What a labor of love. Ken has clearly put a lot of thought and effort into the course. I believe he said it's on its second iteration, though it may be more than that. The course is very nicely maintained: grass immaculately mowed, no hangers in the fairway, no trash (pack it in, pack it out), the hippos are painted and cute.
The course offers a pretty good blend of holes in terms of length and looks. It favors those with a RHBH (my lefty brother-in-law had a rough go on some holes), but in terms of factors such as length and overall shape of holes. Ken has done a nice job making every hole have a unique feel. You'd have a hard time referring to holes by their number, but it's easy to talk about holes by their unique shape or by interesting holes that preceded or followed certain holes ("I lost my Eagle after that long par 5 that followed the road.").
In a similar vein, I was delighted by how well-guarded the baskets were. None of the baskets were in a Fort Knox-situation, but every basket had *at least* some kind of sentry that will make you carefully consider your approach.
It's bizarre to list a person under the 'pro' column for a DG course, but Ken (or perhaps somebody Ken trusts) shows you around, gives you tips, and, if you're lucky, throws with you. (Ken threw his first ever hole in one with my group!) He's good company, and he's happy just to walk along or play.
The course has solid elevation change. It's not a ski course or anything, but it's no joke for the Midwest. Ken did a nice job making dips and rises a part of the course, not just scenery. The longer tee boxes (see my next pro) often have a similar throw as the closer/easier teebox but you've got a different look because of a rise or maybe more hill/elevation to battle.
I saved my favorite pro for last. Ken has 3 teeboxes on every hole, and they really are different looks. I don't like it when harder tee boxes are just +50 feet. As I mentioned a moment ago, sometimes a harder teebox has a rise. Sometimes there's a gap to hit. Sometimes there's a whole corner to work around. I ended up playing the whites on the back 9 while the rest of the group stuck with the reds. It was markedly more challenging; I didn't throw a single birdie after I swapped.

Before I start listing cons, it's very, very important to note that most of these cons are built in by Ken's deliberate decision. Objectively, they are absolutely cons, but I 100% respect Ken for choosing to set up HIS COURSE the way that he has.
There is literally no signage. The only painted wood you're going to see around the course are the hippos. You *need* Ken to show you the course. You could probably figure out the layout for most of the course if this were some kind of public course, but I recommend paying very careful attention when Ken shows you around if you plan on coming back. This also means you don't have a sense of where baskets are or how long certain holes are. I stopped throwing any big distance drivers unless I could see the basket.
The teeboxes are all natural. Ken has done an excellent job with them, and none of us slipped. Some are still a work in progress, but those that are complete are manicured: they're shaped and brushed (maybe raked?).
Ken kindly let us know what par was on each hole, but I disagreed with some of his choices. I get that this is NBD since it takes you however many throws that it takes you to finish the course. I'll spare you my theories on par, but there were several par 3.5 holes on the course. More than once I absolutely shanked a drive (couldn't hit a line to save my life that day) and still "saved par" on par 4's and par 5's. I said earlier that I played from the white tees on the back 9, and this still happened once or twice.
This course favors righty's. I mentioned it earlier in the pro section, but it definitely merits mentioning again.

I prefer to rate a course after several plays, but with only 2 reviews I wanted to chime in! I think if this course had 100 reviews, it would end up being rated about a 3.9+. It has some *wonderful* features, and I really liked Ken and his beautiful property. But the aspects that Ken has chosen to keep off of his property would lower ANY disc golf course's rating at least one full point. That being said, anybody who rates this course lower than a 3.5 would be a fool. I'm sure some folks would give me side-eye for rating it a 3.5 instead of a 4 (or higher!).

We drove almost 2 hours from north of Columbus to play this course. I'm not sure anything but a championship-caliber course would get me to regularly drive a couple of hours to play, so Hippo Ridge wasn't quite worth the 4 hour commute. That being said, I'd totally do a 90 minute (total) commute to play this puppy. I have a little "test" I ask myself: How would my game evolve if this were my home course? The answer is that I'd develop a nice range of shots, a good drive, and a solid approach game (thanks to the 3.5 pars). I'd also have a damn good time every time I played.

Random aside: I would *love* to play a tournament at this course.

This is Ken's decision, but he has essentially "hidden" this course from sites like DGCR and Udisc. You *must* reach out to him via Facebook (I think only FB?) to get the proper address. He's retired (I'm assuming based on his age and the time and attention he can pay the course), and he's happy to find some time for you. Once you've played the course once, and Ken doesn't think you're a dumbass, you get to play it just by shooting him a quick message and letting him know when you're coming. Not a bad deal.

- Four tee areas for every hole
- Professional model baskets (Mach 3 or 5 I believe)
- Excellent use of land and elevation
- Varied shot selection
- Well maintained of debris
- Gracious host

- I don't live closer
- can get muddy

Normally I'd say that things like no concrete tees or signage would be a con, but seeing as how this is a private course, that can be overlooked.