Columbus, OH

Brent Hambrick Memorial DGC

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3.815(based on 62 reviews)
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4 4
rocketmanlynn
Experience: 33.6 years 11 played 5 reviews
4.00 star(s)

Like this course a lot 2+ years drive by

Reviewed: Played on:Sep 15, 2020 Played the course:5+ times

Pros:

The Front 9 is mostly open with a variety of shots required.
The Back 9 is in a tree farm that has grown up since I played it a lot. They take advantage of natural terrain and several holes offer high risk / high reward. The long tees make some of the holes totally different.

Cons:

The course is really well worn and tired. I hate the added 9 holes and I am to the point where I won't play them. Some of the added pin placements only made the holes a lot longer, but not better.

Other Thoughts:

30 year old course where I was weened on disc golf. Still a decent course.
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5 2
TwietmeyerDG
Experience: 4 played 3 reviews
3.50 star(s)

Good course with lots of options 2+ years drive by

Reviewed: Played on:Mar 15, 2020 Played the course:5+ times

Pros:

+ Long and Short tees (Hooray variety)
+ Diverse holes allow for a variety of different throws
+ 18 hole Course can provide a good challenge while still being fun

Cons:

- The additional 9 holes are, on average, less fun than the standard 18 hole course. Some "lumberjack" holes are frustrating as they don't really reward you for a good shot and punish you hard if you miss in the slightest.
- Being next to the dam, wind plays a significant factor, but for those who like the challenge that might be a pro rather than a con

Other Thoughts:

I would rate the standard 18 holes alone as a 4.0.
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3 7
Zjaypo
Experience: 9.6 years 10 played 8 reviews
4.00 star(s)

Nice course 2+ years drive by

Reviewed: Played on:Jul 14, 2020 Played the course:once

Pros:

- great parking
- mix of wide open and not-too-challenging woods
- long and short tees
- option to do 18 or 27 holes

Cons:

- navigation is tough on a couple pins
- signs sometimes show other basket options not there
- keep an eye out for walkers/runners!
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9 0
ad166809
Bronze level trusted reviewer
Experience: 10.7 years 55 played 24 reviews
3.50 star(s)

Brent Hambrick 2+ years drive by

Reviewed: Played on:Aug 19, 2018 Played the course:2-4 times

Pros:

Course has really nice baskets that catch a lot.

I really like the nice concrete tee pads. Any place with concrete pads gets a little bonus for me. I also like that they have two pads on a lot of the holes.

This course has tons of benches and trash bins.

There are some epic holes out at Brent Hambrick. My favorite is probably #14. It winds through the woods and opens up at the pin. I much prefer the woods holes on this course other than the open front 9.

Restrooms were right next to parking. Much needed at a park course.

I think there was running water at the bathroom. Not completely sure but Im not going to give it a con because I dont know.

Great variety of hole distances at Brent Hambrick. This might be this courses best quality. Most the holes at out at Brent are actually birdieable which I like. These are not easy birdies though. The course will make you do some work to score low.

Lots of shots required here. I used XXX Opto, Shark, Buzz, Thunderbird, Krait and Nuke OS. I found myself driving with the Opto on almost every hole except a few with the Nuke. Shark if I was in a tight window, buzz if I needed to curve in the woods, thunderbird for forehands in the woods and a blizzard krait if I needed to do some extra driving in the woods.

Great mixture of tight technical and open bombs. I find the back 9 to be much more challenging in this aspect.

Brent Hambrick is an overall challenge. It wasn't as much as I was expecting but this made it actually much more fun to play. The shorter distance holes will make even all discers have a fun rewarding time out at Brent.

Parking is perfect and right next to #1. After #18/27 you will end right by your car.

This course is very pretty, especially the wooded holes. I like the dam right next to the course as well.

This course has tons of events from what I can see.

Locals have been very nice out at Brent.

Cons:

I honestly am not a big fan of the tee signs/maps. I think they could be better. I think the C locations are marked sometimes and the distances are off. I looked for hole #8 for at least 10 minutes before finding it.

Course design could honestly be better. I don't like that it goes on to the extra holes after hole #14.

