Pros:
I finally got up to north central Ohio to play Reservoir Ridge and an event hosted by my friends Bob & Marnie Cundiff. Although it's a bit of a blur to review a course after a tournament day, I was in the only division to play all 24 holes from the longs and then the short tees, so I got a pretty good feeling for the layout. And it's a pretty darn good one.
Large enough, level, trapezoidal, concrete tees, fantastic, accurate, informative signage, and really solid Mach X baskets complement a design that focuses on variety and replay-ability. There's a little sampler of everything here to challenge players from Novice through Advanced: short, rolling elevations and slopes (most of which seemed to be gently downhill: Yay!), manageable water carries, tight wooded lines, bomber holes that need a little thought in order to avoid the drop off slopes, the rough, and the tall grassy areas that are marked as Out of Bounds because they're nature conservation areas. So skipping or rolling into the tall stuff won't lose you a disc, but will lose you a stroke if you're playing per the signs or in a tourney.
Now, you do have a few chances to put one in the water, even on ace runs like 7 (crosses 100 feet or so of water to hit a narrow tree gap) & 14 (downhill toward the reservoir), or on trickier touch shots like 10 (blind fade to the left, with the spillway drop off about 30' past) & 21 (plays beside the upper reservoir, in the wind, and to the elevated pedestal basket). Even your second (or third) shot on the longest hole (3) has a good chance of flying or rolling into the water about 100' short of the basket, on the right, with the steep hillside all down the left side of the fairway.
There's plenty of available parking (4 lots?), the acreage is pretty much just reserved for the disc golf course, and the maintenance appears to be top-notch. There are enough benches scattered throughout the course to give yourself a breather. And I think I mentioned variety, but didn't explain: there are about nine holes where you'll get to air it out quite a bit, nine that are truly tight, wooded and technical (but shorter), and about six more that are a little bit of controlled shot, but longer, and open to at least one side. In all, this is a very well thought out course!
Cons:
For the most part, the long tees add only distance (though a couple (11 & 24) do change the line you need to throw...they probably could've looked for more chances in this department). The technical holes slightly favor left to right lines, so if you're a rhbh player like me, bring your gentle, control, anny disc. It's odd that there weren't any trash cans on the course (there's one between hole 24 & 1, and a dumpster (not really too) near the shelter at hole 14). The flow of the course is good once you've 'got it', but you'll want a copy of the map with you if you're playing alone for the first time. Better to play with a veteran of the course, who can warn you of hazards you can't see off the tee. Finally, be careful on the metal grate bridge after 14 taking you into the woods. Most parks would require that big a drop to have handrails.
Other Thoughts:
Overall, Reservoir Ridge is a fun course with enough variety to entertain players from Novice on up. Open players might really shoot well, even if there are two legitimate par fours, but they still will be able to refine their skills here.
This is my 287th review, and I've played with folks from 7 to 87, so I try to write them so folks can decide whether a course is their cup of tea.