Saginaw, MI

Wickes Woods

Seasonal course
3.315(based on 16 reviews)
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3 0
apdrvya
Diamond level trusted reviewer
Premium Member
Experience: 13.9 years 350 played 293 reviews
3.50 star(s)

Grand Scale with some issues 2+ years

Reviewed: Played on:Apr 26, 2014 Played the course:once

Pros:

Aesthetic-- plays through woods and near a lake in a very large multi-use park. plays close to some other amenities at times. Plays over walking paths, near a baseball/softball field and through woods near hiking trails. Careful folks.

Teepads-- awesome, concrete. Proper size and in excellent repair.

Teesigns-- Excellent signs in excellent condition. very descriptive. Only confusion for me was #5 which lane to thrown down.

Baskets-- all there and in excellent condition. Bright orange necks aide in visibility in all aspects of this course.

Variety-- There is a TON of variety here. I especially liked #8 and #9 great little ace run bunker shot and a long bomber down the hill..

Heavily guarded baskets-- the approaches were ROUGH with all the trees. most pins were heavily heavily guarded meaning NO GIMMIES!!

Routing and nav--easy. next tee rocks were present in most cases and led you right to the next hole.

Cons:

Amenities-- I completely agree with some others that there could be more benches and trash cans. there wasn't much trash but having a place to sit for a minute would be nice. This course is a bit of a hike.

Questionable design flaws-- #6 is a big question mark for me. and it looks like a giant question mark. Some of the holes in the woods are a bit repetitive. #5 was hard to know which lane to throw down. it's the left one FWIW.

Poison Ivy-- holy crap, there are more aerial vines here than I can count. If you see a hairy "tree" or vine, DO NOT TOUCH IT!!

Low lands-- I swear to god that they pick the lowest land for DG courses. this course is a bit wet, especially in the woods. #17 was one big mud puddle and it's a sweet looking hole!

The Lake-- there is absolutely no involvement with the lake. very disappionting.

Risk v Reward-- none really. just be conservative on the tighter holes and you'll be fine.

Danger-- playing close to baseball fields and over NUMEROUS walking paths seems to be a bit dangerous if you ask me.

Other Thoughts:

I did have a blast playing this course. when I first stopped here in November, no baskets were in so I came back and I'm very happy that I did!

A few fixes would make this place pretty stellar.
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3 0
landon77
Gold level trusted reviewer
Experience: 24.5 years 78 played 43 reviews
3.50 star(s)

Varied play- challenging 2+ years drive by

Reviewed: Updated: Played on:Aug 17, 2013 Played the course:2-4 times

Pros:

-challenging
-cement tees
-excellent baskets
-outstanding signs (some of the best I have seen)
-good variety of holes
-good distance and elevation changes
-dog friendly
-park has picnic areas, softball fields, and walking trails. Nice water ponds but they don't play on course.
-Very well designed course. I think the designers did a really good job. The course makes you think and play smart. It's not a grip it and rip it course.

Cons:

-needs more benches
-needs more trash receptacles
-a bit rough (still new course). Woods will eat ur disc

Other Thoughts:

-i liked this course it was very challenging had good variety and was fair. There was for the most part multiple lanes to choose from on most holes.
-Some of the wooded holes reminded me of idlewild and how narrow the lanes were. Any errant throw off a 195 foot hole will usually result in a bogey.
-I did not think it was very fun and therefore I wouldn't go out of my way to play it again.
-The course really plays to a lefty or right hand flip thrower. Lot's of anhyzers.
-woods were really rough and errant throws were costly.
-had some nice variance and allowed u to let loose ur cannon on a few holes
-conservative shot placements suggested for decent scores
-overall a good course. Nothing grand or epic stood out but it is well taken care of. Has a nice layout and flow and will give most disc golfers a challenge. Probably not the best course for families or novices
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1 1
ERT1971
Experience: 10.8 years 5 played 1 reviews
4.00 star(s)

Good Condition 2+ years drive by

Reviewed: Played on:Jul 7, 2013 Played the course:2-4 times

Pros:

Good variety of holes. Have some tricky short shots. Have some monster drives with wide open space.




Cons:

Some holes take a few times thru to figure out which way to go. Have to back track to some holes.
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7 0
apparition
Silver level trusted reviewer
Experience: 13.1 years 47 played 39 reviews
4.50 star(s)

Now with 18 holes, the best variety in the area! 2+ years drive by

Reviewed: Updated: Played on:Sep 2, 2012 Played the course:5+ times

Pros:

+ 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)

Cons:

- 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

Other Thoughts:

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!
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1 0
Ice_Monster
Experience: 7 played 1 reviews
3.50 star(s)

Wickes Woods 2+ years drive by

Reviewed: Played on:Aug 26, 2012 Played the course:5+ times

Pros:

This course offers quite a bit of diversity in shots, ranging from almost 180 degree horseshoes to straight shots, and most of the course is quite well kept. Most of the holes are wooded, while 5-11 are open shots, with 10 being the mando. A fun course overall.