I'm usually picking with my ratings now. I have played so many courses I expect a lot. This grass could use a cut on the front 9. I was surprised at how long it was being a park course.

Not a great use of elevation changes at this course. There are some holes that I think they intended to be elevation changes with drop down pins but I just felt it unnecessary.

I do not think there is camping?

This course is usually super crowded which is kind of annoying. I really don't like Hole A and Hole I. There are always people biking and walking on the road I always have to be aware when playing those ones.

Other Thoughts:

Brent Hambrick is a really nice course. It is a must play for anyone visiting Columbus. It usually doesnt take to long to play and will offer some nice scenery.
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2 8
Bub2010
Experience: 151 played 13 reviews
4.50 star(s)

Great old school disc golf course 2+ years drive by

Reviewed: Played on:Jul 5, 2018 Played the course:5+ times

Pros:

Lots of shots required to master.. especially from the longs. Great new mach X baskets. Always maintained to an excellent standard

Cons:

A couple of tee pads can be slippery when wet because they are getting aged, but that is about all.

Other Thoughts:

Some pros might complain that it isn't tough enough.
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10 0
DiscinOhio
Gold level trusted reviewer
Experience: 11.4 years 205 played 195 reviews
3.00 star(s)

Still Looking For A Really Good Columbus Area Course 2+ years

Reviewed: Played on:Aug 1, 2018 Played the course:once

Pros:

+ Brent Hambrick/Hoover Dam boasts 27 holes that wind through a large park setting, beginning right next to Hoover Dam. It was packed on an overcast Wednesday morning, so I can't even imagine what it's like on a Friday night. It's really popular with the locals for sure.

+ The obvious pro is the epic course amenities. Every hole is equipped with a Mach X basket, multiple tee signs, concrete tees, benches, trash cans, etc.

+ There's a few really well thought out holes within the design. Those that require you to ponder multiple lines with some risk involved.

+ A few holes have some cool pin positions, mainly on the front 9. There's an elevated pin on a pyramid, and a couple below ground level.

+ It's maintained really well. All of the wooded holes were clear of any undergrowth. Grass was a little long in spots, but for the most part there was no issues.

+ There's a solid mix of open holes, as well as some holes in the deeper woods. I'm a sucker for holes that with grass fairways in the woods, it's just fun and easy on the eyes.
+ Huge parking lot with a great practice area right by the first tee.

Cons:

- While there were a few really solid holes mixed in, I felt like there wasn't enough "wow" factor to keep me interested for a full 27 hole round. Many felt kind of crammed into the space, with several holes playing on the narrow strip between road and woods. The run from 4-7 was very bland and too compacted in to an area that should've had 2 holes at the most.

- Navigation may get tricky in a few areas, since there's no navigational signs and no numbers on the baskets.

- Was hoping for a little more elevation, There's a couple of fun downhill shots but most of the course is pretty flat.

- I played mostly the long tees and didn't feel like there was enough challenge to consider it a "Championship Course". It can be tough at times, but pros wouldn't have an issue with this one.

Other Thoughts:

I'm not one to lowball courses, my average rating is over a 3.0, but I feel like my rating is fair with what's given here. The amenities are awesome and there's a few fun holes in there, but not enough to make me want more.

I only have a few more Columbus area courses left on my list, and I still haven't found anything worthy of traveling too far to play. Lobdell remains on top for now on my Columbus-Area courses.

Still searching for that gem in the Columbus area.
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9 3
jjtwinnova
Gold level trusted reviewer
Experience: 9.3 years 284 played 97 reviews
3.50 star(s)

Hoover? I Hardly Know Her! 2+ years

Reviewed: Played on:Apr 14, 2018 Played the course:once

Pros:

The Brent Hambrick Memorial Course is a historic place when it comes to disc golf. It's held many tournaments catering to Professionals and Amateurs alike, as well as served hundreds of thousands of disc golfers over almost 30 years.

BHMC has two concrete tee pads on every hole as well as up to three pin positions where the basket is moved often. The tee pads were nice, concrete tees and the tee signs accompanying them were nice for someone like me who played the course blind.

