[DiscinOhio]

Join the discussion about Xavier University

 

[geebob]

Winton Woods now has a contender… for the par 2 crown!
Pros:
The new course on Xavier University's campus is a fun putter / ace run 18 for all players at and above the Recreational level, and is now a contender for the area's crown jewel of par 2 courses. Beginning at the cross section of nice paved paths in the green space just east of the Cintas Center, there's enough parking available to bring a few thousand of your friends (off campus: stay on Montgomery Road & park behind Joseph VW at the back of that enormous lot). There are currently boxed mulch tees and new Discatcher baskets, each with a laminated next tee arrow under the cage.

I'm a Xavier employee and have been working for a few months to get some improvements made to the course. If anyone has any questions or suggestions, please contact me. I don't think the college will make any huge improvements (budgets are tight and students are not pouring in to play disc golf), but I can try to make sure the course is maintained and maybe get some signage added.

Just a few updates to Sisyphus's excellent review:

The tees are now mostly astroturf and fairly level. #15 tee is an issue and I've asked Physical Plant to try to make it less dangerous. Since most players won't need a big run-up, I'd say the tees are adequate. I'm working on getting the "Next Tee" signs replaced on baskets without them.

In the summer, the challenge here is that the lines of flight are sometimes blind over the natural grasses, shrubs, and built-in Out of Bounds edges of sidewalks and pavement. But even playing strict OB, a 900 rated player should expect to shoot 40 or under for the full course (which can be fun…)

Intermediate to advanced players should treat the tall grass (natural landscaping) as a hazard (play where it lands with a one stroke penalty) on holes other than #7. Hopefully I can at least get hole info on a website so players see what they are up against.

Cons:
Even then, the chance of someone newer to the sport losing a disc in the grasses may be a bit high, and without a map, the fact that you might see as many as six baskets at a time might lead to some real confusion (I drew up a map here).

Yes, the natural areas can be pretty dense in late Spring and early Summer. The honeysuckle behind the basket on #4 and the bushes in the middle of #7 are also notorious disc eaters. September through April is better as the natural areas get paths worn in and the leaves get a little thinner on the bushes. I'm also going to ask them to trim the bush in front of the teebox on #12 which will make the hole easier than I'd like, but the obstructed shot near two busy sidewalks is a safety worry for me.

Furthermore, there will be times when you may throw over the edges of parking lots (where the Norwood Police do seem to hang out keeping an eye on those strange guys going to the back of this massive parking area), sidewalks, and around said shrubs and rough.

Most of the police around the course are Xavier police, who will ticket (and occasionally tow) aggressively. You can get a visitor parking permit from the Xavier police in Flynn Hall (on Cleneany Ave./Musketeer Dr.) or park on the street near hole #3 or in the Norwood Plaza retail area. Or you could park at Listermann's on Dana, walk to #1, and plan to enjoy a craft brew after finishing your round.

If you are playing during a weekday, you may want to pause play during class changes on holes near sidewalks to let the traffic die down.

I wasn't a huge fan of the mulch tees

Thankfully, those are now gone! There is one gravel tee remaining (#13) and I have requested that it be leveled.

In all, this is not a bad course at all. There is a tiny bit of elevation to create some variety, and they grabbed all they could get. If you're just a beginner, and you come after the weeds die back (the cooler half of the year), this might be a lot of fun. But you veterans: I mean fun, like a day at a putt-putt is fun.

Agreed, athough on really windy days and playing with the OOB and hazards, it can be a tricky course. Add a roll-away to OOB on #7 or #8 and it might even be slightly humbling.

 

[sisyphus]

Thank You for all this info geebob! My buddy and I love playing Xavier on a weekend morning, just like we'll go out of our way to play Birdie Bashes and ace Races. Lots of fun!

I can tell you designed for fun and safety. I sometimes wonder if a touch of paint (white hash marks) and a sign might at least let folks know not to park right at the green on 6, but they'll probably ignore that anyway.

When we were last out there, they had a wavy line of stakes down the side of the bigger field (saying, 'constr limit' or some such. Path? Future building? It just looks like it might be another time the university might force some changes on you? If so (and I hate to say it...) have you ever considered a number of holes other than 18? I'm kind of fond of courses that consider the variety available by using dual baskets and dual tees but only having to define and maintain nine 'fairways'.

 

[geebob]

Thanks! Really glad that you enjoy the course and have put up some amazing scores. Despite throwing discs for a few decades, I still consider myself a novice working to become an intermediate player, so feedback from better players is important.

I had absolutely nothing to do with the course design or construction. I saw some baskets a few years ago and thought that someone had just installed a few practice baskets. I didn't even realize it was a full course until about a year ago. Communication is really a thing here.

As far as I know (see above), the University is still deciding where to put the new College of Osteopathic Medicine which has been approved, but is still in the planning stages. I think anyone with a tape measure could tell you that the big field where #13-#18 are is the most likely location with the Norwood Plaza area being about the only other option. My guess is that those stakes have something to do with that plan. I would not mind seeing #14-#17 go away as they really don't provide much. About the only other space for holes is along Victory Parkway, with some pretty cool possibilities there, albeit a loooong walk from the existing course.

My biggest hope for the course is to get enough students interested to start a club sport or student organization. That's about the only way that we'll have any dedicated money to improve the course. I'm going to try to run a few "learn to play" events next semester and also sponsor the course in our "March Gladness" giving event. In the meantime, I'll be working on a course webpage that will have information about learning disc golf and course information.

Very best,
Jeff

 

[geebob]

Just a quick update. Tee #15 has been moved to the bottom of the hill and is now level and safe. Tees #13 and #14 have been rebuilt and have new turf installed. Directional signage pointing to next tees will be completed this week.