Very good mix of appearances and throws, one of the best I've ever seen
Concrete tees
High-vis baskets
Nice scenery

NOT first-time or occasional-visitor friendly
Desperately in need of signage
Needs a lot of TLC
In the middle of nowhere
Soggy after rain
Has a mando. (I know this isn't a negative for everyone, but unless it's to prevent throwing near private property, it's a negative to me.)

This was a very hard course to rate. I almost gave it a 4.5. I almost gave it a 3.5. I even flirted with the idea of giving it a 3.

The problem is: the course, by itself, is phenomenal. I've only encountered one course (out of 50+) that I thought had better holes and a more consistent mix of throws needed, and only a small few that are at the same rank. But it's got some bad downsides.

Starting with the neutral stuff: the tees are acceptable. Most, maybe all of the holes have two tees, but they're usually only ~20 feet apart, so it's not like it adds much to the game.

There are benches throughout the park, but most of them are showing their age, either wobbling or missing chunks of them here and there.

I didn't find any place nearby to get food or drinks within 10 miles or so, so keep that in mind when coming to the area: bring what you need.

The course's end (holes 19 and on) is somewhat disappointing: mostly flat, not many obstacles. They did a decent job with what was there, but maybe should have cut a few holes from the end of the course. I may well skip some of the end whenever I'm there, just because.

Those, however, are mostly minor annoyances. There are two real problems with the course. The first is navigation. Many of the holes are missing signs, and there are a few long walks that aren't labeled anywhere. I didn't find a course map, not even one pinned to the board that looked like it was placed there specifically for it. There are a couple of 'next tee' signs on the course, but most of those are placed where you can pretty well guess where the next tee is. Going from 5 to 6, and from 12 to 13, involved serious hunting for me.

But the real problem for me was something that other reviewers raved about: most holes have five possible basket placements! That's great, right? It's easy to mix up the appearance of the hole, not just in two directions or maybe three, but in five!

Except... when you're standing by the tee sign, which shows B in a blind throw to the left, C in a blind throw to the right, D in a long blind throw to the right (over the hill), E in a long blind throw to the left (over the hill), and A directly in front of you in what should be an obvious location (unless it's actually just past the top of the hill), and the tag on the pole says "A", but you don't see a basket, what do you do? You climb up the 60+' hill, spot the basket (not in the "A" position), climb back down the hill, just to throw up the hill, which seems to have grown by at least 20' since you climbed up it the first time...

If you're going to do multiple basket placements, make sure the signs are kept up properly! And tag both tee signs. And replace any downed/lost/removed signs. I did mention the missing signs earlier, right? Yeah, there are a few blind holes without any signage I could find at all. At least these had an obvious general direction you where supposed to point towards, and the baskets were usually spotted quickly once you got past a few specific trees.

This particular multiple basket placement has another problem, as well. Each hole seemed to have 1 novice placement, 2-3 regular placements, and 1-2 championship placement. Which is cool. Except for any hole that's set either below or beyond your comfort zone. Baskets mostly in the championship range? That's going to be annoying for my non-championship arm. Set it all to novice? Experts are going to really hate the course.

Multiple basket placements are great when they're all mostly near the same challenge range. If you're going to have different difficulty levels, then please, have multiple physical baskets per hole, with different colored rings, so players can choose their target. Or if you can't afford multiple baskets, get your multiple-difficulty levels through multiple tee placements, far enough apart that there's actually a difference in challenge levels.

Despite the negatives and the fact that it's nearly three hours from my house, I do plan on returning there in the reasonably near future, though I'll probably do it when work takes me within an hour or so of the course. Yes, the course design is that good. I just wish the upkeep was better.

Great variety of wooded and open shots.
Good concrete tees for both long and short.
Decent signs to point you to the next tee

A couple of holes have fairways that you have to double back on to get to the next hole.

Overall I really loved this course. I was disappointed though on the finish. Hole 23 has no line off the tee and is a definite toss and pray hole. Hole 24 was good but both 23 and 24 seemed like they were an after thought just to make an even 24. Would love to see a 25-27 that finished a loop back to the parking lot.

