Cincinnati, OH

Embshoff Woods

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2.185(based on 14 reviews)
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10 0
madbrad
Experience: 21.8 years 4 played 4 reviews
3.00 star(s)

Simple but likeable drive by

Reviewed: Played on:Feb 19, 2023 Played the course:2-4 times

Pros:

Played on a warm February day and it wasn't muddy.

Hard to lose a disc. Grass is short and woods don't come into play except on really wild throws

Baskets have been fixed up some with new chains where needed

Holes 1 and 5 are technical. 1 requiring a low and straight shot between and under the branches of two imposing trees or a powerful hyzer to get around the right one and back to the middle.

5 will take a big anhyzer sneaking between a large tree and the woods to reach basket uphill and to the right. This one is the best on the course.

Others holes, avoid 1 tree and you'll have a putt.

7 or 8, don't remember which, has forehand written all over it

Cons:

Teepads are asphalt and wonky. They can become slick. They have waves and divots. But they are long, so there are good sections that suffice for a run up. Only one of them is really bad.

Baskets are a minor minus. Most are small and some are low or leaning, but how good of baskets do you really need for a quaint little course?

Asphalt around the baskets is rough on discs, but does prevent the circle of mud. Maybe courses of the future can use rubber playground material

Other Thoughts:

Worth a stop if you're in the area and have a park pass.

Lots of woods border the course and I think holes that play through them could be added.

Family friendly because it's a short and simple course.
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18 0
Luckj
Gold level trusted reviewer
Experience: 6.2 years 65 played 50 reviews
1.50 star(s)

Needs a Makeover in a Big Way 2+ years

Reviewed: Updated: Played on:Jan 17, 2021 Played the course:once

Pros:

-Easy to navigate, each tee is within 50' of the previous basket
-Nice elevation changes. This is the best feature of the course as the course plays back and forth over some rolling hills.
-A few trees that force you to hit a line on most tee shots.
-Good place to practice basic shot shaping
-Plenty of parking that overlooks the entire course
-Steady Ed course with a classic feel, having been in place since 1983
-Bathrooms and shelters easily accessible
-Entire course takes 30 minutes to play solo, good for a practice round especially because the course is generally empty

Cons:

-This has to start with the state of the baskets. The old Mach 1s are beat up and falling apart. a few have a chain or two that has come free. At least 2 had the basket sitting no more than a foot of the ground. Many were bent or leaning. These are the worst baskets I've seen on a functional course.
-Speaking of baskets, each basket it surrounded by a concrete circle, around 3 feet in radius. Perfect for beating up your disc on every upshot.
-Just as bad as the baskets are the teepads. The old asphalt teepads are warped and slippery. Nearly everyone is sloped downhill. Don't even bother throwing from them.
-There's a few areas off the fairway that can be pretty rough
-Pars are a relic from a bygone era, 280' par 5s definitely don't fit modern disc golf.
-Fairways play close to each other, especially holes 1-3 and 7-9.

Other Thoughts:

There is only one glaring error in this course, but it's the thing that makes disc golf playable. The baskets and teepads are just awful. I would have given 1 more star if these were updated, especially as this course actually makes good use of the property. As it is, there's just not a lot of reason to come back to this course unless your in the area and looking for a lunch round.
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9 0
Qikly
Diamond level trusted reviewer
Experience: 11.7 years 181 played 148 reviews
1.50 star(s)

2+ years drive by

Reviewed: Played on:Jul 24, 2017 Played the course:once

Pros:

Embshoff Woods is a short hillside 9-holer that benefits from the constant elevation changes it plays across. The hillside is dotted with trees, forcing some basic but still fun line shaping, and is open enough to allow most holes to be attacked in several ways. That said, there's enough nuance and variation here that you'd benefit from a FH/BH versatile game, and there is some semblance of technical play despite the course's overall casualness. The holes are all par 3s and sub-300', lending the course to a quick, light round.

Navigation is easy, parking is ample.

