+ Unique in every way. All 18 holes were designed with maximum creativity. Every hole features some combination of elevation, obstacles, and water hazards.

+ Challenging. Most older courses are so elementary it makes for a boring round. Not at Cabin Creek. Lines are kept intentionally low and narrow to keep you honest from tee to pin.

+ Incredible atmosphere. When I first played here I was mesmerized by the ambiance of the property. Because of its distance from highways and urban features, it can even feel a little spooky at times. The only man-made sounds you'll hear are the occasional drone of a train in the distance. Play here in the Fall for the optimal wow factor.

+ Low traffic. I've played Cabin Creek over 20 times and have seen other groups playing only twice. You'll never have to worry about playing through another group or vice versa.

+ Hole 3 literally takes you over the river and through the woods. Try not to get a six!

+ Hole 8 forces you over a bunker constructed for paintball competitions.

+ Hole 11 is a long downhill bomb to the pin, which is surrounded by a small ravine created by the creek. Gorgeous scene from the tee.

+ Hole 16 asks for a tall anny flex (RHBH) if you have any chance of crossing the creek to the basket. To slow the erosion occurring in the creek bed, Midge has asked all players to use the concrete bridge on the left when approaching the pin.

+ Amos! The course mascot is a mid-sized black dog with plenty of love to give. He knows not to mess with your discs, but he'll pop in every couple holes to say hello.

- Remoteness (also a 'pro'). I live about 10 minutes away in Hamilton, but for those traveling from Cincinnati, Dayton, or beyond, the commute may take a while. This adds to the relaxed feel of the course however.

- Weekdays only (usually). Because the paintball course is typically reserved on weekends, your best bet is to play this course on a weekday. Always call ahead!

- No signage. Not an issue after you've played a couple times, but until then you should print a course map or save it to your phone.

Bill and Midge are both wonderful people who go out of their way to make you feel at home. When you call ahead, they'll often apprise you of the weather forecast and advise you on course conditions (high water, tall grass, muddy spots, etc.). They've spent nearly three decades curating this course to the point of legendary status. If it's feasible at all. you MUST play this memorable course at least once.

Cabin Creek is a private, pay to play course between Cincinnati and Dayton, Ohio, located on over thirty acres of land used primarily for paintball, which includes the paintball obstacles in a clever way to add interest to the DG holes. But the Disc Golf is not neglected in any way.

The design incorporates the clearings, elevations, obstacles, and natural elements to create interesting, challenging, and fun lines of flight for all levels of players.

Though Novice and Rec players may not score well here, it's very much worth the effort, just for the unique experience.

The first time I played here was in the spring, with flowers blooming, and the weather was just perfect. The owner was awesome: she provided a great map w/ tips, mowed some fairways ahead of me (!), and checked twice to make sure I wasn't getting lost...which is amazing.

There's plenty of parking, a port-o-let, and usually extra paintball pellets lying around!

As far as the DG play, you start out with a 300 foot hyzer (rhbh) around the pine trees toward the entry drive, then a straight open second hole usually out the full length of a football field. Now that you're loose, you need to shape shots downhill to the right, and near the creek, uphill through the trees a couple of times, and over the main paintball battle arena.

After a blind, shorter (285) hyzer #7, the very cool, uphill #8 basket is behind a barricade 'castle'. If the ninth basket is in the long position, you've got a challenging dogleg left, followed by a precision-required, shorter #10.

The eleventh is a pretty downhill shot off the small rolling bluff, threading through some sparse trees, and landing at the basket snuggled in the bend of the creek.

(Jumping ahead) I really enjoy the challenge of parking the downhill #16 through the trees and just a few feet past the creek bed. # 17 plays over an open field where they sometimes have inflatable paintball obstacles, and into a grove of saplings for the pin, which sits between the creek on your left, and some potentially marshy wetlands on your right.

Then you have to shoot through the trees, up over the bluff and back into the open field near the parking area for a really different final hole.

This course will use all the shots in your bag, ranges from 184' to 505', goes left, middle and right, up and downhill, and has open bombs and threaded needle shots. Adequate concrete tee pads and multiple pin positions really help with the replay factor.

Since the disc golfer in this family has gotten a little older, so have the baskets, which are quality, but beginning to show their age. On the positive side, I noticed my second time there that some had three (!) layers of chains, and the baskets were deep and forgiving.

They work very hard here to make sure DG players have a great time, and to keep the course in as good a condition as possible, but this is an established, older course now, and, seeing limited DG use, isn't always as pristine as courses that get daily traffic. I am absolutely not complaining, but want to make sure expectations aren't up there for a perfectly groomed fairway all the time.

I know from personal experience that the folks here work very hard to get things ready ahead of visitors if they schedule the course open for disc golf play.

As far as the layout and the enjoyment factor at Cabin Creek, it's very difficult to list any 'cons', at least as far as I am concerned. Well, maybe just a couple: It's fairly far out from town (and therefore about an hour from my home), and isn't open for disc golf every day.

