Perfect land for a disc golf course. Rolling hills, heavy woods, and the occasional creek. Great design using available space. The course is prone to roll-aways but it seems (intentional or not) that downed trees have been placed everywhere along the fairways and greens to prevent too many big skips or rolls.
The whole bags worth of shots. You need hyzers, turnovers, straight tunnel shots and like most wooded courses, a fair amount of forehands.

A couple of the fairways were a little on the tight side, with a random tree or 2 in the middle of the fairway. A couple long walks between holes but at least the course let's you know which way to go and has a map at the beginning.
Maybe a few too many uphill drives. Example is hole 6 is a slight up hill, after which you walk all the way back down to the base of the hill just to throw severely up hill again on hole 7. Although I actually really like both holes and wouldn't change them, throwing down hill is fun.

Everyone on here seems to prefer the front 9 and I'm not sure why. I guess they had big plans for the back 9 but the park wouldn't let them use all the land they wanted or something but I actually like the back 9 more. Yeah, there's a bit more hiking but I think the holes are more unique. But the walk back to the car after 18 is PRIME discin land, shame they couldn't use it if that's the case.

Met a nice gentleman today 12/7 that was removing the baskets for the winter I guess??? Needs confirmation but I thought he was just moving everything to the short positions but my buddy said he was taking out the baskets. That would be a bummer if it was closed in the winter bc I prefer to play heavily wooded courses when there's no leaves.

(Edit)
So I was right and he was putting them in the shorts. I didn't mind the shorts but much prefer the longs. What would be nice is if there would be half in the shorts and half in the longs. Too many dinkers in the shorts but the longs can beat you up a little bit.

She's a dandy!

Beautiful park in an affluent area, it's very well maintained overall. The turf tees were grippy and not slippery after rain the previous day. Mach X baskets are very nice. Plenty of wood chips were laid down to soak up some muddy places in the woods. Next tee signs were extremely helpful as I didn't need the map that I printed out. I was able to get through the front 9 with a cart. This course starts out strong, 2 open and hilly holes before completely changing to tight woods. #3 is a great wooded and hilly par 4.

The newer back 9 holes were hard for this MA55+ golfer with bad hips. The hike down and up #11 was treacherous, I found it unsafe. (Great tee shot though over the ridge and into the open). Precise lines were required to hit on the back 9 while elevation was a major factor. Obtaining par would be difficult without two very good shots on many of the holes. Hole 17 was very narrow tunnel shot and slightly uphill while being muddy too. The long walk back UPHILL to parking after 18. Why couldn't just some of this space been used?

Knowing the back 9 was steep and wooded I took my cart back to the car after the front 9 and simply walked the back 9 without playing it (I was tired from playing Echo Valley the day before).

J Hills is a great challenge, I just didn't find it as fun to play as other area courses. I would not take a beginner golfer here.

- The setting is fantastic! Wooded hills mixed with nicely mowed grass in open areas, creeks and small ravines to navigate, nice bridges and clear demonstration of upkeep (e.g. straw spread on nearly all muddy walking paths). This is exactly the type of course I enjoy, and it was a wonderful experience playing here.
- Good tee signs with all the helpful info you need.
- Turf tees were flat and even - great to throw from. And the tees were easy to find because of all the "next tee" signs.
- Fairways were challenging and demanding, but fair. And the baskets were Mach X (I believe), with placements that added to the fun of the course. The greens added to the fun, incorporating slopes, guardian trees, and tunnel approaches.
- With a mid-800s rating, I thought the design was great, requiring lots of shot types and taking advantage of the elevation changes, woods, and clearings. There are many aggressive-or-safe decisions to make, and I found myself in trouble after my bad shots (as I should). It was a great test of my skill.
- Safety of all park users was clearly considered. I believe the course avoided most multi-use and high-traffic areas, but I did see a large number of signs warning other park users of flying discs in the area. There were few completely blind shots, and tees were all well away from baskets.