Cons:

Embshoff Woods is in rough repair, perhaps not surprising given the course's age (37 years at the time of this review!) and humble nature. The grass seems like it can get a bit thick and the rough is absolutely brutal. Baskets and tees are also in poor shape. Given that the elevation changes are significant enough to cause an errant throw to go awry, the disc-swallowing rough makes it harder to recommend this course for newer players to learn on, which it'd otherwise be perfect for given it occupying a sweet spot in terms of technicality.

The course is small and short, with score separation largely dependent on whether or not you make your birdie. More experienced players may enjoy touching a piece of disc golf history, as the course was originally designed by Steady Ed, but they otherwise won't find much they haven't seen before.

Fairways run pretty close together, so an errant throw from one group could definitely impinge on another. Keep your head on a swivel if it's at all busy.

Other Thoughts:

Embshoff Woods has an old-school feel and was for me an enjoyable bag as part of a larger day trip to the area. Worth a quick stop for sure, even if it won't tempt you to return.
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1 2
preludedrew
Experience: 16.8 years 82 played 43 reviews
3.50 star(s)

Embshoff Woods 2+ years drive by

Reviewed: Played on:May 4, 2013 Played the course:once

Pros:

A breezy, very well done 9 hole course that you can do with a friend in about a half hour if your quick enough. Still a great 9 hole with a wonderful layout, perfectly placed trees, with steady rolling hills.

Cons:

The baskets are lowered to compensate for wind, and some of grass needs cut.

Other Thoughts:

A nice, well made 9 hole you can play through quickly.
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7 0
Jimb
Gold level trusted reviewer
Experience: 17.1 years 126 played 54 reviews
2.00 star(s)

Old and Fun 2+ years

Reviewed: Played on:Jul 22, 2012 Played the course:2-4 times

Pros:

A lot of fun in just a little space. The course is in a nice looking park with some other amenities. There are picnic tables, pavilions, a playground, bathrooms, etc. And it's just a short drive from downtown Cincinnati and Northern KY.

The course starts and ends right beside the parking lot. It makes a nice circuit around and across a small valley. The valley is made up mainly of nice grass and mature trees. The outer edges are made up of thick shrubs and brush. The fairways are defined by a shorter cut of grass. The day that I played, the grass and rough was very nicely manicured.

Course navigation is very easy, even without a map, as you can basically see each of the next tees from the previous basket. If you have a map, then there's no reason to have any trouble.

The tees are blacktop. They're close enough to grade and big enough for the length of the course. (However, there are cons listed below, too.)

I appreciate that several holes really require you to shape your shots. The length is relatively short, (I throw level drives about 325' consistently to give an idea of my perspective.) but I wasn't just throwing simple RHBH hyzers the whole time. I enjoyed the opportunity to shape S-Curves, Anhyzers, Hyzer-Flips and dead straight line drives with my mid-ranges and putters. Actually, I only threw one Hyzer off of the tee.

The holes are excellent practice for mid-range and putter drives for me. And I think that it would play well for beginners, too (with one major exception listed in the cons below). Since the holes play more across the slopes, than up and down them, the walk isn't too strenuous either, as long as you take it easy. So if you're not in good shape, you could still probably play the course without too much trouble.

Cons:

The age of the course is clearly showing in the baskets and tees. The baskets could be the biggest drawback for beginners. I would hate to have people turned away from the game due to the inconsistency in the baskets.

Some baskets are low, almost sitting on the ground. Others are at normal height. They all have single chains that don't take to hard putts very well. And the #5 basket is coming apart at the welds and the chain assembly is bent. The hole #2 basket is also labeled with #9 on it, which was a bit confusing as the hole #9 basket is labeled properly.

A couple tees are splitting apart, leaving bad gaps in the blacktop. And most aren't level, with a couple on pretty steep downhill grades.

And then there's the subject of the weird 6' circles of blacktop around the pins. Not even counting the toll that this could take on your plastic, it creates weird skips and roll aways. I understand not wanting to have to weed-whack around baskets, but mulch can take care of this without the drawbacks.

