Surge is the last course inside the 275 loop that I hadn't played, so I finally made my way over during a lunch break from work.
-All 9 baskets were in and in decent condition
-Some nice risk/reward shots as the entire course is built on the hillside so rollaways are a constant risk.
-Holes 1, 6, and 7 were the best holes. Each had a tee area (or at least some level concrete) to throw from and 6 and 7 required a good bit of shot shaping.
-Plays pretty quick for course baggers

-The most glaring issue is that if you showed up with a course map you'd be absolutely lost. There are no signs of any kind, only 2 teepads that I could find, and no indication where to throw outside of numbers on the baskets.
-The 2 teepads I found will soon be lost to mud and weeds, and were not great to begin with.
-The course plays through/around the schools botanical garden. The garden was ugly, overgrown, and dead (likely just a winter problem) but was also in the way of the course. Hole 8 is perched literally on the edge of a water retaining garden pit that grows up tall. If it catches your shot your basically screwed because it's in a foot of mud, water, and growth. Hole 9 tees on a narrow ridge behind reeds that are taller than most release points. Hole 1 also plays near this area.
-Hole 2 plays near a road
-Several holes play up to a parking area and hole 9 plays near fenced in backyards.
-Hole 1 tees from a parking area that has its entrance gated with a sign that reads "employee and contractor parking only". As there were only 2 cars in the lot I entered through the exit side to park and throw, but just be aware.
-Broken limbs down around the course, some trash in one basket, and burnt out grassy areas all added to the vibe.
-The course basically plays on a hillside overlooking the main highway into Cincinnati. There's constant traffic noise.

Maybe this course was once interesting, but it's mostly neglected now and not worth your time unless you're a bagger, and then only barely.

Surge DGC plays right through the campus of Cincinnati State. Like most campuses, the grooming is great and the area is littered with huge trees, bushes, and a fountain along rolling hills (which are all on one giant hill). This is a beautiful setting to play in as a result.

The design does a nice job of requiring some shot shaping among the trees, as well as some lower releases under low-hanging branches. Elevation is always at least a factor as the entire course plays on the giant hill that is the front of the campus. You get to play a nice mix of uphill, downhill, and side hill shots.

While the setting is a pretty college campus, the atmosphere of it takes away from enjoying the course as much as you probably could. Like many campus courses, this plays right through, over, and around main walkways and sets of stairs. We played in the evening so there weren't a whole lot of people out, but I'd imagine that a few holes are virtually unplayable at various times throughout the day. Even without many people around, there were still chances of hitting parked cars on a couple of holes.

Even while being beautifully manicured, there are still chances to lose your discs in the thick bushes and pond.

Even with some directions, it isn't super clear where the easiest place is to park or throw from on hole 1 (throw from the parking lot). There also isn't very good course flow throughout the course as navigation isn't too clear or intuitive. In addition, many tees are hard to find and some seem to be nonexistent.

Disclaimer: I'm not a huge fan of playing campus courses. I'm glad they're there and can introduce people to the sport, but atmosphere is a big thing for me and affects the course here in a big way. The holes themselves were fun to play, the course just doesn't have a great flow to it. Fortunately, you aren't traveling out of your way to play here with many other quick 9's in the immediate area and some fantastic courses very close by.

Surge DGC plays in a somewhat unique setting, wrapping around a hillside on a college campus. Despite its centrality on the campus, the layout doesn't seem to conflict too heavily with campus-goers, although YMMV if any of them feel like picnicking on the grass or if the central stairs are overly trafficked.

The gentle but perpetual hillside slopes are dotted with enough trees to provide some interesting terrain, and patches of flowerbeds and concrete both provide added obstacles. Trees need to be worked around both off the tee and as you approach, and are thus used in a variety of ways. Line-shaping is required to an above-average degree, and you always need to be mindful of the slope, which can easily cause your disc to get away from you. While it's hard to comment on hole lengths too much owing to the difficulty in finding tees, the overall feel is that holes play at a variety of lengths, which is nice to see on such a casual college campus.

This course feels more like casual safari fodder than a structured layout, mostly owing to the difficulty of finding the tees: my playing partner and I both searched hard and we were only able to find two. While the land is good material for playing safari, I wish I had a better idea of the original design.

There are some opportunities to have your disc swallowed by dense flowerbeds and reeds, which is a bummer on an otherwise-casual course. A nasty rollaway also has a chance of ending up in the road.

Parking was harder to find than I'd expect given that it's a college campus.

On my summer visit pedestrian traffic was non-existent and the layout seems like it may not conflict with campus goers, but it's hard to say for sure. If the pretty grass slopes that the course sits on are popular to lounge on, then it's likely unplayable for large stretches of time.

Surge DGC was worth a quick stop and is helped by having so many courses nearby. I'd recommend visiting when school isn't in session to minimize your chances of conflicting with students. If you come expecting to make up your own holes then it's a fine, quick round.