- At the time of this review, it appeared that the course is not completely finished. I saw flags marking what I think will eventually be alternate tees, and (getting pretty picky) I hope that they'll do a little thinning of underbrush around the baskets on some of the back 9.
- If you're not in good hiking shape, this may not be the course for you. Bring plenty of water and be prepared for a long round. And at the end of 18, there's a long steep climb to get back to the parking lot.

Other thoughts
- My guess is that the course will be a perfect fit for intermediate level players, but I think experienced rec (probably not new players) and advanced level players will also find it worth their time. As a mid-to-upper level red player, it was an easy addition to my favorites, despite feeling my skill is not quite up to the challenge it provides.


Family Friendly Rating: 0.5
PROS: It's a safe layout, without much danger of injury or disc loss.
CONS: It's so hilly, I wouldn't even consider pushing a stroller here. Walking the course requires some reasonably good hiking ability, and most kids won't last a whole round. There are enough technical shots and roll-away potential that it would take some pretty dedicated young players to enjoy a play here without succumbing to frustration.

Johnson Hills Park is set about twenty minutes or so east of Cincinnati, and has just been completed with the installation of a new back nine. It packs a surprisingly challenging punch for a park-style course, something that is always welcome. The course varies in length, with holes ranging from 150 to just over 400 feet, and two or three holes that could possibly be considered par 4s (more on that later). Even with the installation of the new back nine, the front is still the best part of this course. While the course flows smoothly overall and the holes feel connected, the front manages to do a much better job mixing things up within that cohesion than the back does. Even though the gaps are all roughly similar, the shot selection required (more notably on the front) is pretty varied, and I found myself throwing a healthy portion of my bag. Elevation is also a big factor, and people that enjoy a variety of uphill and downhill shots will be happy about the differences found here. There are also a few holes that pop out significantly from the rest of the course, whether in design, look, fun factor, or some combination of the three. My picks for those are 6, 10, and 17.

The back nine simply doesn't hold up to the front. With the exception of maybe two holes, the back feels very repetitive and, even when it's not, usually isn't as fun as the front. This brings me to one of my biggest issues with Johnson: the variety, or more specifically, the lack of it. Nearly every gap that exists throughout the whole eighteen, and my goodness are there a lot of them, is roughly eight feet or smaller. After the initial first two open holes, most of the course runs through the woods. As mentioned, the distances do vary, but the surrounding scenery is so similar that it really doesn't feel like it all that much. Another issue I have with Johnson is that it feels as if good shots often get punished. While this doesn't apply to every hole, the tree placement on certain holes and overall layout of the course unfortunately lends itself to this happening a little more often than I would like. Time will tell if this is merely the course not being broken in yet, but, as of now, it is unfortunately the case. Lastly, and this may be a personal gripe more than anything, is the amount of par 3.5 holes there are. Holes 3, 11, 15 and 18 are all holes that feel like they are smacked straight in between in a par 3 and a par 4, which can be frustrating. I would recommend playing all but 11 as par 4s, but obviously do what you think works. While both the course and UDisc give you the benefit of the doubt on all of these (and a few others that don't really need it), it can feel pretty cheap taking a "birdie" 3 on a par 4 that's less than 400 feet. While this doesn't really matter if you're playing against yourself or just by score, there's something about making a birdie that feels like a par, or a bogey that feels like a double, that just doesn't sit terribly well.

It's unfortunate that the back nine could not be completed as originally intended, because I think it's clear that Johnson's second half could have been so much more than it is, but it's also clear that the designers did the best they could with the land that they were given. If you're close enough, it's certainly worth coming to check out, because I think this could be one of those tracks that is loved by some and not by others. I feel like this review has been awfully harsh for the three out of five I'm giving it, and it's worth me clarifying that I do not by any means think that Johnson is a bad course overall. With that said, I wasn't struggling to pick out its shortcomings. While Johnson Hills shines in its front half, it falters towards the finish line. And, unfortunately, at the end of the day, that was the impression I was left with.