If you require bomb holes, this course isn't for you. There wasn't a single hole that I couldn't reach with a mid or putter. Since the course plays over grassy fairways and just around big trees, it's not very technical (or difficult). While the holes playing across the slopes, vs. up and down them, makes the course easier to traverse it also left me wanting a downhill bomb to throw. I don't feel that the layout takes great advantage of the on site elevation change available. There's no water in play... except that the holes in the lowest part of the valley probably get very wet & sloppy when it rains.

Normally you have to pay $3. It's not big deal to me. But I know that some people frown upon pay courses/parks. When I was there, a maintenance guy told me that if there was no ranger in the park station, then you didn't have to pay. So I didn't have to pay (at 6:45 in the morning).

Other Thoughts:

I can't believe that this course was installed in 1981. I was playing target golf with a Frisbee in the early 80s and didn't even know that there was such thing as "real" Disc Golf. If I had played this course then, I would have been totally blown away.

Still, I found the course very enjoyable. It was a quick, simple, relaxing play for me. As I mentioned before, it was good practice for mids and putters. I really liked that I only got to throw one Hyzer off of the tee. I've played courses where every hole was a Hyzer, so this course was very refreshing in that sense.

If the baskets could be upgraded, it would immediately raise my rating of the course by half a point. And I don't mean replacing the baskets. If they could simply all be set to the same height that would help. And if #5 could be welded back together it would be nice. If they wanted to add a set of inner chains, that would be icing on the cake. I do appreciate the old baskets in the context of this old course.

Highlight holes for me include: Hole #5, possibly the simplest hole on the course. It's just a simple, basically level, dead straight shot at 248' that plays across a small depression. It's lined by trees on the right and to the back and is more or less open on the left. It looks like a ball golf hole to me. Sometimes I don't know why a hole is a favorite. This is one of those holes. I just really liked it.

And hole #8... There's a nice, reasonably tight, gap between two large trees midway down the fairway. The pin sits over a little hump and down a little hill. Unfortunately, the gap is obscured by a bunch of dead branches hanging from the right tree in the middle of the gap. There is an alternate route to the hole, a Hyzer line that you can get to, but the obvious line just needs to be cleaned up.

I was only in the area for two days. I got to play Idlewild in KY once and then this course. I could have played Idlewild twice instead, but don't regret going around Embshoff at all. I genuinely appreciate this "classic."

Would I go a long way out of my way to play the course... no. But that doesn't mean that it wasn't fun. I would hope that any disc golfer could enjoy the course for what it is, just a simple, old course.
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10 0
sisyphus
Diamond level trusted reviewer
Experience: 12.6 years 397 played 383 reviews
1.50 star(s)

Nice hilly nine 2+ years

Reviewed: Updated: Played on:Sep 15, 2014 Played the course:5+ times

Pros:

This course dates back to the 'Steady' Ed Headrick days of the development of the sport, and is therefore appropriately scaled for the casual to recreational player of today. All nine holes are between 210 and 278 feet, but make excellent use of the elevation and the trees left in the clearing of the 600x600 space they had to work with.
When the foliage is thick in the summer, there are clearly intended flight paths including hyzers, annies, and S-shots, but none of the baskets are much uphill from the tees. Most of the time, the hills are in the fairway, and make for a decent mini workout as you play. I say mini, as I'm a fairly big guy, and appreciate being able to work on my conditioning in small doses like this.
Holes 1, 2 & 3 work back and forth down across the first slope, then the (feature?) 4th hole bends right around a summertime blind (foliage) steep valley. #5 seems longer than it really is (for me) because I worry too much about the thick and thorny bushes to the right of the fairway. 6, 7 & 8 go back and forth across the lowland coming back to the parking lot to finish on 9. #7 can punish an errant drive because the fairway narrows at the end between some substantial bushes.
The park has the usual shelters, bathrooms, and a water fountain across the drive, and soccer, volleyball, and a newer kids playground nearby, so there are activities for the family. I've seen a shuttered concession stand, but I'm not sure when/if its opened. The course has plenty of trash cans, and a couple of benches at the start. There is a good course sign with a map, but the only tee signs are the 'medallion' style plaques on the ground by the asphalt tees (not concrete, as the course home page says).
The maintenance is good, as they mow the fairways regularly, and keep the rough (longer grasses and clover: watch out for the plethora of bees in the summer if you're sensitive to them) in fairly good shape, so you don't lose a disc often. They recently marked off dangerous fallen branches after a storm, and clear them as soon as they can.
The course has never been crowded when I've been there.

