Very nice course. Pretty scenery. Good mix of distances on holes with some elevation changes. Typical excellent John Houck tee signs.

Adequate parking. Restroom facilities are decent.

The challenge of this course is to average 3 or better on the first four holes and then get all the 2's you can on the last five holes.

UPDATE: In early to mid-2009 a realistic gap was cut through the brush on hole #1 making it a more fair hole, also all the brush on #4 was cleared out from around the tree in the middle of the fairway making this hole a much easier '3' than it was before.

Cons:

Heavily favors RHBH players as every tee shot is either straight or a hyzer shot. The only significant anhyzer shot is the approach shot on #4 if your tee shot is right of the fairway trees. Not much shot variety in that regard. It looks like #9 was designed to be an anhyzer shot, but wasn't actually installed that way.

Tall reeds and murky creek can swallow discs and make them really hard to find.

For first timers the transition from hole #4 to #5 is not obvious, consult a map.

#7 is a throw away hole; very short and no real challenge.

Other Thoughts:

Course is somewhat divided between the front four and back five. The first holes are longer, the last five are shorter and birdie opportunities abound.

While this was a fun course to play it's not the type of course where a developing player will sharpen a diverse set of skills.

DGCR course map shows hole #1 slightly off from where is actually is. The tee is further from the parking lot and the basket is behind the tree line.
Was this review helpful? Yes No
5 0
ryandr
Experience: 16.1 years 8 played 8 reviews
4.00 star(s)

2+ years drive by

Reviewed: Played on:Jun 12, 2008 Played the course:never

Pros:

This is a great 9 hole course. The course is well maintained and mowed. All holes are marked well. The holes have a broad range of distances, with the first 4 being long with tree hazards near the pins. The last five are bordering a small creek and create a narrow fairway. These holes are shorter but require more technical shots and during wet weather avoiding the creek is a must (very cloudy water - discs are lost easily). Several pins are near the creek border.

Cons:

Must be mindful of the water hazard on all the last five holes is the water is up at all. During wet weather there are several large pools of water in the fairways to avoid.

Other Thoughts:

This is a really fun course for beginner to expert. The holes provide enough challege to play the same 9 over and over again. Besides the beautiful park, there are facilities on site.
Was this review helpful? Yes No
Top