-Long tees with rubber mast with holes in it. Great grip in the dry and good drainage in the wet
-Useful and seemingly accurate tee signs
-"Next tee" markers on all baskets made navigation very simple
-Excellent condition yellow discatchers stand out in the wooded course.
-Interesting and challenging use of terrain
-Heavily wooded, but fairways are...fair...
-Water, bathrooms, and food all available in the recently renovated lodge

-The front 9 just recently re-opened as the lodge has only recently been open to customers as well. No word on when the back 9 will be back again
-Fairways were difficult to identify and follow, but this is most likely because I played in the fall and most of the leaves are down on the ground and there hasn't been much course traffic since the course has been closed

This is one of the more rare courses in Ohio that actually has elevation and terrain. This allowed for blind shots over hills, point to point shots over a valley, and control shots for gently sending a disc down a hill with a risk of dangerously overshooting. As it currently stands with only 9 holes, I would still recommend this as a great course. Once the back 9 open, I'll definitely be back to play again and up the star rating. Well worth your time if you're visiting the hocking hills.

+ Nice scenery as you hike through the woods
+ not crowded at all
+ fair variety of holes (dog-leg left, dog-leg right, multiple elevation changes, various lengths, etc)
+ forces you to utilize many different types of throws
+ easy to navigate

- back 9 is too technical: tight fairways/numerous trees make it tough to make good shots
- some of the longer par 4 holes have way too many obstacles (trees) especially on the back 9

Overall, I enjoyed this coarse, but it showed me how much I need to improve! I enjoyed hiking through the hilly terrain and playing on the various elevation changes (hole 9 is a beautiful "throw-over-the-valley" type hole). The back nine was less fun because you have to be so highly skilled to avoid the numerous trees and keep the tight lines. It ended up being a bit of a chore the last few holes. However, once my skills are up to snuff then I might feel differently. Great course to play and I recommend checking it out (along with the beautiful Hocking Hills area)

Personally I'm still honing my skills so I needed something that wasn't extremely challenging, the skill level required for this course should be fun for any player. Some of the hole layouts are very interesting, the 9th hole was probably my favorite. It's a straight shot. you gotta throw your disk over a big valley to a basket over on the other side. The course is very well marked with hole layouts by each tee. There is also lots of shade and openness despite being in the woods making it fairly difficult to lose a disc.

I had some problems finding it. There are some extremely slick and muddy portions on some steep hills so be careful.

One of my best disc experiences so far, it's a beautiful drive in as well. There was plenty of parking and my throws weren't in the way of any other hikers. Would definitely recommend playing here. I read that another 9 would be added on to this sometime during the spring so hopefully that is still coming.

Excellent scenery
Easy to navigate
Good tees, high-vis baskets
Lots of elevation, good mix of approaches

Portions are near hiking paths
Hills are slippery after rains
Could use stairs on hole nine
Terrain gets repetitive
Long walk from 9 to 10

Front nine: 4 out of 5 stars
Back nine: 3 out of 5 stars

<span class="italic">original review:</span>

The course is set in the Hocking Hills state forest and parks region, which is absolutely gorgeous. If you're not from the area, plan to make a day (or more!) of it, and explore the parks in the area, especially Old Man's Cave, which is right next door to this course: it's well worth the time spent.

The course is in a quite hilly old-growth forest. Every hole has elevation in play: some only a little unless you throw off the fairway, others with a substantial amount. As a result, you don't get much variety in the terrain, but they did do a decent job of mixing up the distances and looks of each hole, so the repetition isn't quite as bad as it might have been. They also took advantage of the natural distribution of the trees to create some interesting throwing lanes.

The baskets are nice, high-vis Discatcher baskets. Tees are a patterned rubber screwed down over gravel, inside a thick wooden frame. Normally I don't like rubber tees, but they way they did it, I actually like this stuff better than concrete. The holes and the lower gravel should allow water to drain, reducing slipperiness, which is a concern on this course, as the hills do get steep in places. Exercise caution, especially after heavy rains.