Newly installed silver Mach X's were amazing as per usual, and were a nice touch and addition to the course, as Mach X's are often regarded as one of the best baskets in disc golf.

Navigation was fairly easy, with most of the tee pads a short walk from the last basket, and if it wasn't, there was a sign leading the way. The park was in aimmaculate condition as well.

The front nine plays wide open, where, from the shorts, distance control is key, and from the longs, throwing bombs would help a bunch. A lot of the holes were well designed, and they provided different lines, even with the open nature. It also took use of more elevation than you usually see in Ohio.

The back nine is another animal, where throwing through the trees, and missing branches is the key to carding birdies. The lines are sometimes tight, and well defined, giving a great amount of challenge for those who excel of at throwing far and hoping for the best.

Cons:

While there was a good bit of shot variety from the front to the back nine, I wish it was more intertwined, rather than going from open to wooded in one switch, it could go something like open, open, wooded, open, wooded, wooded, etc.

From the short tees, I think every hole is definitely within the two range for a great player, and it is definitely a par 54 course. While the longs play a bit longer, I still think it's mostly a par three layout, which makes sense due to how old it is.

Some of the open holes on the front nine run together, where during a tournament, there was a large backup around hole 5, and out card had to wait about 20 minutes.

Some holes were good holes, but then there was an added challenge that made it less great, like a weird basket position, or an extra tree in the fairway, I like added challenge, but not when it can be forced onto a hole so it gets harder.

Other Thoughts:

Overall, this course is a classic and a must play when you are in Columbus. With the amount of work that goes into the course, the beautiful park, and the wonderful golf holes, there is no reason not to play here.

Hopefully one day there are more courses in the area that take notes after the original great in the area. Thank you for being an amazing experience and a great host for my first tournament in Columbus!

**Edit: I did not play the additional letter holes, but I did walk them over, and they seemed on par with the other wooded holes on the course. Thank you for your feedback!
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2 5
Christopherj
Experience: 4 played 4 reviews
3.00 star(s)

Just ok 2+ years drive by

Reviewed: Played on:Nov 25, 2017 Played the course:once

Pros:

Nice scenery,
Multiple tee pads

Cons:

Front 9

Other Thoughts:

I thought the front 9 was underwhelming. I would have scored the course a 2.5 had the back nor been so nice. I did not get a chance to play the extra 9, though I think these are like the back 9.
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2 27
MickFNasty
Experience: 3 played 3 reviews
0.50 star(s)

Just a guy 2+ years drive by

Reviewed: Played on:Aug 7, 2017 Played the course:5+ times

Pros:

It's on the National Tour... So there's that. They just got new baskets... multiple pin placements

Cons:

Not a very technical course, aside from 3 or 4 holes. Mainly for bigger arms. Birdie or bust course with little to no skill needed to play well.

Other Thoughts:

It feels like it's Blendon Woods for bigger arms. Nothing exciting about the course.
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1 5
tonyfaurot
Experience: 8.1 years 17 played 15 reviews
4.00 star(s)

Brent Hambrick 2+ years drive by

Reviewed: Played on:Feb 21, 2017 Played the course:once

Pros:

I am a big fan of this course, baskets are old school but i believe they are going to be replaced with new ones soon. great layout, love the woods holes, nice tee pads, tricky basket locations

Cons:

no complaints here

Other Thoughts:

it is a very busy area as lots of people use the park for walking, running, lots of bikes rolling through.
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1 6
asjzn6
Experience: 19.2 years 136 played 59 reviews
3.50 star(s)

Hooray for Columbus day 2+ years drive by

Reviewed: Played on:Feb 26, 2016 Played the course:once

Pros:

27 holes, simple to follow, good mix of holes, great views of Hoover dam, the long tees on the back nine are a lot of fun(great two shots holes and fair)

Cons:

2 holes currently pulled, the lettered holes feel forced (180 ft crapshoot?) Course could use new baskets.