Well groomed and taken care of grass and landscaping. Baskets are all in great condition. can be a challenging course. Just needs a little bit of work. Especially since the course is 9 years old

First challenge: I could only find three tee pads. Needs signs or a place to get a map. Otherwise not a bad 9 hole course. I would expect one or the other but would prefer both. This course is 9 years old. There should at least be that.

The area on the Cincinnati State campus is very nice and well maintained.

It is centrally located in the heart of Cincinnati.

Where to begin...

The parking situation is pretty awful. The directions here say you can find a spot to park on the street but I saw nothing but no parking signs everywhere on the main street. Once you pull into the campus there are parking lots that are for faculty and maintenance only. This is where I parked but was nervous when I was there the whole time. Unless you want to pay $5.00 to park in the garage and walk a half-mile to the course, there is no other option to park.

The course itself is very problematic. Again, the directions say that hole one starts in lot A. I searched for a good 8-10 minutes and couldn't find any marker or spot to tee off from, so eventually. I just picked a spot on my own. This is the case for ALL holes! Nothing is marked, there are little wooden stakes that I went with at first, but there was over 12 of them and it is a nine hole course, so I think they had something to do with the campus and not the course.

I found baskets 1-8 but again looked for about 10 minutes for basket 9 and could not find it. There are no signs, maps, or directions making navigation and full completion of the nine holes very difficult.

I never felt very welcomed here either. I said hello to a couple of people and got a look like, "what are you doing here?" I asked someone about the course and got a brief and cold response that obviously was no help.

This course is not worth any stop at all. Tale the time to go up to the professional grade, Mt. Airy Forest that is just moments away from here. Also, Idlewild in Burlington, KY is not far either and is exceptional.

A well designed 9 hole course, right on the cinci state campus. has some tee pads for holes, though some are missing, as is the basket for 9, which we couldnt find. Has some good challenge though, on a big hill, with enough trees.

Couldnt find basket 9, some of the tees are missing and are had to find.

A good 9 hole course, that just needs some improvement, and work to be done.

Update 7/5/14: I think the botanists win out over the disc golfers. Which is only a plus in that the place is beautiful. And the flash animated map mentioned in my review WAS the coolest thing I've seen in disc golf (but has been abandoned, as well). Look into cons for my edit.

Surge DGC at Cincinnati State (aka Copperleaf) is a relatively challenging nine hole course in the middle of town, and easily accessible near Interstate 75, so folks coming through town who want to stretch their legs (especially on a weekend) might want to see this unique course situated on a collegiate hillside botanical garden. There are educational signs all over describing features of the plantings, the paving, and so on, so if you have family with you that are more interested in gardening than disc golf, they can easily be entertained here while you get in a round.

Holes work their way back and forth the hillside, where you are forced to go left, right, straight, and tight, by the park-like trees and plantings that are extremely well maintained by the college. The landscaping itself is superb, while the disc golf holes range from 185 to 405 feet in length (depending on where you tee for #2 - there are two spots, depending on which map you follow), and possibly 500' up and around the blind hill. There are plenty of places for players with bigger arms than me to use the sidewalks creatively to lengthen the holes and increase difficulty. In fact, if you want to declare some areas out of bounds, like the raingarden area on hole 8, this course could challenge advanced and open players. In its intended state, it poses a decent challenge for rec to intermediate players.

The interactive map at http://itd1.cincinnatistate.e...flash_map.htmis one of the coolest things I've seen.

The 9th basket has been missing for at least six months (now 2 & 1/2 years). There are no trash cans or benches near the tees.

Navigation of the course would be very tricky without a map. For instance, The first tee is somewhere on the corner of the parking lot. Hole two tees off either on the central path up an indeterminate number of flights of stairs or somewhere unspecified along the sidewalk by the driveway, just to the right of the first basket. The fifth hole tees from the central stair/sidewalk again. You have to either hop over a guardrail or negotiate the steep hill 100' past the 5th basket to get to the 6th tee. The #7 tee is directly downhill below the 6th basket, and nearly invisible because of the mud running down over it. The 8th tee is marked by paint on the sidewalk below the main driveway, near one of the nation's biggest Gingko trees.

Only holes 3, 4, 6, (7), and 9 have dedicated tee areas, where they've used brick pavers, which seem to be the only neglected areas of the landscaping here. Some have weeds, and #7 is covered in mud, either of which can lead to slipping on your drives.

Edit 7/5/14: the tee on 7 has been obliterated by the sliding mud and can no longer be found. It does not feel right to throw anywhere near the rain garden area on 8, because we'd really harm it looking for a disc thrown in there.

Overall, the disc golf course seems to have been basically abandoned to the other landscaping. It's beautiful, but would be very frustrating if you didn't know the course. Sadly, to be accurate, I had to really drop my rating after playing there today.

They've added a beautifully landscaped raingarden which now constitutes the 8th fairway. I feel guilty throwing in there, and worry about trampling on the plantings, or possibly losing a disc there in the thick stuff.

I can't decide if this is a pro or a con: Hole 6 may be impossible for a beginner, with no clear flight path to the 300' basket. Big arms may be able to tomahawk over the tree in the fairway, but keeping a disc under a 5' high branch and running out along a hillside past another set of trees is a trick! I got lucky by accidentally firing my turnover beast through there, where it kicked up into a hillside roller to 6' from the pin!