Cons:

My top complaint (aside from the fact that they used asphalt pads around the baskets in Hamilton County parks) is that the baskets are really old and inconsistent. Single chains combine with weak, shallow baskets and variable heights (including variations in the 'drop' between the chains and the basket) to rob you of some decent shots. Some go through, some (including what should have been my first ace) simply bounce out. Not important, but the second basket has a plate that says '9'.
The asphalt tees are becoming very worn and cracked.
It is possible to get over into the parallel fairways, which could be a problem if ever crowded.

Other Thoughts:

Hamilton county park passes are $3/day, but only $10/year with coupons and access to all the parks, including several area DG courses.

Edit 9/15/14: Though the parks department continues to maintain the grasses and the edges of the shrubbery pretty well, the Emerald Ash Borer and other tree issues has meant removal of at least a half dozen of the trees that formerly limited your lines of flight. So a tight little course has become more open. If folks actually played it, it might be a little more dangerous in the past year or so. They even cut out the shrubs between the 7th basket and the 8th tee, so the latter is in play for the tee shot from 7. But I think folks don't play it much because the tee pads and baskets are incredibly dilapidated. Had to realistically drop a half rating point as a result.
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4 2
Jason Kerl
Experience: 37.7 years 56 played 3 reviews
2.00 star(s)

Old and it shows 2+ years drive by

Reviewed: Played on:May 19, 2005 Played the course:5+ times

Pros:

Good practice course for your mids and putters. Course is usually pretty empty.
Also a good course for beginners.

Cons:

If you are an experienced player by any means, this course is not worth the drive. However if you live near the course go practices your approach shots.

Other Thoughts:

I do however remember when this course was pretty good in Cincinnati. Now with over 30 courses in the area it is now in the bottom 5
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12 0
tistoude
Gold level trusted reviewer
Experience: 15.7 years 198 played 60 reviews
2.00 star(s)

Old School 2+ years

Reviewed: Played on:Oct 26, 2010 Played the course:once

Pros:

The Embshoff course is located in a nice little park that has a lot of amenities and tons of other stuff to do. The course itself has baskets and paved tees for every hole and there are clearly defined fairways that look to be regularly mowed. Even though this is an extremely dated and easy 9 hole course a couple of holes were not just straight easy shots and at least a little thought went into protecting a couple pins. There is also a little bit of elevation that is used most of the holes of this course. Another pro is that this course does not appear to get much play so you can have it all to your self. Layout is easy to follow and would be great for beginners to learn on.

Cons:

First off this course is outrageously easy, you could go nine down (playing them all as par threes) with just a buzzz and a putter. Every basket has a 6 ft asphalt circle around it that will rip your discs to shreds if you land on it on your drive. I have no idea why this asphalt seemed like a good idea but it is terrible. It can even chunk up premium plastic. The baskets themselves are very run down and are put in at strange heights. There are a couple at around normal height but others are pretty much sitting on the ground or a foot off the ground. The park itself is two dollars per car to enter or a 10 annual membership and I cannot decide if this was worth paying to play this course.

Other Thoughts:

This course is old. I think it was designed in 1981 or somewhere around then, and it definitely shows. There are holes that are under 200 ft that are listed as par fours and all the holes are scrunched in together. It is a nice course to work on accurate putter driving or to take a beginner to. This is a very fast play. My friend and I knocked out 18 holes without rushing in about 35 minutes. I appreciate that the course upkeep continues and I think it would be a good course to bring my young nephews to but I cannot see myself making a return trip otherwise.
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7 2
pughdogs
Experience: 15.9 years 145 played 2 reviews
2.50 star(s)

Not 2 Bad 2+ years drive by

Reviewed: Played on:Mar 15, 2010 Played the course:2-4 times

Pros:

-Located in a beautiful park
-Nice cut fairways
-Good use of area
-Concrete Tees

Cons:

-Old crappy baskets
-Tees are cracked and not level
-A little tight; could easily land in a different fairway