Great course, has many different basket options, though i don't know how often they change them. Nice mix of open and woods.There are a few holes that have water, but none that you have to throw over. This is a must play if you are in the area.

There was one hole where you had to head right back towards the tee to get to the next hole, but as there was nobdy else on the course both times I played, it was not really a problem.Other than that I thought the course was very well laid out.

- Beautiful scenery
- Some long holes for big arms
- Clean and well maintained
- Good use of terrain
- Concrete tee pads
- Multiple tee pads
- Vending machine tucked in the back by one of the buildings when you come out of the woods

- Minimal parking by the start, more signs for parking further in would be nice

Another good destination course. Nice mix of length throughout the course. Nice use of elevation where appropriate. Good general flow from hole to hole.

Great layout of the course. For a first time player here it was very easy to figure out the layout. The entire course is challenging, wither it is a long hole or a very short hole. Great Course

Only con I had was that it was very wet. The drainage isn't that great but as a traveler water isn't a big deal.

I encourage everyone to tell this course and have a killer time. Just be prepared to go up a mountain but the holes are toattaly worth it.

I really enjoyed Forked Run. There are 24 holes, which is a nice bonus. There are up to 6 pin positions per hole (wow!) The course has plenty of variety even without the multiple pin positions. There are up/down hill shots, left/right/straight shots, open/wooded, and different distances.

Nice tee signs with current pin positions listed.


Other Pros:

- dual concrete tees
- well maintained State Park with camping available
- challenging & fun
- water near play
- elevation used
- arrows help navigation

The course is located out of the way from civilization which bums me out because I really want to come back to play the other pin positions.

Nit Picks:

Beginners could get frustrated, a nice array of shots needed

Some play near a non-busy road

There is onsite camping. There are tent sites or cabins. I took advantage of the cabin. They are small but include: 3 beds, refrigerator, heat/AC and a microwave. There is a shower house nearby. The price was fair and I do recommend it.

The first tee is near the parking at the entrance of the park. The course is long and physically demanding, bring snacks/drinks with you, it won't be finished quickly. I hope to be back to play here again.

This is a very special course located in a nice secluded state park.

With 24 holes, two tees and up to 6 pin positions, that dramatically change the layout of the hole, you are provided with practically unlimited variety. The different pin positions really do make completely different holes.

The design of the course is very solid. There is a good balance of right turning, left turning, and straight holes. The course provides a great mix of wooded, open and a combination of the two. The design also provides some decent elevation changes. Holes 8 through 18 all have some slight to significant elevation. The designer has also brought water into play on a few holes without making losing a disc a huge fear.

There are two concrete tees for each hole providing very different looks at the basket and all of the baskets are in good shape.

The tee signs are very helpful providing distances for all the pin positions except for the most recently installed. On the tee signs there is a little tag letting you know which position the pin is in currently. As far as I could see they were all accurate.

I got to meet a lot of the locals for this course (although local is a relative term since it really is kind of in the middle of no where) and they were all super cool, helpful and easy to play with.

The entire course is well maintained by the park staff and I have heard that the rough on some of the wooded holes has been thinned significantly over the last year or so.

There are no serious cons with this course. I would just suggest clearing out a few fairways a little more. Specifically holes 22 and 11.

I really enjoyed playing on this course since it was difficult without being overwhelming. T There is a very high fun factor at this course but I can imagine that when the pins are all in their hardest positions that this course would be an absolute bear.

I have played one sanctioned event at this course and I have been told that all of their events have a festive atmosphere. Everyone I met was relaxed and fun to be around. I am looking forward to playing here again in the fall for the Ohio River Open.