I'm hoping the signage they currently have up was intended to be temporary, as they're already beginning to fade and run. However, the first tee has a nice sign visible from the road as you pull in, and each tee has a 'next tee' sign under it, which mostly are pointed in the right direction. (I didn't find hole 5 quickly, but didn't go too far off track in search of it, either.)

Most of the first holes are nominally on the short side ( <250 feet), but the elevation changes makes them seem not quite as short as their printed distances are. Holes 7-9 are longer, with the same type of terrain.

All in all, I was impressed with the design: far too often, when you have a course with unvaried terrain, you end up with holes that start feeling identical to each other, but that didn't happen here. And hopefully, that feeling will continue when they put in the back nine.

<span class="italic">Back 9 update</span>

Well, the back nine didn't live up to my expectations. It's like they made two different courses, and just numbered the second one 10-18. The front nine look like a course designed for most players, and the back nine looks more like a course designed for players who disdain casual courses as too easy.

Aside from the obvious dichotomy, though, taken overall, the new holes just aren't as fun. They're harder, obviously. But it's not a makes-a-good-challenge harder: it's more of a grind-it-out harder. There are some fun holes in the mix, as well, but the slog holes bring down the overall funness of the back part of the course.

The increased challenge comes from longer holes, uphill but no downhill throws, and what I think are just the trees being thicker. The longer holes are no surprise; the front nine were definitely on the short side. The uphill-only is a personal disappointment, as I tend to enjoy most downhill throws, and while I enjoy some uphill throws, I didn't enjoy any of the ones here.

It was the thick trees that really surprised me. I think the front nine are in older-growth forest: there was little evidence of tree removal there, while the back nine was full of it, all over. But that means that you get a lot less choice in how you're going to throw. In the front nine, you frequently had several different throwing lanes, so you could select your disc and throw from several different options. On the back nine, too many holes were narrow cuts through the trees, forcing you to follow what the course wanted you to do rather than letting you experiment away. And tunnel shots, combined with either uphill or long throws, lend themselves to grind more than fun. Or, worse, when combined with both, it really becomes downright tedious. Yes, I'm looking at you, hole #15.

(Incidentally, the elevation shown in the hole info is misleading. Hole #10 is 450' downhill, followed by 150' uphill. And yes, you have to do it like that: tunnel shot, remember? The trees are too thick to try to do any shortcuts. Also, hole #17 is only mildly downhill.)

Now, I'm not saying the back nine is all bad--far from it. There are some decent holes there, but nothing quite as good, in my view, as #s 2, 7, and 9 from the front nine. Actually, now that I think about it, #s 17 and 18 may be as good. But by the time I get to them, I'm too exhausted to appreciate them properly.

In less-pressing areas, be careful while navigating the back nine. Some of the 'next tee' signs only point to the path to the next tee, not the tee itself. The paths are supposed to be marked with orange ribbons, but either they didn't put out enough, or some of them have become lost already. Also, I question running the holes near #16 through the cabins' back yard area; as a camper, I would prefer a bit more distance.

In final judgement, I wish they would split the front nine and back nine into separate courses, expand them both out to 18 holes, keeping the look and feel of new holes matching the existing ones for the course, and label the new course made from the back nine as "expert". I say this because for pro and near-pro players, the things on the back nine that I find as negatives, they may find as positives. But I expect that most of the players here will be casual players, and that there will be a good number of total novices, in for camping, hiking, or some other activity, for whom this is their first introduction to the sport. The front nine is forgiving to new players, but still challenging enough to be enjoyable for most players. The back nine, however, is hard enough to turn novices off the sport.

- Rolling hills
- Good elevation for Ohio
- All wooded, somewhat technical shots
- A few fun down hill shots
- 9 was shooting over a valley to the other side. Probably the best looking hole out there
- Picnic tables at almost every hole
- Accurate next tee signs

- Only took out a driver for 3 holes
- A few holes would be better with more distace, currently making them deuce or die
- Short layout. Would like to see more of the land get used.

A fun 9 hole course that will improve with the addition of 9 more holes. The rolling hills that play around a creek make for great scenery. A few holes are pretty underwhelming due to length but there were 3 legit holes with Hole 9 being the signature hole. Stretching a few holes out would add to the rating.

Would recommend the course if you are in the area. A bonus was playing this with Fall colors.