-Beautiful, well-cared for course playing through a lovely park
-Lots of elevation changes
-Fairway shapes require a variety of shots
-Holes range in distance from 150'-400'
-Course opens with a couple wide open, scorable holes before getting into the wooded portion
-A few ace runs through the woods
-New Mach X baskets
-Practice basket near hole 1
-A few holes have short and long teepads or basket placements, with more to come as the course continues to improve
-Straw placed in muddy areas
-Port-O-Let near first tee
-Drop zones marked for missed mandos and OB areas

-The course, especially the new back 9, can get extremely muddy. The straw definitely helps but you may want to avoid it after excessive rain.
-A couple par 4s were definitely eagle chances for someone with a big arm and control, but are likely closer to par 3s.
-A few holes play near each other. For example, a mando is in place to protect a teepad from the fairway of a different hole. The course designer did the best anyone could possibly do with the space allotted to him by the park district.
-A few holes require a long walk to the next teepad. The one that really stands out is the walk from 11 to 12 which requires a bit of backtracking and going down and then back up a hill. (11 was my favorite hole on the course so it's well worth the walk).
-Course plays near an active paved path with lots of walkers
-Limited parking, though temporary parking is clearly marked
-The basket for 18 is a long way from the parking lot

This course is a great addition to a great disc golf town. Having a full 18 definitely moves this course into a top 5 in the area for me. This is mostly a wooded course but does have plenty of holes that open up a good bit. As the course, especially the back 9, gets "broke in" I think the rough will get beat down a bit as well. The front 9 definitely felt like the scorable portion of the course, with 3 holes under 220'. The back 9 was pretty tight, with some true par 4s.
This course is well worth the trip and I can't wait to go back!

After the installation of the first nine holes, I first drafted my review of Johnson Hills on 5/19/17, but the course designer (Pete Caldwell) asked me to hold off, and requested DGCR to wait on reviews overall, because this was still a work in progress. Pete had been working with the park district for 14 YEARS, trying to overcome one park patron who objected to using the land for disc golf. The park had finally bought in, big time, purchasing 19 brand new Mach X baskets, and, using the fairways the Caldwell family had cleared through the hilly woods, installing some of the area's best artificial turf tee pads, excellent and easily visible signage, and infrastructure (such as culverts and rock-gravel 'bridges' across the deeper ravines). Then the park put the back nine on hold. Then Covid delayed everything even more. But there are now 18 glorious holes of disc golf in play!

Flowing through wooded, rolling hills in a dedicated section of this scenic park, the casual to advanced disc golfer will find plenty of fun and challenge crafting controlled drives, upshots and putts, on holes that range from left to right, right to left, uphill through gaps, across ravines (through gaps) and running for aces, sometimes downhill lines (through... you guessed it: tight gaps). That's not to say that there are no opportunities for bigger arms to show off (on holes 1 & 7, for instance, where they'll have a deuce chance that 300 foot throwers won't). One of the recurring design features is the risk/reward offered when a fairway pinches through a nearly "required" gap, forcing the thrower to decide between control for the par, or try for distance for the birdie or possible double bogie (holes 7, 10, 11, and 18 come to mind).

The course is really sharp and mostly accessible for the amount of elevation change it holds. With the newly opened back nine, it definitely rivals our area's Lincoln Ridge in many ways: elevation, wooded scenery, and really rewarding and fun par three (well, mostly) challenge. If folks come out to try Johnson Hills like they have this week, it may also get into the top dozen "Favorited" courses on DGCR. That also means that (in addition to dozens of other nearby places to play) the Cincinnati area absolutely has doubled from the "Big Three" of yesteryear (Idlewild, Mt. Airy & Lincoln Ridge) to at least a Big Six (add Osage Grove, Stonelick, and now Johnson Hills).

Some of the neighbors may still feel like this is their private space, and the park has been used for years as a place for dog owners to romp about, so we need to be mindful that they might feel a little territorial about the space, and do our best to politely coexist. There is currently a decent sized port-o-let, and the planned bathrooms may take a while. The relatively small parking area (30 spaces?) was not nearly enough as soon as the back nine opened, so the park is using the field across from the practice basket for overflow dg parking.