1) Great overall diversity of holes; hyzer/anhyzer doglegs, uphill/downhill, open/wooded, super long/to long holes
2) Most holes have a Pro level design
3) State Park atmosphere
4) Each hole has two concrete tee pads with at least 4 pin placements that are very well marked
5) Lots of elevation changes and wooded/open holes
6) Safe clean park
7) Has a fun factor

1) 24 holes with 6 awesome holes, 6 cool holes, and 6 so/so holes.
2) Most holes could be very frustrating for beginners due to length and the need to have two high quality shots to reach the pin.
2) There are state parks away from the city and there are state parks away from everything else, this is the latter.
3) Course is demanding physically with length of holes and elevation change

After reading various reviews about this course and realizing the distance it would take to travel here, me and three friends picked Forked Run as a place to try our first disc golf camping trip to take full advantage of the course. Like other reviews have said driving into the park for the first time and seeing 3-4 baskets placed in an open field with no real character to them we were already second guessing our decision. However, after playing the course 3 times from the red/shorter tees twice and the blues/longer once we left feeling more than satisfied. I can comfortably say this is best disc golf course in a State Park and the best 24 hole disc golf course I have ever played. There are indeed 4-6 holes one could say that are too boring that seemed to be placed in the open areas to better "connect" the course. However the course has at least 6-10 holes that are really fun/tough/exciting with another half dozen that are worthy to be at a top level course. Even from the shorter red tee pads this course still plays long for beginners and provides challenge for every type of shot disc of your game. Our fastest round was two hours and forty-five minutes. Great signature hole on 18. I think it is a shame that for the majority of the Ohio/Midwest disc golf community that this course is so far away because it is a real gem. I would recommend this course as an ideal disc golf camping trip.

- Long and short tees with up to six pin placements on each hole. Signage at each tee gives current pin location, corresponding pars and distances.

- Wide variety of hole designs, with open holes, tight wooded shots, elevation changes, and water coming into play.

- Course is in great shape and park staff seem to tend to it on a regular basis.

- First tee is located near parking at the entrance to the park, and hole to hole signage from that point is fairly easy to navigate.

- Even from the short tees, course is long and challenging for the novice and casual player.

- Several holes require trackbacks that aren't always obvious. I inadvertantly missed Hole 12 as a result.

- Water is definitely in play on multiple holes, with the pin on Hole 14 all but begging for a lost disc.

- Briar patches and poison ivy abound if your drive goes off track.

Since my extended family lives close to the park, I knew about the disc golf course as Forked Run long before I actually took up the game, and honestly I was surprised that a facility in extremely rural Southeast Ohio would end up being one of the better courses I've played. Given, I gave up keeping score by about the seventh hole, but I try not to let my novice struggles interfere with my objective review of the course itself.

The course is very easy to find and well cared for by the park staff and local frisbee community, it seems. This was the first course that I'd run into more than two pin placements, and with accurate signage to boot. I can image this is a huge boon for the locals in keeping each round fresh with variety. I ended up playing on a day where every pin was in it's longest location, so it was fairly frustrating, but I definitely appreciate the options and wish my home course was as virbrant in that regard.

The course is long, even before you consider the extra holes, and the hike can be a bear, especially during the sweltering summer heat we're currently experiencing, but it's still an enjoyable stroll if you take your time. On-course snack bar helps in that regard.

I would agree with other commenters that the first couple and last few holes were a bit unimaginative, but still a challening distance when the road OB is taken into consideration. My only real hard and fast complaint is the pint on Hole 14, which I think it almost completely unfair to someone not more than willing to lose their disc in the reservoir.

Long and short, this is probably the best course I've played in the local area, and I'll definitely be back when I'm in town.

Man this course is just absolutely amazing. Really this course just has everything imaginable. It may be a bit challenging but it is just so fun that you dont even think about that. The one thing i really liked is how they have the very first tee right by the parking lot. The very last hole also ends up near the parking lot. So when you finish and you are dead from all of the walking it isn't much further to your car. This course just offers everything that there possibly is to offer. The one thing that they have that i think every course should move to is the long and the short tees. So the very expierenced players can play long, and the less expierenced players can play the short. I played both of them. Sometimes i just couldn't play the long. While others it was just too easy to play from the short. The good thing was that both of them had concrete launch pads. So from where ever you throw you will be level with the ground. On the sign at the tee they show where the pin is placed, par, and the distance. Even on the red tees sign they showed that. The really nice thing was how they had on the red tees number circle, it was shaded in red. Showing that it is the red tee. The course can get a bit confusing so it is nice to know which tee is which. The nice innova yellow top pins are nice. They have the double chains, so the disc is more likely to go in if it hits the chains. Then they have the number of the hole the pin goes to. This is nice so you know exactly what pin to throw at. The note showing you what location the pin is currently in is very helpful. On some holes without this you would have no clue where to throw it.