Cons:

Poor tree placement around the baskets, the designers almost tried making some of the wholes too much of a challenge, like the 6, with a tree directly in front of the tee. 11- do not have signs yet, and bring bug spray! the mosquitoes get pretty bad on the later holes.

Other Thoughts:

league nights are on Monday after five, so it's quite hard to play if you're not looking to play with the leagues.
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1 0
jon33jon2003
Experience: 11.7 years 9 played 5 reviews
3.50 star(s)

Great course 2+ years drive by

Reviewed: Played on:Aug 17, 2012 Played the course:5+ times

Pros:

Good, clean course with a decent amount of diversity. Good tees with good signage for most of the course. Easy to get from hole to hole. Does not eat discs.

Cons:

Newer holes do not have signage. Not enough benches at tees. Occasional foot traffic on trails that run through course.

Other Thoughts:

This is my home course, I really enjoy the layout and have never lost a disc even though I am a newbie. Wooded holes from 12 on are the most fun and challenging.
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2 1
DiscBeast.com
Experience: 14.9 years 15 played 2 reviews
4.00 star(s)

Nice new course 2+ years drive by

Reviewed: Played on:Aug 5, 2012 Played the course:once

Pros:

Great signage, nice new concrete pads, good variety of shots.

Cons:

Real difficult for newbies to find hole #1 - the course starts off Hospital Road and not the main entrance to the park (McCarty Road).

Other Thoughts:

Up here visiting from Georgia and really enjoyed the course. I am a huge fan of being able to air out some frustration and this course provides the opportunity. Very impressed with the condition of the course.
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2 0
harr0140
Diamond level trusted reviewer
Premium Member
Experience: 15.2 years 1508 played 475 reviews
3.00 star(s)

Wickie Wickie Wickie 2+ years

Reviewed: Played on:Jul 22, 2012 Played the course:once

Pros:

1) Nice large concrete tees are always appreciated.
2) Hole # is set into the corners of the concrete.
3) There are also white painted rocks off to the side of each basket directing you to the next tee. This is a really ingenious idea because who is going to deface a rock? If it was a next tee sign it might get defaced or broken.
4) Nice signs with Hole #, Par, distances, sponsors, and the next hole direction. There also is a general map of the hole which is always helpful for the first timer.
5) Excellent variety of hole type here ranging from mostly open with some spotty trees to densely wooded. You can air it out a bit, but then you need to shift gears when playing in the wooded section of the course.
6) Shot selection was moderate, but it did favor hyzer shots on this course except for three holes, one which was mostly open with the basket tucked into the woods (#9) and the two wooded holes (#1 and #2).
7) There is another unique idea on #8. There is a mound in front of the basket forcing you to try and throw around the mound and the trees or if you end up short of the mound you will have an impeded putt.
8) Excellent distance variation on this course ranging from simple one shot holes, to placement shots to set up tight wooded approaches, to entirely tight wooded holes. The distance is not just pure distance, it is distance coupled with shot making. I think this is something that is very underestimated in course design. Don't simply through out a bunch of long wide open holes. Increase the distance and make people think about their shots at the same time as opposed to just throwing as hard as they can.

Cons:

1) I spotted poison ivy in a few spots. I am sure over time this will be taken care of because this was a pretty nicely maintained course. It also seems like it is a fairly new park.
2) There are a few dangerous spots on the course like #10 tee being in danger from #9 fairway and also the where the #5 and #6 fairway run alongside each other. I could also see the #5 tee being in danger from someone trying to really let one loose and get up near the basket on #7.
3) The course is incomplete right now. There are 11 holes with plans to finish it off at a full 18 holes. I think it might be a better idea to keep the course closed until all the work is done. I suppose it was nice I got to play the 11, but it is an incomplete course at this moment. Oh well, not too big of a deal, but worth mentioning.
4) There are some really tough to execute shots like especially on #11. That is just a goofy hole, it is too short for anyone to get a disc to turn into the fairway enough to even have a decent shot at a 2.

Other Thoughts:

Although I have given this course a rating for the 11 holes that are currently in play, I have a feeling it will get even better when the last 7 holes are completed because those are set in a really mature and clean looking woodland.
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2 0
ZdybelT
Experience: 12.9 years 55 played 16 reviews
3.50 star(s)

Great course in the making 2+ years drive by

Reviewed: Played on:Jul 28, 2012 Played the course:once

Pros:

-signage is great.
-locals were very friendly in letting me pass (played alone) and helping me find my way around the course.
-hole variety and some elevation changes.
-very clean park.
-nice tee pads.

Cons:

-needs directions onto where the first hole is. I ended up pakring by hole 8 and had to walk through to hole 1.
-some distances are incorrect on the signs.
-needs a few garbage bins.

Other Thoughts:

This course was pretty decent once I found out where to begin. I enjoyed that this park was clean and cut nicely and it looked new aswell. You can tell the desginer really thought out the course layout of this park and it flows nicely and makes great use of the available land. I would love to come here again when it is 100% completed and will rerate it once I play it in the future.
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1 0
Random Gord
Experience: 11.8 years 5 played 1 reviews
2.50 star(s)

2+ years drive by

Reviewed: Played on:Jul 21, 2012 Played the course:2-4 times

Pros:

It's new, close to my house, and has a very clean-cut appearance.