Other Thoughts:

Would love to play when it is dry and warm
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3 1
jcf5083
Experience: 15.1 years 49 played 18 reviews
4.00 star(s)

A True Disc Golf Course 2+ years drive by

Reviewed: Played on:Aug 15, 2015 Played the course:5+ times

Pros:

Brent Hambrick Memorial DGC is a true disc golf course. Rarely do you get to a park where the first priority is disc golf, but Brent Hambrick Memorial is that course. The course features a solid variety of distances and calls for all types of shots. Almost every hole has a long tee and every hole has an alternate basket position which is changed regularly. Fairways and shrubbery are always in pristine condition, thanks to locals and the parks department.

There's a reason this course is featured on the national tour. All 27 holes use the land as best as possible.

Cons:

-Joggers can come into play on holes along the road.
-Closed holes are sometimes an issue, so it's oftentimes hard to get the full 27 in
-The course is popular, so it tends to get crowded

Other Thoughts:

A quick breakdown:

-Holes 1-9 are in the open and tend to favor LHBH/RHFH shots
-Holes 10-14 are in the woods tend to favor RHBH/LHFH
-A-I are half in the woods and half in an open field. The wooded holes are short and technical and the open holes are longer and tough to hit off the tee
-Holes 15-18 feature three tough wooded shots and a long, open 18th hole to finish

If you're lucky enough to dedicate your entire day to disc golf, I'd recommend also playing Blendon Woods to tune up your short game. If you're even luckier and its one of the 3 days/year the west course is open to the public, it is truly the perfect compliment to Brent Hambrick.
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10 1
zetterbeard
Experience: 7 played 7 reviews
3.50 star(s)

Overrated but still a good course 2+ years drive by

Reviewed: Played on:May 15, 2015 Played the course:2-4 times

Pros:

-Good signage, distances are clearly marked. Although pictures of the signage are posted only for the extra holes, all 27 have signs similar to those pictured from the extra holes, making them easy to navigate.

-Pin placement appears to change frequently. I played this course twice in a span of a few weeks, and the second time I played it the pins were moved. Perhaps I just got lucky, but it's nice to see they move things around to change it up.

-A few holes are very scenic both with the dam and the woods. A few of the wooded holes have a very steep drop off to one side that is also kind of cool to look at and check out.

-Longer tees make this course much more interesting, especially in the open ones (more on that later). I've played this course four times, and the one time I played from the longer tees it seemed much more interesting than the shorts.

-The course location itself is a plus. It's close to the 270 belt and is easy to get to. If you live in northern or northeastern Columbus, I bet you could get here in about 15 minutes. Even if you live more central, it's nice to have a course of this caliber within 25 minutes.

-The wooded holes are some of the best I've ever played. Good combination of turns, doglegs, and conveniently-located mature trees. Even on the holes that are heavily wooded, there's a defined fairway that you pretty much need to or should follow.

Cons:

-It's been said about this course many times but it needs to be said. The open holes are so. darn. open. It's basically like throwing up and down a field, maybe along a tree line here and there, but they're so open. I don't know anything about course design, but if they could have somehow made the open holes more interesting, this course would be amazing, sadly, at least in my opinion, it's a significant blow against this course.

-Partially due to the open nature of the front half of the course, a lot of holes come very close to one another. When you or another group inevitably throws off target, you could be standing in the middle of the fairway of another hole, causing all kinds of unintended backups.

-As also previously stated, the course gets a lot of non-DG foot traffic-- dog walkers, joggers, etc. Unfortunately, similar to Griggs, the path runs alongside a large portion of the course, which may cause you to wait awhile before you can throw.

Other Thoughts:

-I rated this course a 3.5 because of how open it is. I love the wooded holes and highly recommend you come play this course so you can play them but, unless you're a complete novice, you'll probably be bored and left wanting more on the first 9 or so holes. Looking at the course map, it looks like you can walk down the path and hop on 10 and do 10-18 and the extra holes, perhaps that's your best bet. It's disappointing to have to suggest that, especially if you're driving in from further then 10 miles, but you may as well throw up and down a soccer field to get the same effect as the first 9.