At the very beginning you start with many open fields. Then eventually you enter the woods. When you enter the woods it gets really fun. I enjoyed being in the woods here more than i did enjoy being out in the open. Dont get me wrong it is still an amazing course out in the open, i just enjoyed the woods more. The course is so well taken care of. When i was there they had freshly cut lawns from the day before. Even when you get into the woods it is taken care of well in there. The lawn is so big here it must take hours to cut it. But they still put in the time and the effort to do this. This is such a nice park with a huge lake and campgrounds here. Maybe you can do what i did and play the night you get there, and then spend the night and play again in the morning. It is very easy to find. I had no trouble getting there or getting out of there. Right when you enter the state park it it right there. These are only the main pros of the course, i dont have ten pages worth to name all of them. But there are still many that i didn't list.

There is a minimal amount of cons. Well first i could start with the poison ivy. I think that i got some here. So as you play through the woods make sure to look out for the poison ivy. Too bad i didn't know about this beforehand. I actually got it pretty bad. When you get to the first tee look at the sign it is very confusing. When i looked at it i didn't know what to do. There are many pin placements (as many as six on some holes) so look carefully. But the little note showing which placement it is currently in is very helpful. When you get that down it isn't too confusing from there on out. Some of the holes the pin is located along the lake. So dont overshoot the pin. You will regret it. I really cant think of anything else to say. So thats about it for the cons.

Man this course is amazing. I live about three hours from this course, and i guarantee i will be here again. I know one thing after playing this course. It was definately worth the drive. I dont even know how they think of a course as amazing as this one. I dont know which hole it was, but it played at the top of a hill. If you go to the right you roll down the hill. But if you go to the left you are for sure in the water. It is an amazing hole. I played it safe and didn't even try and throw it hard because i was afraid to go into the water. This course is designed out so well and it is so nice that very few courses even compare to it. I think it is the best open course that i have ever played. It may even be one of the best open courses out there. So if anyone is even remotely close to this area i would recommend you stop by and play a round of 24. I did it and was very impressed by all of the hard work put into this course. I know you will also be as impressed as i was. So go out there and have the time of your life.

Wonderfully Balanced.

Great Signage

Multiple Pins

Dual Concrete Pads

Very Well Maintained

Ranger Station around half way point with beverage and snack sales

Really, the only true con I can think of is a few holes are too close to the road - almost funny when you consider the vast land available

I believe the true testament of how great a course is derives from its diversity. I played this course with a couple other guys and we found ourselves talking on hole 21 about whether there were any shots missing. We unanimously agreed that this course had pretty much all the shots you could hope for. You have nice elevation shots - up and down. Wide open bomb shots, including a big 800 footer. Tight wooded shots. You shoot from the woods out and from the open in. There are water holes, sloping greens and dense rough. You will need to anny, shoot her strait, hyzer and carve some flex shots.

You could play this course 100 times and never play the same layout. Mind you, I only played this course today, but each hole had between 5-6 pin placements. Each placement was identified by a letter between A and F. These placements were incredibly diverse. They varied strongly in distance, direction and lines. Each of the dual red and blue pads had a tag identifying the current placement. Each tee sign covered all the lines and distances for all the placements, regardless of were the pin was. Beautifully detailed. The pins seemed to be randomly scattered...some on A, some on C, some on E...etc.

Also, the 'next tee' signs were very helpful. They were bright orange and accurate. I looked briefly for a map before I left for the course and couldn't find one. No sweat. Wouldn't have used it if I had one.