Cons:

It's not finished yet. Only 11 holes are completely finished. The Holes are still kind of difficult to follow for players new to this Course.
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1 0
Gyro
Experience: 13 years 17 played 17 reviews
3.00 star(s)

New course coming along 2+ years drive by

Reviewed: Played on:May 18, 2012 Played the course:5+ times

Pros:

Brand new, wide cement T-pads
Brand new, accurate signs
Nice variety of shots

Cons:

Old park and people don't realize there is a disc golf course yet
Not completed
No use of the pond (but I think that is because many people and walk and fish around it)
A few holes could use a bit more clearing

Other Thoughts:

This course will get a bump in ratings when it is finished and tweaked. I enjoy what they have for now.
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2 0
pacanova
Experience: 12.8 years 60 played 2 reviews
2.00 star(s)

2+ years drive by

Reviewed: Played on:May 13, 2012 Played the course:once

Pros:

This course is really coming along. The first time I played, there were tee pads and baskets, that's it. on my last round, signs/maps are in and accurate.
Trash cans are starting to show up on a couple holes.
Paths are being mulched to keep them mostly dry.

Cons:

The course is pretty low in some areas leading to much flooding and standing water right on the hole.
Sure is a bummer that the lake never comes into play. Just walking through the course you can see great layout opportunities all over.

Other Thoughts:

This is definitely a course in its early stages, but it's getting there. The first nine are fun for sure with some shot flex required. Chuckers seems to be using the fairways as a storage place for their busted glass, so be sure to wear real shoes and keep a close eye on the kids. I keep having to remind myself that this park has been here for a LONG time and not everybody is aware of disc golf. Be patient and have fun.
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1 1
phoenixdark
Experience: 18.9 years 7 played 1 reviews
3.00 star(s)

wickes woods is awsome 2+ years drive by

Reviewed: Played on:May 3, 2012 Played the course:once

Pros:

clean, nice combination of woods and open, amazing tee boxes, fairly clean course

Cons:

no course map, not yet finished, could of utalised the avalibilty of the large pond

Other Thoughts:

one of the better courses i have played cant wait till its finished so i can play the full 18
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2 0
qqq1
Experience: 5 played 5 reviews
4.00 star(s)

Nice 2+ years drive by

Reviewed: Updated: Played on:Apr 15, 2012 Played the course:5+ times

Pros:

The woods and park are good nature areas. Holes are well defined. Not too much challenge. Mostly wooded but not a lot of heavy brush where it's hard to find your disc.

Cons:

People on the course. Otherwise no real cons.

Other Thoughts:

My original review was when they were still building the park. It has become a very nice course.
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2 0
jDo1334
Experience: 1 played 1 reviews
3.00 star(s)

2+ years drive by

Reviewed: Played on:Mar 23, 2012 Played the course:once

Pros:

I really enjoy what this course has to offer so far. nice tee boxes, long open fairways with tight wooded greens in most cases and some very difficult elevated baskets. this course is fun and challenging. i hope the rest of it will be the same way.

Cons:

well obviously the course is not done so thats kinda a bummer.
and it is true that the park has a very nice pond that the course does not include.
and yes other people do use the park but if i wanted to play a course that wasnt open to anyone who wanted to enjoy the outdoors i would buy some golf clubs and goofy pants. just saying
they have put out trash cans at a few of the tees. now getting people to use them is the trick.

Other Thoughts:

all in all im just happy that i have a course a few miles from my house and im able to enjoy this awesome sport.
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3 0
Mac423
Experience: 13 years 15 played 7 reviews
2.50 star(s)

Decent start! 2+ years drive by

Reviewed: Updated: Played on:Mar 25, 2012 Played the course:2-4 times

Pros:

This course is still under construction, so i am sure many improvements are in the works. All 18 holes are now in! New holes have leveled gravel tee boxes, but it appears cement is coming soon. Fresh wood chips lining all the fairways in the woods. I am happy someone took the initiative to begin building a course close to my home.

Cons:

Holes 2-9 still of very poor design.
Signage issue has been fixed on 1-11, the rest will be up soon when cement tee pads are poured.
Leashless dogs, and walkers still are a problem on the course.
Completely ignores a hazard opportunity that is a large pond in the park.
Few of the fairways on new holes need to be widened

Other Thoughts:

Several issues have been fixed since my last review, and the course designers must be commended on this. It has increased my rating by 1 full star, as promised in the earlier review. The poor design of holes 2-7 (and hole 11), and the missed opportunity to utilize the pond in play means, even with improvements, this course will never warrant more than a 3 star rating imo.
This is a county park, and is free to enter. Gates close at dusk.
Discers should access this course from Hospital rd., not McCarty. Hole 1 is off of the hospital rd. parking lot. Accessing from McCarty leads to a long walk to the completely opposite side of the park.
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