-I called this course overrated because I think it gets a better reputation than it deserves, partially due to it being on the national tour. That's cool and all, but it doesn't make up for its shortcomings. 3.5 is a fair assessment, in my opinion.
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4 0
Derek B
Silver level trusted reviewer
Experience: 22.4 years 411 played 47 reviews
4.50 star(s)

Best course in Columbus Metro Area 2+ years

Reviewed: Updated: Played on:Jan 16, 2015 Played the course:5+ times

Pros:

1) On the NT
2) Good mix of open and moderately wooded holes
3) Good mix of lefty and righty-favored holes. Many holes have multiple routes as well.
4) Generous concrete tees
5) Excellent signage
6) 27 holes
7) Good scenery
8) Long tees are awesome
9) Highlight holes: 8 (I think A position - side of hill) short and long, 10 B short and long, 13 B long, 14 B long, B short and long, I long, 17 C position

Cons:

1) Front 9 is way open
2) Only 3 heavily wooded holes (C,D,E)
3) Very muddy when wet
4) Crowded during summer months
5) Lots of foot, bicycle, and car traffic while waiting to throw on A,B,I

Other Thoughts:

This is the famed Brent Hambrick Memorial course, which is on the PDGA's NT. The course is monstrous and covers almost the entire east side of the park. It's my home course. I play here more than any other course in Columbus, as I only live 15 minutes away.

The course starts off in the open. Holes 1-9 are way in the open, as a matter of fact. There are a few trees on some of the holes, but some of them have no trees at all. Even though this is true, the club made some changes to increase the difficulty, such as building platform system on the side of a hill for hole 4 (B position) and 8's (A position) basket and a ziggurat structure for hole 5's basket.

Hole 2 is very scenic, with the dam and overflow right behind the basket. Hole 8 is scenic as well.

Holes 10-14 play in the mature woods. The fairways are very well defined. There are a few trees in the fairway, but not so many as to disturb your disc if you have a good drive. If you go off of the fairway, you might have some trouble as the trees and brush are fairly thick.

After 14, you can either turn left from the basket and continue to 15 (to just play 18 holes total) or you can turn right and play holes A-I, and then come back an play 15-18, for a total of 27 holes. Holes A-I form a loop that brings you back around to hole 14's basket.

Holes A-I have some interesting holes. A,B,and I all play alongside the park road, which is OB, and adds some difficulty. Hole I, especially from the long tee, is probably the hardest hole, as it has a narrow fairway with OB road on the left and thick woods on the right, combined with a continuous and gentle curve to the right the whole length of the fairway. Holes C,D,and E are heavily wooded, and since the club moved holes C and E's baskets, they are no longer gimme birdie holes. Holes G and H are fairly boring, with no obstacles or anything interesting about them. I've seen a lot of people skip those holes and go directly from F to I, but I play them.

Once you complete A-I, you head back into the wooded holes, but again the woods mainly line both sides of the fairway, with a few trees in the fairway - you're not playing "in the woods", per se. When you get to hole 18, it opens back up. There are no trees on 18 at all...just the OB road on the right of the fairway, which goes all along the length of the fairway and curls back behind the basket.

The course has a lot of character to it. It is fun to play from the shorts, but the real appeal has to be the long tees. The course is way fun from the long tees, because it's challenging, and because the hole shapes are more interesting than from the shorts. If you have intermediate experience to advanced/pro experience, you should play the longs.

With all of the positives, there are a few negatives. The front 9 is just way too open.The best thing to say about it is that it is scenic, but you'll have way more fun on the rest of the course. It's a good thing that the worst holes are the beginning third instead of the last third.

Also, this course gets a lot of traffic. There isn't another championship level course around (except for Alum Creek, which does help a little bit, but it's a good 20 minutes away from Hoover), so a lot of people play it. Further, there are a lot of park goers that use it too...especially, bicyclists and joggers/walkers. It slows the game down quite a bit in the summer.

The last complaint is related to the former one. Because of the heavy dg traffic, the grass is gone or thinned in quite a few spots and makes for a muddy round of dg after a rain, or in the spring when the ground is thawing out. Wear boots, not tennis shoes, if you even think the ground may be wet, or be prepared to have muddy, wet shoes when you're done.