The park seems like a great spot to bring the family. Next time I make the trip, I will bring the troops. It was a great time. The park and course is beautifully kept. I will be back before this summer is out.

Forked Run was scenic, very well maintained course with great tee signs and very helpful/friendly locals. Each tee sign had a little tag indicating the basket placement which was very nice. The local club takes great pride in this course and you can tell.

The only major knock I have against this course is the layout. You will need a map or someone to guide you since finding some tee locations would be very difficult on your own. Luckily we had a local (Thanks Jereme!) that helped us out.

Elevation, woods, open field shots, this course had it all. Dual concrete tees on just about every hole, multiple pin positions and some really challenging holes made for a great round. When I was there, all the pins were in their short positions and I played from the long tees. The layout I played made for some tough holes.. then I was shown the long positions on those same holes and felt that I got off easy!

As you can see from the pictures, the course mostly takes place in a park like setting with some great elevation on many holes. The woods holes that are here are tough and long.. don't expect aces or deuces.. actually, don't even consider them!

#15 is what I would consider the signature hole. Both tees start you off on the top of a berm with steep drops on either side. To your left you'll find a large pond and to the right, a steep drop. The long position on this hole places the basket on top of the berm making you really consider your shot. One misstep and you're in the drink! Unfortunately the short position is at the bottom of the hill which wasn't quite the exciting risk/reward situation that the long position would have been.

While there I also heard that 5 new holes maybe be in the works bringing the hole count up to 27.

Overall I really enjoyed my round here. The course presented a very nice mix of holes with varied terrain/landscape. Each hole was fun in its own way and I can't really pick out any one that I would consider to be bad. Perhaps there were a few not so exciting holes but none that are genuinely bad.

In conclusion, you can't go wrong by stopping at Forked Run. I made a 1.5 hour detour to play it and feel it was absolutely worth the trip.

The course is in a beautiful state park in southeastern, Ohio. It truly is one of the nicest parks to play disc golf in that I know of in Ohio.

Nice concrete tee pads, and there are about 5 different pin placements on each hole.

There is also cheap camping in the park with some beautiful sites high up on the hills.

Showers!

Great fishing, and a great lake

Frisbee (my dog) came from this park during the 2001 Ohio River Bear Open

Not too much.......except when the Ohio River floods to the highest point in 100 years during a tournament and you have to get to the back 9 by rowboat. But then you get rescued and taken by a boat down a road, into an ambulance, and spend the night at the local church. For the few people who were there, you know what I'm talking about.

But really, there are no cons

I was going to school in Athens, Ohio back in 1997 and some guy named Marc Queen sent me an email saying that he heard I played disc golf and lived in Athens. He told me he was building a new course at Forked Run State Park. I was so excited as I had not been able to play disc golf anywhere for the last 6 months without driving almost 2 hours. We spent days clearing out brush and poison ivy. After many hard days of work, an amazing course was built that was about as tough as any course out there today. I would say that some of the holes would rival the quality and difficulty of Moraine or Paw Paw.

After a few months of playing this layout mostly by ourselves. We realized that nobody in this area of Ohio had any idea what disc golf even was. So the course was redesigned by Marc, with input from myself and Chuck Custer. Man those were the days back then. The course remains pretty true to that final layout that Marc designed with a lot more pins added to holes as well as 2 or 3 more new holes. The course has really matured into a masterpiece. I highly recommend it.

The day we played the first round, Marc and I put the last basket in the ground in on what was I believe hole 8 at the time. A short 180 foot downhill hole through some tight trees. We decided to start on the hole since we had our bags. We each threw a practice shot to warm up and then I teed off first. I threw my Orange 177 gram Hammer right down the middle and into the chains for an ace. I knew it was going to be a great course!!

I have played every Ohio River Bear Open at Forked Run along with Lisa Warner and Leroy and Sharon Jenkins have made it just about every year as well. This tournament was Avery's very first ever Pro Win way back when. Still one of my favorite places to play, can't wait to get back in the Fall.