Pros:
I seriously considered just copying and pasting Jeff's (sisyphus) review instead of writing my own. His review was that informative and spot on to what I observed. But then I realized that some of our more learned members, may in fact, notice that the two reviews were one and the same.
Reserves Park is a long, narrow parked squeezed in between a busy highway and a housing area. These houses' backyards border the park on one side. There are, at least, two signs asking you nicely to respect these folk's privacy and property. The park contains a small pond, walking path, picnic shelters, play areas and more.
The gate was locked when I arrived about 6:30 in the AM. It's easy to just walk around this gate. There were a couple of early morning walkers there. The gate officially are opened at 8 but were unlocked when I left about 7:30.
After playing # 2, I was standing on the walking paths making some notes when suddenly I was surprised by this older lady on a recumbent bicycle went flying by, think of a roided up Lance Armstrong going downhill in the tour. She bade me a cheery "Good Morning" after nearly giving me a heart attack. Had I taken one step out, she would have ran me over like a bug on a windshield. I would have been road kill!
The starts just right of where you enter the park. There is a kiosk complete with a lovely course map. The course plays around the perimeter of the park counter clockwise. The tee pads are made from the same rubberized material that is used under play equipment. Nice to know if I slip on my run up and fall on my face, I probably won't be scarred for life. The tee signs are nice colored ones showing the hole #, distance, par, a map and the next tee. 1 & 2 both have sponsors listed. I guess they only found two sponsors so far. How about some of you Cincinnatans pony up some of your wealth and sponsor the remaining 7 holes? And furthermore, how come when I play a simple, easy to follow course like this, they have all these wonderful navigational aids but when I play a densely wooded on 1000 acres of wilderness, there is not one next tee arrow is to be found? The baskets are DGA models with the red numbers.
The course is a simple, short rec/beginners course. Only two holes exceed 184'. But in spite of the very short distances here, there is some challenge and I found it to be quite enjoyable. Holes 2 & 3 both have some difficulty involved. # 2 has you throwing slightly uphill but your shot has to be threaded between a large clump of bushes and some trees. # 3 is kinda scary as you have to finesse your tee off between tall grassy areas and rough on three sides of the basket. Holes 1, 4, 5, 6, 7 and 9 are all fun little Ace runs. Most of them have some element of challenge, such as a low ceiling on # 5 or a slight hyser on 9 that make them so much fun. If I lived in one of these houses, I'd have more Aces than Cubbie and every one of them would be on one of these 6 little Ace run holes.
Cons:
The course's target audience is probably beginner although I believe lots of us would enjoy chasing aces here.
A couple of the wonderful rubberized tee pads are slanting ward with the slope of the hill. I prefer em flat.
Long walkout from 3 to 4.
I guess some discs could end up in the neighbors yards.
Other Thoughts:
I liked this little course a lot. It's not targeting advanced, intermediate or anyone who thinks they're pretty good. It's aimed at beginners, recreational players, youth, families, older players, bad players, albinos, anyone who doesn't take themselves seriously, lefties, course baggers, ace hunters, cross-eyed players and the occasional cousin from out of town. If you're able to check off, one or more of these boxes, then you might just enjoy this course. Happy aces!