All in all, this course is one of the best in central Ohio, and, I dare say, one of the best courses in all of Ohio (at least from the longs), so do not miss this one! I highly recommend it for a road trip. While you're here, hit up Blendon Woods, which is 10 minutes away, for a birdie/ace fest, if you need more dg.

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10 0
BigAl724
Diamond level trusted reviewer
Experience: 12.2 years 179 played 144 reviews
3.50 star(s)

Great Variety at the Hoover Dam 2+ years

Reviewed: Played on:Oct 4, 2014 Played the course:once

Pros:

Brent Hambrick Memorial is a very popular course, evidenced by its hosting a NT and the many crowds that were out when I played even on a cold, rainy day. The course is spread largely throughout the Hoover Dam Park and for the most part is secluded from other park activities. There are plenty of benches, trash cans, parking space, a porta-potty, practice basket, and club/tourney info at the beginning of the course. The course comes right back to the parking lot at the end and passes by it at least one other time.

One of the best aspects of the course is the opportunity to play a variety of different hole types. With 27 holes, the course offers both many open and tightly wooded holes. There are also a few holes that are more moderately wooded in the middle of the course that offer multiple lanes to the basket. Here you will get the chance to throw a bunch of long bombs that test your distance game in the wind, while also getting the opportunity to play thick woods holes that test extreme accuracy. You will use your distance drivers, mids, and putters all off the tee. I also enjoyed how these holes were mixed, playing from open-tight-open-tight etc.

The open holes give different looks, while the wooded holes are unique from a lot of the wooded holes that I have played. The wooded holes are definitely the highlight of the course for me, offering many different challenges to contend with. For example, hole 10 is a turnover shot that has a narrow fairway and steep drop-off potential on the right. Holes C-E are very tight shots among dozens of trees that reward accurate drives kept on the fairway. Finally, hole 16 offers a blind hyzer (RHBH) shot from the open into the woods to a tightly guarded pin. These wooded holes make the course.

There are two tees offered which give a good variety to the different levels of difficulty for the course. The long tees add about 2,500 more feet to the course, so it allows both seasoned and rookie players to enjoy, which is essential for a course in a populated area. The concrete tees were in good shape.

Cons:

Simply put, there are way too many open holes for my liking. The wooded holes are great, and it's nice to have the variety between open and tight holes, but over 1/3 of the course are completely holes that are open and flat with not much to contend with other than the wind. The course would be at least ½ disc of a higher rating if there were less completely open holes. Just my personal preference.

Some of the fairways run close together on the front 9, especially holes 5 and 6. There are also times when the basket of one hole lies dangerously close to another hole's tee. This normally wouldn't be too bad, but is a hazard since the course gets crowded and this part of it is open.

The long tees didn't usually have signage, which caused some run-ups to spot the pin. This also is a bad attribute of a very crowded course, since players may not think anyone is directly in front of them, especially in the woods.

There are some long walks and the navigation is confusing at times. It would be nice to have more signs pointing you in and out of the woods.

There is the occasional wait for joggers and cars since the course plays along the road multiple times.

Other Thoughts:

This is a fun course that I would recommend to anyone to play. Its variety allows players of all skill levels to enjoy it and offers some difficulty without being too taxing. Having 27 holes here is a major plus, but the amount of completely open holes really got repetitive for me. If some of these open holes were even slightly more imaginative and challenging, I would definitely bump this course's rating up. Still, it's a course worth checking out for the wooded holes alone and along with Simsbury is head and shoulders above the rest of the courses in the Columbus area.
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1 6
W7amf
Experience: 19.7 years 10 played 9 reviews
4.00 star(s)

classic fun 2+ years drive by

Reviewed: Played on:Jul 16, 2014 Played the course:2-4 times

Pros:

good combo of long and short holes, great scenery, good people, lots of fun

Cons:

can be crowded sometimes, ticks in the woods!

