WILDERNESS OPEN 01/27/2018
Wilderness Campground on WI HWY 22 south of Montello, enthusiastically decided to add a disc golf course to their impressive roster of amenities. And per the Wiess family business model, they went full bore. They hired one of the best disc golf course designers, Patrick Blake, who has proven his ability to design a course that both new players and seasoned pros can enjoy. 3 years went into building the course and continual improvements are being made. The result is a highly competitive pro layout, with challenges on every hole. There is an easy layout on the shortest course, where each basket can be seen from the tee pad. It was important that anyone could come have fun trying something new and having some success their first time out. All a person needs is a little experience throwing a Frisbee.
The interesting part of this is there are 18 fairways that include an advanced tee pad (blue) and an recreational tee pad (white) as well as a target basket (yellow) set for the recreational tee pad and a basket (red) for the advanced tee pad. This set up gives many course combination options. The course is easy to follow, just throw at the same color basket on every hole.
Even if you do not play, the course is a beautiful walk in the woods. Mike Batka, owner of Glide Disc Golf, ran the first tournament at course last fall. “Wilderness Campground is a destination for any disc golfer. It is one of the best courses in Wisconsin. That is why I chose to run our 2017 Tour Finale there.” Mike Batka – Owner of Glide Disc Golf and Glide Series Director
The WI Disc Golf Tour is the biggest tour in Wisconsin. It includes 17 Professional Disc Golf Association sanctioned tournaments. Sanctioning gives tournaments credibility and provides standard rules and etiquette. The tournaments are spread out from March through October. They take place in 25 different communities as some of the tournaments use 3 or 4 courses. The tour serves players of all ages and genders, with the largest age group being 20 to 44 years of age. WI Disc Golf Tour has a solid 25-year history that hosts tournaments from Kenosha to Superior; Manitowoc to Sparta; Lac du Flambeau to Madison, and many places in between. Many of the top courses in the state are played, with experienced tournament directors and clubs running each event.
Tournaments must possess a number of qualities to be invited to participate in the tour. The qualities include having a challenging course, a respected tournament director, proof of success, and extra amenities.
Brad Wendt is the director for the Wilderness Open. Since 1978, Brad has directed at least one tournament a year. He site-directed for the 1993 Ultimate Worlds, directed the 2003 Overall World Championship, as well as being the course director for two PDGA Worlds Championships.
The Wilderness Campground course is off to a great start and we expect it to be a top-notch tournament venue for years to come.