This is a community college, and access might be limited during school sessions. I've gone on weekends, and had no trouble getting in to park, and have been alone on the course both times. I think the course gets relatively limited play, which might also be what the college wants in the long run: the botanical garden aspect of the landscape has clearly gotten the most attention. Not to say it isn't a really nice DG course: I'd recommend a visit either way!

Pretty course on sloping hill with some shade and few moving obstacles (like people).

No tee markers so not sure where to start from. The basket for hole 9 was missing on the day we played.

Take a map from the links page.

+ The course is pretty scenic for an inner-city park. Hills, trees, etc. Cool industrial and large building views around the course.

+ Fairly long, and challenging for an inner city course.

+ Nice baskets.

+ Some holes had decent tee pads.

- Some holes have no tee pads (Hopefully they are planning on adding the rest). I don't mind grass tee pads, but at least give me a well-defined area to throw from.

- Definitely, need the map to find your way around. Needs tee signs and trailblazers to help with navigation.

We had a blast playing this hilly mid length inner-city college campus course. It was a little hard to navigate and had an almost safari round feel to it, but you can't help but smile as you play it. A little love and upgrade could make this a really nice course!

Quick to play (easy to get multiple rounds of nine in a short time.)

Love the view.

Great level of difficulty (in reference to the elevation).

Easy to access from the riverfront. If you are traveling to Cincinnati/ NKY and Don't want to get lost this is an easy course to find.

Never had a crowd on the weekend no matter what time of year.

You have to print off and bring the course map. www.cincinnatidiscgolf.com

Even with the map the Tees are very hard to locate.

It seems to me every time I'm back in town I play this course (mostly due to location) and some improvement has been made. I really hope it keeps getting better and more popular.

-This course was pretty challenging. It takes me about 40-45 minutes to play through (although some of that time is spent locating tees).

-The terrain is interesting. The trees and hillside make the course difficult and rather unique.

-Great location. I have been going to Cincinnati State for the past two years, and this is the first time I've played here, but since I am taking evening classes now, it's very accessible.

-Both times I've played have been in the evening, but even when driving by during the day, it seems as if it's not a very heavily played course.

-Very difficult to locate tees. Most are only marked by a stick with a ribbon tied to it (some of which are just lying on the ground), two holes (4 and 7) have a brick tee, and hole 6 is missing a tee marker entirely.

-The course is right between Central Parkway and Cincinnati State's parking lot, so inexperienced (and maybe even some experienced) players may find themselves hitting cars.

-Absolutely none of the courses have a par listed, which makes playing alone very boring.

Overall, the course is just so-so. It was different than any other course I've played, which made it fun. If the course was more clearly marked, it would be much more enjoyable.

- Hole 1 has a nice elevation change. You have to toss down it from the parking lot without hitting a tree or the guard rail.

-Hole 9 includes a hill you have to toss over. The basket is on the other side in a wooded area.

-The hole courses plays on the side of a hill, which is kind of neat.

-Confusing without a map: Most of the tees are mark with little wooden stakes (a few were missing last time I played).

-Tees are too small: The ones that do have tees are too small.

-Its possible to hit a car as the course plays close to roads, and parking lots.

This course is worth playing, but don't go out of your way to get there. Just play it if your in the area.

Burnet woods is really close so you could hit that while your in the area as well. Burrnet is missing 2 baskets however, but you could still make a 16 hole game out of it.

-It's on a nice little campus.
-good use of trees and shrubs.
-lots of elevation changes.
-Not crowded on weekend.
-They are starting to put in some nice brick tee pads as of 4-26-09.
-there are no overwhelming distances so that is good for new players. But there are plenty of trees and obstacles to give the more experienced players a challenge.
-innova baskets

-No tee signs
-most hole dont have tee pads
-Hole 2 tee marker was nowhere to be found.

Since all of the other local courses are packed on the weekends(mt.airy,harbin,winton) I thought i would finally try this course out. And im glad i did. It was a fun short course, and it was nice to have the course to myself. Make sure to print a course map from cincinnatidiscgolf.com before you go or it may be a little difficult to find some tees.

Easy to navigate,I love the idea of courses being right on campus wish more schools in Michigan would do this,

I had a hard time finding a place to park all lots near course are for students only and a pass is needed to enter, had to search for an open parking meter,no signs,natural tees,9 holes,Uses the DC baskets which I personally don't like

Would not play again,

This course offers some challenging holes and will probably develop with time. It can be played in conjunction with the 9-hole Burnett Woods course on the campus of the University of Cincinnati (5 miles away). This would make a nice (easy) 18 hole round with a stop at one of the campus bars in between.

Only nine holes. Lacks tee boxes as of 6/26/08. Holes/tee locations seem to be changing as the course designers figure out exactly what they want. I realize it may be difficult to manage this course becasue it is on the campus of a community college. On the other hand, you might get to scope out some college honeys while you're there.