Other Thoughts:

I enjoy playing this course on week days. It rained on us one time when we were in the woods section of the course and the pine trees kept us almost totally dry while the rain passed over. quality course!
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7 0
JohtoVillage
Gold level trusted reviewer
Experience: 24.6 years 160 played 74 reviews
3.50 star(s)

2+ years drive by

Reviewed: Played on:Jul 4, 2014 Played the course:once

Pros:

The famous Brent Hambrick course offered some great holes and was a fun time. Here are my pros for the course:

1) Anytime you have more than 18 hole its a plus for me (unless the holes really suck). Who doesn't love more disc golf?

2) The course literally offered the most variety you could imagine. The front 9 was pretty flat and open (and a little easy) while the back nine weaved in an out of the woods with very difficult and challenging par 3's and par 4's. The front and back nine were essentially two different courses.

3) In my opinion its always good to have other "things" to do at a disc golf course (don't shoot me) to keep your wife or whomever occupied while playing. This park had some nice amenities besides the park, including Hoover Dam! This park is just not for disc golf and was really enjoyable outside of the course.

4) Navigation was very easy except for one spot after the last temporary hole. I would rate this course a solid 4/5 for navigation but I probably would recommend a sign after the last temporary hole indicating where the next hole is.

5) The course had two distinct set of tees that offered vastly different challenges. The long tees are 2500 feet longer than the short tees which is essentially 100 feet per hole. I value having a short and long tee on every hole because it lets players of different skill sets enjoy the course. In this case the long tees were very challenging while the short tees looked much easier and enjoyable.

6) The course forced you to throw so many different types of shots. There were plenty of opportunities for hyzer, anhyzer and sidearm shots. I love a course with variety on the shot selection and this course offered it.

Cons:

While this was an enjoyable course I do have a few cons. This course is a GREAT course but like any course had its faults:

1) It was a great experience to play a course at Hoover Dam but I would have loved for some of the holes to get closer to the dam or even a water hazard. It tantalizes you to be so close and not get to throw a shot around the dam! The course had some good holes but utilizing a water hazard or two could have really added a few signature holes and pushed this course to a 4.0 rating or above. (See below for an opportunity to play some amazing shots around the Dam).

2) Some of the holes on the back nine became a bit repetitive. It seemed like we were throwing a lot of low-ceiling drives in a tightly wooded area to a specific landing zone (from the long tees) and then throwing another shot to the basket. I think one or two of these holes are okay but I don't think a course should have too many low-ceiling shots that are par 4's because I feel its constricting to the course. This is not a huge con but just my personal feeling about having too many low ceiling shots.

3) The course had some very dangerous shots. The drive on hole 3 comes WAY too close to the long tee on hole 4. In fact, I played with a buddy and both of our drives went right over the long tee for hole 4 and we weren't too far away from the basket. A few of the holes on the front nine were too bunched together in my opinion and this is a minor safety concern.

4) The baskets were beginning to show some significant wear. We had a few putts that slid right through the middle of the chains. It didn't take too much away from the course but it is worth mentioning.

Other Thoughts:

NOTE: If you have the opportunity to play this course around the 4th of July Holiday weekend it is highly recommended. My buddy and I played this course on July 4th, 2014 and they had the temporary course setup around the dam for the Hoover-Westside Challenge the next day. Combining the Brent Hambrick course with this temporary course in and around Hoover Dam makes for some AMAZING golf. The temporary course had some of the most stunning shots you will throw in disc golf. I would actually rate the temporary course higher than the permanent case. It offered multiple shots involving water hazards and offered multiple shots up and down the dam.
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8 1
sion
Experience: 35.4 years 33 played 2 reviews
4.50 star(s)

Old Faithful 2+ years drive by

Reviewed: Played on:Oct 29, 2013 Played the course:5+ times

Pros:

I like this course, always have. I liked it back in the day (90-91) and like it even more now. I think the best thing about it is that it is always challenging, requiring every shot in your bag to score well. The addition of the A-I 3rd nine added another level of variety to what was already a strong course. This course proves that you don't NEED 700+ foot holes to challenge the players.

Cons:

Signage isn't the best, but once you've looped it once or twice you don't need the signs. There are a couple of confusing spots for newcomers...just today I watched a couple in front of me go from 14 to A due to a lack of signage. Of course, you can then loop through the letters and come back to play 15-18 without any backtracking...so maybe that's a plus?

