Pros:
Located in Newport, OR on the coast, Wilder DGC sits in what is a quintessential example of an Oregon coastal forest. The terrain is gouged with deep ravines, ferns and moss cover everything, while most of the course plays under a canopy of towering Douglas Fir trees. The forest floor has that lush, softness to it that makes for such a pleasant hike.
The course itself is first class starting with the course map at the beginning. The signs are great with a hole map, distance, par, hole # and sponsor's name. The natural tee pads, except one, were very smooth and level and just blended in with the entire forest experience. The Discatcher baskets with the bright yellow band are not only easy to spot but they have the hole # and a large black arrow pointing to the next pad. This really helped me playing the course for the first time solo.
Course designers used the ravines very creatively. Although not terribly long, the sometimes technical fairways, constant elevation change, blind basket placements and ever present forest of trees provide for a challenging experience for the average disc golfer.
A couple of holes I really enjoyed were # 7. It's a 247' toss across a deep ravine. The visible yellow basket is cleverly set atop a small but very fairly steep little mound. You must have a accurate throw off the tee here as it's quite tight. Very pretty.
# 9 is very short, just 123', across a very deep little ravine. An ACE run, easy birdie indeed, but any errant throw could have you throwing your second shot from a very uncomfortable position, possibly way down below, for sure.
Cons:
The natural tee pads were all level and smooth except for the # 10 hole where the course starts to double back to the beginning. # 10 is 448' and the tee is set low. Most players need that extra run-up here and consequently the natural pad has been torn up quite a bit.
# 18 features the strangest Mando. I looked at the arrow repeatedly to make sure I was reading it correctly. The Mando arrow forces you to throw LEFT, which is the most direct line to the current basket placement. I threw left and ended up with a gimee birdee. If the Mando arrow made you throw RIGHT around the tree, the hole would be much more challenging.
Other Thoughts:
It's hard to putt when your heart is beating 225 times a minute. I felt like a Olympic Biathlon competitor after huffing it up and down and sometimes to the bottom of all these ravines. It is a major cardio workout.
The course is a recreational challenging course. True, it's not a great course to take beginners to and Pros/Advanced players won't find the overall challenge here. But for the average recreation player, this is a well done, beautiful and enjoyable course. Just another stellar course for Oregon's already impressive stable of courses.