Pros:
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>Original Steady Ed designed course.
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SUMMARY: A 'Steady Ed' original designed course, play it just to see what DG was 40 years ago. A shorter course for beginners/rec players nestled in a Hamilton County Park with a few hiking trails, a nature center, playground and splash park. The course has a large number of issues however, which prevent it from being well recommended, other than the Steady Ed factor. I would love to rate it higher, this is even my favorite style of course--park style, and it was still sort of fun, there are just too many issues. I actually had this as 1.75 stars, rounded up for Steady Ed factor. Felt I was playing back in time, early 80s perhaps.
Cons:
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>SAFETY: This is a VERY congested layout--if the course is busy, you may just want to try again some other time, as this is actually the first DG course I have ever played where I felt more than a trivial amount of being at risk of injury to myself or others. I heard "fore" or "heads up" more today than the last year combined for all courses played. Many teepads are 40' or less from the prior basket. Also, several pairs of fairways are adjacent, but more troubling is the teepads are caddy corner, so both holes are playing with another hole's teepad to the left (maybe 50-75') of the basket one is throwing to. If only ONE tee was doing that, you could just wait. But BOTH in these pairs are doing this. On some holes, you have to worry about 1) hitting someone on the teepad in front of you, 2) hitting someone on the fairway (sometimes two) next to you, and 3) BEING hit from the teepad behind you and/or the fairway or two next to you.
>Poor signage--no next tee signs, which on such a compact course can lead you the wrong direction. No basket numbers means you might throw to the wrong basket on a few holes.
>VERY busy on a Sunday--even though one pays to get in, every single hole had a group on it (not a tournament either).
> Teepads are quite slick--they are very worn down concrete, and seems to have a permanent coating of dirt on them. This caused a couple mis-throws before we started just using adjacent patches of grass/dirt. They are also quite old, and not the most level of surfaces. Looks like they have been there since the course inception.
>Baskets are in poor condition, some of the worst I've seen.
>Despite being a Steady Ed design, most of the holes are pretty straight throws, between 175-250'. Some turning and fading shots would have been nice, even on a shorter course.
>Though most fairways themselves are mostly clear (trees do play some minor part on most holes), the woods lining the fairways (seemingly always on the right for some reason) on about 8-10 holes are pretty rough, easy to see losing a disc with a bad grip lock for a RHBH player.
>Concrete on the ground surrounding the baskets on greens. Have seen this in a couple older courses in the Cincy area. A 250' throw landing there will definitely make any disc a bit more under stable going forward.
Other Thoughts:
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BASICS:
>Teepads--Poor condition concrete, we ended up using the dirt beside them as they were so worn down and slick.
>Baskets--Not sure, but they are quite old and a few were bent. Poor condition overall.
># holes--18
>Setting--Very nice local park.
>Elevation--Some small hills, nothing epic.
>Distance of holes--Short for the most part. Some distance variety, but really not much.
>Free/pay to play, type of course--Park entry fee required ($8 or $10 as I recall for non-locals, no extra fee to play).
>Ease of getting to--A bit off the beaten path, map would be helpful.
AMENITIES:
>Parking--Plenty
>Bathrooms--Yes, hole one.
>Water/food nearby--There is a snack shack at parking lot because there is a splash park there as well, not sure about hours of operation, likely just summertime.
>Clubhouse/disc shop--No.
>Benches--A few.
>Trash cans--A few.
>Bag holders--No.
>Tee signs--Just hole number.
>Next tee direction/signs--No.
>Wheelchair/cart friendly--No/Yes.
COURSE PLAY:
>Shot variety--Minimal, mostly straight shots, some with light fades left or right at the end. No real dog-legs to speak of.
>Layout, long walks (inc back to car), loops--Fairly straightforward, though course is very congested, and easy to head the wrong direction. A course map highly suggested.
>Total distance walked--1.4 miles.
>Ease of finding next tee--Tricky, map very useful.
>General difficulty--Easy.
>Mud/water issues--None this day, but it had been dry.
>Water or O/B to contend with--None except perhaps on bad shanks.
>Difficult rough/lost disc risk--Yes, the rough lining several holes is pretty thick. You will want to avoid that.
>Scrape/scratch risk--Medium.
>How busy was course/park--Jammed full, every hole. Granted this was a nice Sunday afternoon, but still…
OVERALL:
>Fun/enjoyment factor, would I play again? Despite my low rating, and all the cons, I would play again if in the area if I didn't think it would be busy (I do have an annual park pass, I wouldn't pay again to play it). My kids loved it, it is a great length for them.
>Who will this course challenge? Beginners, maybe rec players (to see if you can get double digit under par).
>Is it worth a drive? Only the Steady Ed designed factor.
>Anything unique? Steady Ed designed course.
>Would be an entire star higher with--Removing concrete on greens, removing safety issues, better baskets, teepads, and signage.
I am in my 50s, 105 or so courses played, 875ish.