Pros:
Just the idea of setting up a whole new, more open course for the winter is pretty sweet, since looking through snow for your discs is already hard enough without having shule to deal with as well. I've never heard of another course doing this, and I'd say that's one big pro that makes Dretzka unique.
The rubber tee pads were all in great shape, and are solidly set in place. A really great feature, doesnt get icy like concrete can in winter, much better grip for snow boots.
The course map and Winter Tee signs are really nice as well: A chunk of board screwed to a tree next to each pad has the hole map & length drawn in sharpie, as well as the direction to the next tee. Function over form, I love it! Very easy to read. I think it is a testament to the local club that their temporary winter course has better pads and especially better signage than many top-notch year round courses do in places where it doesnt snow. They even have signs to tell you where the next tee is in places where its not obvious.
The course itself is a very nice mix of fairly technical and fairly open holes, none of which feel like pointless filled holes. With a few notable exceptions, the flow is very easy and obvious, making this a pretty FTF course.
The course starts out by the parking lot and football field, with some shorter holes weaving through the trees. Definitely forces you to shape some shots around trees. Even on the more open holes like 4, which tees off under a football goalpost, the basket is protected in some trees for a nice combo of open drive and careful approach/putt. Minor terrain in play.
After #7, the course switches styles and scenery, when it moves away from the road and through a line of evergreens onto the ball golf course and old ski hill. #8 starts you off with a 450' drive down a wide tree-lined ski run, that plays about 100' shorter due to the elevation. Its the kind of hole that makes you want to empty your bag (twice). #9 also plays along what seems like old ski runs at the bottom of the hill with some terrain.
Once you cross the frozen river into the woods on #10, the course moves to the somewhat flatter area of the ball golf course. Many of the holes weave through mazes of scattered trees on the sides of the BG holes. Some cut back and forth across the frozen creek that bisects the course, and let you air it out a bit on the long open avenues. Usually even then, the basket is in some kind of tree cover trees. Requires a lot of different shots, curves left and right, with several lines to choose from on many holes. Several baskets on downhill greens by the riverside make for risk of rollaways on putts. The trees in particular make for many interesting holes that are each a bit different in the scope of their challenges. Overall, still not too tightly wooded
On holes 18-22, the course hits the slopes again for a variety of fairly challenging elevation shots, before returning you to the parking lot area on the last two holes. 18 shoots up through an area of tiny pine trees (marked with orange flags DO NOT step on them) that will make this hole even better in the next few years as they grow up.
22 plays along the top of the hill, and is one of my favorite holes on the course. The drive is mostly open for the first 200', but the basket is guarded by two giant pine trees that force you to shoot between them. On top of this, about at the twin pines the fairway starts to slope slightly downhill to the trees past the basket. This makes it a challenging shot to gauge, since if you thread the twin pines, its hard to get the disc to stop with overshooting the basket.
It doesn't seem very technical at first glance, but its harder than it looks in several subtle ways, which pretty much defines this entire course. In addition to the many good-sized trees that you have to bend around, wind can also be a factor on just about every hole on this course. The holes face all different directions, so its tough to know which way its going to come from. Not really strong winds, like those at Hiestand, but just enough to mess with your lines a bit and make the trees loom larger.
The course also has a very nice mix of distances on it. It has both short ace runs (like #5), and a few shots close to 400' up a ski slope that will really push you, (like #22). It manages to not favor big arms too much, despite being mostly on a ski hill and ball golf course. Its not very tight and technical either, though it gives opportunity for a good variety of shots.
Cons:
SIGNAGE: Initially, it was hard to find the first hole, since this course evidently starts in a different spot than the regular course (Updated directions since then).
Also, the transition from 7 to 8 was a bit confusing. From basket 7, walk past the building through the opening in the trees. you'll see a sign that says to go 315' for hole 8. Keep going straight to the ski hill. you should be able to see tee 8 a ways further off.
Hole 23 shoots out of the trees into the same area as # 7. Its tee sign says 8 instead of 23. This is wrong, and two seconds of sharpie work would fix it, and seems like a pretty obvious mistake on a course otherwise so well marked. Also, coming the other direction from 22, you cant see 23's tee tucked back in the woods, so remember where it is after you play 7.
Sometimes the directions to the next tee on the signs were a bit misleading.
1) On some holes it shows an arrow pointing to the direction to the next tee.
2)On others it has a square with an arrow coming out from it.
In the latter case, the square is the next tee location, and the arrow is the direction that next hole actually plays. Sometimes it seems like these two are mixed up, and the arrows are very general. They are good guidelines, just not very specific. Fortunately the flow is pretty good with mostly short walks between holes, so just follow the footprints and you shouldn't get lost.
Other than these few small issues, the signage overall was fantastic and really improved the experience.
COURSE: The middle section of the course seemed mostly flat, but the many trees help compensate for this. The ski hill holes are mostly open but again, the elevation helps compensate for it. Thus, this course gives a nice variety of elevation and fairly wooded holes, but rarely much of both at the same time. This is really the only mark I can find against the course itself. Overall its a well-balanced mix of distances, on fun holes that all have something to offer, though few are truly memorable or challenging holes with that "wow" factor that makes a course a 4 or above. What it really comes down to is that it has elevation and some trees, but it could use more of both, mixed together on the same holes. However, it manages to avoid being repetitive or boring over the course of 24 holes, which is not an easy thing. It is a very enjoyable, well-done winter course that's harder than it looks.
Other Thoughts:
I played at 7am when it was as many degrees outside before the wind chill, and had to throw with gloves on. This course really kicked my butt, especially in putting. I must say, though, I've seldom had as much fun playing so poorly. Since wind is a factor, come ready to feel 10 degrees colder than the weatherman says, and you'll be fine. Some spots are a bit icy.
Again, I've gotta commend the area Disc Golf Club for putting together a separate 24 hole winter course, and doing such a good job at it to boot. Great idea, great pads and signage, can't wait to play the summer course.