Other Thoughts:

This is the course I cut my teeth on...I was first exposed to the game on the Blendon Woods course not far from Hoover Dam, but this is where I learned how hard, challenging, and wonderfully awesome the game of disc golf truly could be. The BHM isn't perfect, but its a top 10% course that requires every shot in your bag.
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14 1
sisyphus
Diamond level trusted reviewer
Experience: 13.2 years 401 played 385 reviews
4.00 star(s)

Voyage of the ‘Dammed’ 2+ years

Reviewed: Updated: Played on:Oct 27, 2013 Played the course:2-4 times

Pros:

The 'Hoover' course (I'll always call it The Brent Hambrick Memorial) is situated on a beautiful reservoir and plays in a woodland park that's obviously a jewel in this community. The scenery in the area is spectacular and unexpected when you consider Columbus is mostly in a flatlands area of the Midwest. The disc golf course has multiple tees & pin positions, and plays up to a championship caliber level, yet has a design that accommodates the Recreational player as well (...if you want the greatest challenge, play all 27, long, and use tourney OB rules!)

There is a great deal of variety out here, from playing 18 short tees (4700 feet) out to 27 longs (9300 plus), and having open (often windy) shots near the dam all the way through precision shorter holes in the pine and deciduous woods. The design makes good use of the elevations available to create risk/reward greens (like on 3, with its wooded drop-off long, or the terraces on 4 and 8). There are a number of 'loop' opportunities if you have to shorten your round (see map for examples like playing just the letter holes, or adding 6 woods holes, like 15-17, then 12-14, etc.). BHM has holes ranging from 160 to 542 feet in length, and there is a mixture of left to right, right to left, straight, and even S-shaped lines.

Generous, grippy concrete tees are often boxed and mulched where needed, and the landscaping effort for the boxed greens mentioned above is impressive. Baskets are consistent and catch well (and are sometimes creatively set up, like the raised basket on hole 5). There are four parking areas along the length of the course (good for tournament play), plus shelters, bathrooms, trash cans, benches, etc. There is a practice basket just off the 'central' lot. Signage is adequate (could be a little more consistent: I know the Columbus Flyers do an excellent set of signs for the Westside temp course, so I know this is an area BHM can be improved).

Cons:

The first thing that comes to mind for me is that there is a safety risk on hole 6 coming back at the 5th tee pad. In fact, you walk pretty much back up fairways after 1, 2, 4, 8, & F. The next is that you'll often need a spotter going ahead if you're playing the long tees in the woods, because you usually can only see the tee in front of you, and not much past the bends. The deep ravine starting to the right of hole 10 is also not immediately obvious. Finally, Some of the distances really don't seem right (is long F really only 375'?, or I - the last letter hole - only 250'?!)

Other Thoughts:

The first time I played here was the 2013 King of the Courses challenge, playing all 27 short tees as the third course of a brutal Saturday. By the tenth hour of tournament disc golf, even the younger guys on my card were fatigued, and I was wiped out, so I'm glad I came back with our fall traveling league to give this a better look from the long tees before writing a review. It's a legendary course that hosts a terrific Open every year to challenge the best players out there.

Oh, and if you live anywhere nearby, also keep an eye out for events on the 'Westside' of Hoover Dam!
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2 2
ChuckinDeucesACE
Experience: 24.4 years 28 played 3 reviews
4.00 star(s)

Premiere Columbus Course 2+ years drive by

Reviewed: Played on:Sep 2, 2013 Played the course:5+ times

Pros:

Nice tee pads. Good signage for each hole except for a few that appear to have been stolen. The front-9's open landscape with with some tall grass that has been shaped into fairways is a nice touch. The back-9 takes place along a ridge and weaves through the woods. The added 9-"letter holes" are a mixture of both open and woods. The woods here are light on the underbrush and not over run with poison ivy, oak, or sumac.

Cons:

WARNING!!! Random non-disc golf people walking through the course. They are every where. Also, this is a high traffic course. Tee-off early if you want a nice peaceful round.

Other Thoughts:

Next tee signs would be helpful, especially on the back-9.
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