Pete did an amazing job of finding the best holes possible in these woods and ridges (after all, there was time to tweak things!), but I know he also had some 'editing' and shifting restrictions placed upon him by the park as things evolved, so I don't blame the chef when I point out that there are several awkward transitions between holes in the end. The walk to hole 9 meanders around its curve for most of its length. You double back down the paved path to 10, and double back the entire length of 11 to get to the 12th tee. To get to hole 15 (long tee), you have to go up to the 'meadow' above and walk several hundred feet, and (for tournament play) hole 18 finishes about a thousand feet and a huge hill away from hole 1. Pro tip: If you brought a cart, leave it on the path after you tee on 11, and pick it back up as you return to 12.

It should be mentioned that it's not a long arm course (which is not a problem for me), so folks don't come thinking it's gonna be a new Idlewild. So far, there is only one set of completed tees (long options are in place on 2, 5, & 8) and basket positions, but alternates are being cleared. It is currently a mix of the intended full layout. You need to watch your step if it's wet (especially on 3 through 6, and much of the back nine). Other than that, there's not a lot to criticize here.

Hole by hole: The course opens out with a nice 375 footer to get you loosened up, with the basket position placed just a few steps shy of the unforgiving rough beyond. Hole two plays over a slight rise and left-to-right past the cedar trees back by the practice basket, with the long tee intended to launch out of a tunnel. The true par 4 third hole is was the toughest one out there amongst the original nine, playing down through woods, across a gully/ravine, and back up a gap out into the sunshine by the main access road.

Hole 4 is a blind putter-mid shot that threads through a tree-lined fairway, just barely bending to the right. Listen for the chains or send a spotter up a few feet, depending on your confidence. The fifth hole was initially a putter ace run downhill, but now has an even longer tee forcing a laser beam straight line to 'run it'. Down the path to hole 6, you'll find a really pretty ravine-crosser with the short pin being just reachable if you can air bounce under the mid-way branches, and a long position planned in the gap over the next rill beyond.

The seventh is a combination of power and control to shoot up through a reasonable gap to the pin position across the 'meadow' atop the slope. You will want to sacrifice distance (if you have to), to insure you make the gap! There will be some score separation on this one. The eighth is a surprisingly challenging lane shot that has a lot of potential for right handers and tree kickers to wind up downslope left, and has a basket position with rollaway potential. Likewise, the green on nine forces you to get in close for your putt, but the left-to-right bending lane is surprisingly tricky, and there's a leaning Osage tree guarding the final approach. A really fun front nine finishing challenge.

Hole 10 has a short pin at the mouth of a guarded lane, with the 'long' being reachable only if your 300 plus foot drive is Perfect. 11 is a beauty, teeing from an elevation, over the paved path below, across the ravine to a gap opening out to either of two terraced meadow fade positions. The 12th is shorter, uphill, with the long pin finishing left, and the short finishing right, but before a park 'barn'. Then you get to the glorious views on the north side of the hilltop, where hole 13 is very reachable for most players, as its downslope, but the trees will force a very controlled line. Hole 14 will remind you of 12, but has a split fairway feel for the second half of this uphiller.

Hole 15, from the long tee has a mando resulting in a dogleg right, and makes it a true par 4 or even 5, depending on the basket position on the ridge below. Your approach can be tricky if you float one... all the way to the ravine beyond! 16 and 17 are tight ridge and valley crossers, with the long pin on 17 adding an additional 250 dogleg left! Finally, hole 18 is a quintessential Johnson Hills challenge: do you place a putter or mid into the mouth of the tunnel across the opening, or go for more? Once you're in the lane, which of the fairway dividing guardian trees do you need to navigate to the green? A very well designed hole.

Reviewer Background as of this writing: played 332 courses and written 315 reviews, with skills hovering around a 900 rating, with folks ranging from age 7 to 87, so I try to write reviews helpful to all.