Other Thoughts:

I liked this course. It's not tournament worthy by any means, but I had fun practicing all kinds of shots. There's no one around during the week, so I could throw as many discs as I wanted. It's a great course for beginners to learn and better players to practice, and I'm sure there's a way to safari and make up another 9 holes. It's a little off the beaten path to drive for me, but I'll definitely be back to work on my game.
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2 4
richardmmill
Experience: 21.8 years 48 played 17 reviews
1.50 star(s)

Embshoff Woods 2+ years drive by

Reviewed: Played on:Aug 7, 2009 Played the course:2-4 times

Pros:

Good elevation change. Good course for new players. Nice tee concrete tee pads.

Cons:

Not very challenging. Flow is just back and forth almost the whole way. Not very exciting very monotonous. Hole after hole seem to be the same. Not kept well the times I have played the grass has been so long, you could throw a disc in the grass and never find it.
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6 0
tbird888
Premium Member
Experience: 19.1 years 226 played 5 reviews
2.00 star(s)

Trick Shot Practice 2+ years drive by

Reviewed: Played on:Jul 4, 2009 Played the course:5+ times

Pros:

• Short little nine holer that plays different lines than most courses in area
• Well-placed trees reward finesse shots over brute force (RHBH hyzer lines are non-existent for the most part)
• Easy to navigate

Cons:

• Generally very easy
• Baskets are in poor shape - this course is more practice over competition, though
• The high grass that shares space with the well-trimmed fairways can swallow discs, even when you see them hit the ground.

Other Thoughts:

There really isn't much to say about this course. It's nice to approach a local course differently, but it's pretty much suffering from an identity crisis. It's a fun course but way too easy for the intermediate player. It's not a beginner course either because of the high grass that punishes errant shots. It does manage to entertain while allowing me to squeeze thirty-six holes into three hours. If it weren't so close to my home, I wouldn't have given it a chance.
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2 3
eck_03
Experience: 21.9 years 14 played 5 reviews
1.50 star(s)

Oh the grass 2+ years drive by

Reviewed: Played on:Feb 10, 2009 Played the course:2-4 times

Pros:

This course is a acceptable course if you are in delhi for a while or just need a break from some other courses in the area.

Cons:

The holes are short without obstacles, the only real challenge is to keep your disk out of the >2' tall grass around the course. This course would be great for beginners if it was not for this grass, I know of 3 friends that have lost disks in the honeysuckle but I have found 1.
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5 2
Andy Hlavac
Experience: 35 played 20 reviews
3.00 star(s)

Rolling Hills... 2+ years drive by

Reviewed: Played on:Sep 18, 2008 Played the course:once

Pros:

This course is set in the Embshoff Nature Preserve 10 miles from downtown Cincinnati and the scenery is great. There are no billboards or gas stations around, just a grassy carpet covering rolling hills and strategically placed oaks & elms. The holes are situated in the middle of a hilly bowl and you can pretty much see the whole course from #1 (which is perched at the top of the bowl).

Cons:

Unfortunately, this course is not very challenging. Many of the holes are short and dead ahead. It reminds me a lot of Miami Whitewater for those of you from Cincinnati.

Also, the baskets are old, shallow, and rickety, with only on "layer" of chains, so putting can be an adventure.

Also, it's only nine holes...just a taste of what this course could/should be...

Other Thoughts:

Worth a visit, but not spectacular.
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3 3
volleyballnick
Experience: 29 years 12 played 12 reviews
3.00 star(s)

2+ years drive by

Reviewed: Played on:Jul 12, 2008 Played the course:never

Pros:

Easily navigated, short holes great for beginners, very difficult to lose a disc. Well placed trees make for a slightly challenging course for experienced players if holes are played as par 3s.

Cons:

Longest hole is only 270 ft, the grass is not cut as often as it should be, holes are almost all rated as par 4s when they should all be 3s.Requires a hamilton county park pass which is $5 a year or $3? a day.

Other Thoughts:

A great place to play if you don't have much time on your hand or are just starting off in the sport. Not overly challenging but still a fun round.
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