Pros:
Steubenville is a quiet city that features Beatty Park , a scenic park that has a section that looks almost to be cut out for disc golfers and walkers . There is a small basketball court just beyond the basket for hole #1 . There is a small parking lot just beyond the entrance to the park . A pretty good bathroom sits next to the tee pad at #8 . There is a kiosk near the parking lot , with a little disc golf information , but no course map . There are benches next too it .
THE EQUIPMENT -- The kiosk is worn , but nice . It needs a map , though . There is a practice basket lined up in the fairway of hole #1 ( I'll address in Cons ) . The tee pads are a mixed bag . Some are cement , others are carpet , a couple are natural . The signs are nice and informative ( and needed ) . The baskets are older Chainstars . Most are in decent condition . There are red arrows on the bottom of the baskets to direct you to the next tee , along with yellow and green arrows on trees . Some railings on a few of the holes are a big help . You would fall if it was muddy , otherwise
THE LANDSCAPE -- I checked out some of the previous reviews and concur with them . The park is on one scenic piece of property . The disc golf course takes up most of it . The course sits in a valley , with the course playing in the middle and on the sides of it . There are a good amount of trees present that are going to force you to shape your shots . There is a main creek that runs down the center of the park , and will come into play several times . There is also a side creek on a couple of the holes to the right of the course . The creek is shallow , and you won't lose any discs in them . I think that the park doesn't cut back branches or cut some grassy areas is to make some holes more of an obstacle . There is some nice amounts of elevation here , from elevated tee pads , to baskets on hillsides , throwing off of sloping hills . Even if you aren't overly impressed with the layout , you will enjoy the walk .
THE HIGHLIGHTS -- There are a couple of holes that will interest you .
#7 , only 191' ( seemed longer ) , to a raised basket sitting near the hillside on the left .
#8 Worth mentioning , because there is a shelter next to the tee pad that has a cool stone mural worth checking out .
#9 Tee pad is on the bridge and throws straight up a hill on the left . It is only 258' , but it plays more like 320 + . If you don't clear the green or hillside and end up short or cut the hill too soon , your disc will either roll down the hill ( like mine did ) , or you will end up in heavy brush .
#14 , 413' . The longest hole runs alongside the slope and has a tight fairway . Expect a ricochet and you disc sloping left and sliding downhill some .
#18 is a nice ending hole . Another tight fairway with heavy trees , which doglegs left and downhill ( 396' )
SIGNATURE HOLE -- The signature hole for me was #10 289' . Running up to a plateau and leveling off , the basket is placed in a tight area to the left . Many might prefer the next hole ( #11 ) because of it's length ( 396' ) and the older structure near the basket . The quiet of this area and the remnants of the building might remind you of the Blair Witch Project .
THE TIME -- The course isn't overly long at just over 5000' , but there are time consuming walks over creeks , and between holes , besides looking for discs on hillsides . It took me 75 minutes to play solo . Group of 4 will take just over 2 hours , maybe 2:15 .
You may have the course to yourself , like I did this Saturday morning ( 9 o'clock ) . Enjoy the sounds of nature , and your walk .
Make sure you wear sturdy shoes and use bug spray . The insects can be bad around creek beds , and you will sweat going up and downhill so much .
Cons:
#1 SAFETY -- Yikes ! The practice basket sits in the flight path to the #1 basket . What an oddity . How would you like to get drilled by someone teeing off while you walk to grab your putter out of the basket . You also tee off on #4 and go right over the fairway to #1 . Scary , if you have a family on #4 or a newbie , and you are heading up toward your initial drive on 1 . There are some treacherous walks , crossing creeks without bridges , retrieving discs down hard sloping creeks and hillsides . Make sure you wear sturdy hiking shoes if you have them . The footing is bad at the creek .
#2 EQUIPMENT -- I can understand not wanting to lug concrete up some of these places , but the carpet tees are worn and there needs to be some consistency concerning tee pads . The raised basket on #7 is bent at the top , along with a couple of other baskets in need of repair or straightening . Steps , cement , wood or cut into the ground , would help on several of the holes .
#3 DISC RISK -- There is no risk of losing your disk to water , but since the trees can force ricochets , the holes can be deceptively long , it would be easy for your disc to slide under some leaves on a hillside . The grass is high in spots , like hole #10's fairway . Thickets and high weeds will claim your disc , too . If you have lighter colored discs , use the on this course .
#4 CHALLENGE -- Some may not like the challenge , here . Several of the holes play short with easier lanes , some fairways are just downright hard . I am not sure who the target audience is . Very tough for the new or occasional player , but if you are avid , or skilled , you may want to explore somewhere else .
#5 THE ELEMENTS -- It would be almost impossible to play this course with a light snow , or after a good rainfall . Elevation , or just getting to from tee pads would be tough , including crossing the creeks if the overflow .
Expect some long walks to some of the tee pads . 8-9 and 9-10 come to mind right away .
Other Thoughts:
As far as sheer beauty , this course ranks high . Sitting between 2 hillsides , it offers 18 holes of pleasurable disc golf .
This is a place that you could buy or pack a lunch , and eat it at the nice stone pavilion next to tee pad 8 . There are just a couple of holes that I would throw out or redesign . This is the type of course that you would grow up on and learn from .
As much as I think there is more potential here , I just don't know how you would fit it in the area that is here . Maybe some equipment upgrades ? a couple of bridges , steps and more railings could be a good start .
MY RECOMMENDATION -- The terrain might be a little testy for the family or the newbie ( unless the newer player wants to turn around at #10 ) . This is a solid local course for the Steubenville players to hang out . Even high schoolers to gather after school or on weekends . The main thing that intermediates and up will take away from this course is its natural beauty . This stop might be a little extreme for the traveler to use as a leg stretch when coming off of Rt 22 . The Course Collector will like that Beatty Park sits conveniently between Thompson , Chester and Tomlinson Parks to the north , and Bud Billiard , Wheeling Island , Memorial and Lynn Hunkler to the south . I wouldn't go terribly out of my way to play here , but if I was going through the area , this is a nice town with a gorgeous park . If it's dry , TRY IT !