Pros:
Wolfman Woods caught me off guard with how good it was, and how polished it felt for such a young private course. Wanting to see the original layout, I chose to play the short tees. Right out of the gate, the thing I want to express the most is the amount of love this course has clearly been given. It was plainly evident to me that Jackson Martin has poured in a lot of blood, sweat, and likely tears in building this track. Not only did it feature DISCatcher baskets, tee signs at every tee, Mandos and OB are clearly marked in every location, seven holes with long tees, and newly installed turf tees, but the rough had clearly been beaten back considerably. Normally on a course that's only a couple of years old, the rough can get pretty bad, but there were clear signs that work has been done to thin it out. There is probably ten to twenty feet of rough cleared out on both sides of the fairways here. If this isn't the course in a tournament ready state, it's going to be sparkling when it is.
Players of most skill levels will be well suited for Wolfman Woods, as it does not require a big arm, at all, to score well. Most holes are going to require nothing more than a midrange off the tee, but accuracy and placement (on the Par 4s) was extremely important. Some of the fairways were fairly tight, but they also all managed to feel completely fair. There were also a couple of open fairways to let players stretch their drives out, but with enough OB that players couldn't forgo accuracy. The course also managed to utilize the land very well, the creek came into play on Holes 1 & 16, there was a mix of downhill and uphill shots, two water carries, and a fun valley shot (Hole 8). Hole 18 was an incredible finishing hole, downhill to an island of OB. This variety will keep even Advanced players interested in returning for more.
In addition to the well designed course, there was also a driving range for players to test their distance with distances up to 400' marked. So bigger arms will be able to outdrive the last marker, fortunately you don't need that much distance here. Even on the Par 4s, it felt riskier to try to bite that much of the fairway off from the tee. There is also a Porta Jon next to the surprisingly large parking lot. The check in process was easy, and at only $5 for a day pass- the course was definitely worth it.
As a unique touch, there were some old abandoned, rusted trucks just off the fairway of Hole 9 and the putting green of Hole 11. Just added a bit of flair to the course, and glad the course directed itself to bring these into view.
Cons:
Most of the cons I am going to list are a bit nitpicky, but they did stick out to me.
What would likely be considered one of the biggest concerns was that all of the tees were not created equally. I didn't personally have an issue with it, but there are a lot of people who get rather finicky about tees. I will say though, that Hole 1's tee for instance was immaculate, but some of the ones deeper into the course were noticeably smaller and/or narrower.
I am never a fan of trees lining fairways. I understand the visual appeal it might seem to add, but all I see when I come across it is the likelihood of the trees creating an erosion problem by directing rain straight down the fairway. Which is why I was sad to see it on Hole 7.
While the tee signs were perfectly adequate, I feel like they could have been a bit more detailed. I didn't even realize Hole 18 was an island shot until I walked down to my drive and saw the OB markers. Luckily, I had parked the hole. It would have also been nice to see some form of color coding on the tee signs to show if the tee was for the short, long, or both layouts. Who knows, when it comes to Hole 18 maybe the island was a newer addition, maybe it only plays as an island for the long layout, or maybe I am just not observant enough. But there were a couple of times, I wished the tee signs just had a bit more detail to them- that was just the last time I really felt it.
There isn't really a considerable difference between the two layouts. Even though I played from the shorts,I took the time to look at all the long tees. Unfortunately I didn't notice as much of a difference between the two layouts as I normally would like there to be on a course with two layouts. Most were only slightly longer and didn't really change the throw/angle required from the tee. While I am gladly going to travel to the Shelby area just to play Wolfman Woods again, there will be players who would want a bit more of a challenge from a course they travel to. However, if changes are made to increase the challenge of the longs, I hope it doesn't drastically alter the layout of the shorts.
Other Thoughts:
As I stated early, it is clear that a lot of work has gone into Wolfman Woods. Even days later I continue to be impressed by the course, and can't wait to drive back out that way to play it again. I think Wolfman Woods is well deserving of a 4.0 rating. Hopefully the course continues to improve the way it has based on the work that seems to still be going on out there. The easiest way I could see this course deserving a higher rating would be if the long layout could be spruced up/added to without altering the short layout. In addition to fine tuning the tee pad situation.
Favorite Holes: 4, 8, 11, & 18