You should know that I've only played here twice, and am near the end of my first year playing. I usually want to play a course five times before writing a review, but this is a special place.

Play is by appointment on specified days sporadically throughout the year. Please visit the GCFDA website forums, where you can find further info.

The owners usually only ask for $5, and you need to sign a waiver (probably derived from the paintball, and only to be sure they are protected, not because you have much - or any - chance of getting hurt).

If you ever get the opportunity to play this course, it's worth it!!

Charming and scenic combination Paint Ball/Disc Golf course is set across rolling terrain with continuous elevation changes ranging from minor to major. Wonderfully treed and well laid out to provide interesting lines, well-guarded baskets, and quite a significant challenge.
• Superb disc play with a range of offerings that runs the gamut: long/short, up & downhilll/flat, over valleys/gullies, left/right/straight. Many (if not most) holes really make you think about your tee shot and what line to take. This really varied among players depending on their particular comfort zone. Bring your entire arsenal... this course will take every shot you can throw at it.
• Paintball obstacles scattered about some of the holes (about 6 or so?) provide an incomparable element to ramp up challenge and add an inimitable flavor to the course; paintball obstacles down low, with mature trees creating a ceiling or otherwise restricting routes you can take.
• Plenty of pins that are blind or well tucked, as well as the trees and obstacles, really put a premium on placement - distance is only rewarded if you can snake it through.
• Moderately to very well wooded for the most part, there are a few fairly open holes where you can let rip; but trees can be a factor on every hole.
• Well placed baskets may have you putting significantly above or below your lie.
• While the course is certainly challenging, there are some Ace Run/ Birdie holes to boost confidence and drop scores - but even these aren't gimmes, and must be earned.
• Dry when I played, but there is a creek that can come into play if the water level is up.
• Multiple pin locations (changed between rounds for the tourney) and a couple of add'l long pads give several holes a different look.
• Concrete pads were decent, although some may find them a tad small.
• Porta-potties on site

Although it's not perfect, I really can't knock the course much. Some of the cons I listed are relative - I'm not going to hold some of these against them and don't feel they necessarily merit dropping the ratings. However, they're included for the sake of completeness so that anyone thinking of playing here knows what to expect.
• Poision Ivy in spots, but not widespread (leaves of 3, let it be).
• You really need to scout ahead to see where the pin is on many holes, plan on walking a bit.
• No tee signs or markers, so solo navigation might be pretty tough. Print the map, it should help a lot, but most likely, if you can get on the course, you'll be able to get a guide.
• No public restrooms with running water.
• A bit off the beaten path, but not really that far from food and shopping, and not too hard to find if you just follow the directions.

If you have the opportunity to play here, DO IT! Excellent course whether you're looking for a challenge or just want a fun round. Cabin Creek is genuinely one of those things that is better in person than it is on paper. Judge this place "by the numbers" and you're entirely missing the point. After two rounds worth of un-popped paintballs bursting underfoot, I left this place with techni-colored socks; my teenage daughter wanted to know where I got them (don't worry, it's water soluble).
Played a tourney here Labor Day 2011, and had a complete blast. Not positive, but I have a feeling they host an event here every Labor Day (check cincinnatidiscgolf.com). Keeping this place in good shape would require plenty of time, money and effort; I can see how it could get overgrown if not maintained, but it was looking splendid when I played, which is all I have to go by.

The owners (WONDERFULLY nice people by the way) bought this plot of land specifically for how well they thought it would work for a course (they were right), and only later opened it up for paintball. Those into Old School plastic will enjoy seeing some of the stuff they have in their garage/shop (not sure if it's for sale).

Baskets: not necessarily a con, but they seemed different somehow. I didn't recognize them, but a more experienced player said they were "Spiderwebs" (which are recognized on the PDGA site). They were definitely deeper - if your disc hits the floor, it's staying put, no bounce outs. Maybe it's just me, but somehow, I thought there was a tad more exposed chain than most baskets, so your disc had a bit further to fall after hitting chains, and in some cases flop onto edge of basket and out. Nonetheless, if you hit chains well, they held.

It's still private and some holes are playable.
Update: 11/26/10

Cabin Creek has been cleared some and is now playable. Half of the obstacles have been removed, trees and bushes have been cleared.

8-17-2011
This is once again a great course. The clearing they have done is amazing. Most paint ball obstacles are gone, trees and limbs have been cleared.
Play this course! (call first)
I'm changing my rating to 4 stars.

This nice 35 acres of land is now a junk yard for paint ball obstacles with no evidence of paint ball activity. Some holes have over grown to the point of blocking any possible shot. Others are blocked by the obstacles.

Update: 11/26/10

No tee signs and still no tee for 17, but there is a tee area. You will need a course map or some one who has played it before.

8/17/2011
No tee signs or markers of any kind. They don't ever plan on installing any.

Make sure to call ahead and make sure the course is available when you want to play, the land is also used for paint ball and both can't happen at the same time.