I was wondering what I would find when pulling into the pre campus parking lot . Ohio Valley University , a nice looking small college near Parkersburg , had joined the ranks of colleges that have an on campus disc golf course ( circa 2014 ) . They have recently expanded to 18 holes . When you pull into the first lot up the driveway , your first basket sighting is the #18 one . You have to go past a shed past the end of the lot to get to hole #1. The baskets are pretty basic , the tee pads are dirt , and the tee signs ? well , there are a few of them left over from the original 9 holer , some renumbered . Others are posts in the ground with just a number on them . I didn't see any NEXT TEE signs . The course flows sort of clockwise , with some ins and outs to it . The grass was manicured where the mowers could get to them . Many holes are in the woods . Bring a map for sanity's sake , but you are going to abandon it for some of this course . Without going into detail about each hole , I will just say to be aware as you leave the path to some of these baskets and move on to the next tee. An example would be #4's green goes left into a thicket . You need to follow sort of a path behind the basket to get to #5 , then #6 . You then have to pop out of the brush on a path to your right ( this one was marked some ) which leads you on a bigger dirt path to #7 tee . You need to abandon the online map you have for a while and just follow the flow of the course . Some paths and a couple of markings help with your navigation . The woods holes ( 3-15 ) aren't necessarily long but are technical . Redesign must have taken over from 8-15 . You might even encounter some nature on this course . I had a standoff on hole 8"s tee pad with a family of deer that stood in the fairway and stared at me for a long time . I finally gave up and walked past them on the way to #9 . I didn't have a problem with finding the holes until holes 12-14 . You may have to circle down the path you came up for #8 to get to 12 . #15 is a hyzer hole that leads you to the edge of the woods , where you pop out for 16 ( I think old #7 ? ) a long open hole running around the edges of part of the woods to a basket up against it . #17 is a nice downhill blast that starts next to #1's tee pad and goes down towards the road you came up . #18 tee is through a little path to your right and a little up the hill and throws uphill and around a large tree to another large tree with canopy guarding the basket . Even though the course will leave you scratching your head , and seems to still be a work in progress ( hopefully ) , there are still some memorable holes here , #2 starts on the level ( 364' ) then tails downhill and left behind a tree . #14 is a nice uphill pump straight to the basket . #7 is a hard right to left on a path in the woods . #'s 16 , 17 & 18 were very good . My signature hole was #3 . A straightaway 357' narrow fairway drive to the basket with a treeline on the right and heavy foliage and some trees on the left . The course design is good , and as far as campus courses go , it is 18 holes and meets typical college criteria .There is a pretty good amount of elevation here . I DID like the course length and would have played to course a lot if a student here . This course will never be crowded so you should have uninterrupted play .

!. Navigation . I am pretty sure someone needs to make a more explanatory map for this course . Any graphic arts students want some extra credit ? Finding hole #5 and the transition from 11 to 12 was awful. #2 tee pads . Anything . Carpet , turf , gravel . In a good rain you are going to slip on the tees here , especially in the rain . #3 Maybe some better signage ? Some signs are informative and good . Others give you nothing but a hole number . Also , you can paint on one of the rods on the bottom of the baskets to point you to the next hole if you want . maybe a few NEXT TEE signs .. #4 No course amenities . I am okay with this but some may not be . Pack water because I saw nowhere to fill a water bottle , no bathrooms , no benches or shelters , no trash cans ,( carry out what you carry in ) . Even a picnic table near the #18 basket would be a plus . #5 The rough is way too rough . On the sides of 1 & 2 , down the fairway of 3 , even 16 if tails left of the fairway and 17 on either side . You could spend a lot of time disc digging in high weeds . #6 You may not want to play this course after a rain . It could be a mud bath and treacherous in the woods .

If the course was made to be an good alternative for the students to relax and grab some exercise after class or during the weekends , then mission accomplished . Some colleges use their course to showcase their campus and to throw their name out there for recognition , just in case high schoolers come out a throw 18 holes and decide to look into the college further . For whatever reason , I still think this course is a keeper and is light years better than Ohio University's course . My Recommendation : locals and students and course baggers should play this course for sure . Otherwise , I wouldn't go out of my way to play here unless you are combining it with the much more accomplished Wood County Veterans Memorial Hippo Ridge or Broughton's .

Ohio Valley University has a solid campus course, one that takes you away from the central parts of campus for a good bit of the round. Disclaimer: I played here before the current redesign process, but will still try to highlight the general strengths and weaknesses that the course will probably have at any point.

This is a very small college, under 500 students, so it doesn't have the feel of your typical campus course by constantly playing near the central quad, parking lots, and various paths. This is a peaceful, more rural setting. The course starts out in an open area across fields and contends with bordering trees and slightly rolling hills. It then enters into the woods and mid-way through the course heads back closer to the campus buildings and sports fields. It was enjoyable to have a good portion of the round far away from the main part of campus. In addition, there is a nice mix of tightly wooded shots and wide open throws.

Tee signs are really nice and give a great picture of the hole. Navigation is simple and there are arrows on the baskets pointing you in the right direction. The course winds back near the parking area at the mid-way point.

As on most campuses, the grass was freshly cut and maintenance seems to be consistent on the open holes. Even as I played mid-summer and for the holes that are furthest away from campus, the fairways were in great shape.

Hole 9 - "The Gap" - was by far my favorite. It's a fun downhill shot where you can choose multiple lines to throw through.

The holes in the woods often had very tight fairways with bordering thick rough - not a fun combination.

The tees are natural and some were muddy. While the fairways are in great shape, some of the baskets had tall weeds growing through them. This could've been a result of being in the summer, however.

There was mostly either extreme of very tightly wooded or wide open. Only 2-3 holes had multiple trees in the fairway to shape shots through.

The wooded area, even before the redesign, was in rough shape and sounds to be in a worse state at this point in time.

Whoever made this and is currently leading the redesign has put a lot of thought and care into the course. I appreciate that on a campus course, especially one so small as this one. The course starts near the large maintenance shed on the left as you drive into campus. Not worth going much out of your way to play here, but definitely worth it if you are already in the area playing the Wood County course.