+ Championship Level 18-Hole Layout Designed by 4X World Champion Johnny Sias: Fun and challenging course that uses distance and elevation as the main design features.

+ Innova Discatcher Baskets: These targets are sturdy and catch putts well. Several baskets have flags for visibility and help with reading the wind.

+ Mix of Turf and Concrete Tee Pads

+ Tee Signs: Include accurate pars and distances

+ Several "Signature" Holes: The course design here is unlike most others in the region. Unique features make the course fun and memorable.

+ Northern Panhandle Disc Golf Association: The locals that take care of the park are friendly and dedicated. Be sure to check out their events including the Grand Vue Championship. This is an annual sanctioned event held in late summer.

+ Home of the West Virginia Disc Golf Hall of Fame: Many vintage discs are on display. This exhibit gives visitors a look into the history of the game and the development of flying discs.

+ Location: Grand Vue Park is close to shopping, lodging, restaurants, and entertainment for traveling players.

+ Proximity to Other Courses: Aside from having other courses on the property players are driving distance from other quality layouts in the Northern Panhandle of West Virginia including Brooke Hills Park and Tomlinson Run. Looking into Ohio you have courses in Saint Clairsville and Morristown to the west as well as Scenic Vista and Thompson Park further north. There are plenty of great courses in and around Pittsburgh as well.

+ Extra Amenities: Grand Vue Park boasts plenty of extras such as cabins, camp sites, playgrounds, swimming pool, rest room, biking, zip line & ropes course, mini golf, hiking trails, ice cream parlor, bar/restaurant, and two (2) additional disc golf courses.

- Tees: Some tees may be a bit short for the big distance throws required of this course. The local club is currently installing large turf tee pads to make this course even better.

- Upkeep: The park was in fantastic shape when I visited in November. Due to it's huge size there may be overgrown fairways in the late spring and early summer.

- Lost Discs: Know that several holes have the ability to eat discs. Use a spotter on blind holes and play smart when in doubt. It's better to sacrifice some distance to keep your shots in the fairway rather than throwing as far as possible.

This course is NOT for beginners. It is meant to challenge more advanced disc golfers with distance and elevation being the main features. It is quite common to experience windy conditions here which only makes the course play tougher.

Play smart! While throwing far is a definite advantage here this course rewards accuracy. Placement shots are necessary to score well on the par 4's and 5's. Aside from hitting your landing zones you will need to control the angle of your discs to match sloping fairways and precarious pin placements.

The Black Course is one of the most EPIC rounds you'll play. Be sure to pack plenty of water and a snack as you will likely spend at least 2-3 hours navigating this beast. This course has one of the best finishing holes you will ever play!

Amazing views! Great baskets! Pure fairways! Cool greens! Definitely in my top 10 played courses. Great signage and benches!

Tee pads can be slick since there asphalt. Muddy in certain places and footing can be tough in spots.

If you get a chance to play it definitely play it!

Beautiful and extremely challenging. On top of a mountain in Moundsville and mostly fallows a zip line course through woods. Get a great workout hiking through the mountain. Awesome top of the world 1000' hole to close out 18. Very unique layout.

Not a forgiving course. Some tight holes where if you don't hit the line, your going down a mountain. Easy to lose discs in tall grass/leafs that are in the rough. There is one ridiculously long hole up hill (13) that is right after you got done hiking through the woods, and it just eats you up.

Just go play it. If your anywhere in the Pittsburgh area, I think it's worth coming down to play. The Play it again in Wheeling has a decent selection of discs too.

-The closest thing to a completely immaculate, trash free course I've ever come across
-The park itself is beautiful, scenic, and well organized
- Park offices offers scorecards, vending machines, cold water and clean bathrooms
-Further Information and small Pro Shop located in Red Barn by Tee #1.
-Layout of course makes excellent use of available land
-Difficulty of most holes will challenge all types of players to push their skills, and physical endurance, to the limit
-Elevation changes keep things very interesting
-On Site Cabins For Rent, Nearby Camp Sites
-Most tee pads have benches and small waste bins
-Active, Committed, Helpful, and Very Hospitable Volunteers/ Club Members Take Great Pride In the Course, and It Shows
-Reasonable, but challenging pars set

-The complete opposite of "beginner friendly course"
-Terrain and elevation changes are physically demanding: May not be suitable for players with certain health issues
-Long distances to cover between holes
-A few temporary holes in place (ex: Hole 1) at time of writing this.
-Moderate amount of opportunities to hit a pedestrian or moving vehicles on select holes
-Most trash cans at tee pads are very small, like for cigarettes and light pocket trash only
-As the course layout is not 100% complete, not all pads are concreted
-Concrete pads were occasionally "rough"; not always flush or smooth. This was only a minor issue on two or three pads.
-Signage was decent, but not great, partly because course isn't entirely set in stone
-Duration of play: Played doubles with 3 other teams. Course took 6 hours to complete!
-Huge Ravine to lose discs on hole 15.
-Don't Believe in ChemTrails? You will once you look up into the sky for thirty seconds. Crazy amount of Air Traffic Overhead.

Even if you are in decent shape, this beast of a course will still leave you spent by the end of the day. Just walking the property is exhausting; now try walking it and throwing 400 feet up hill! Plenty of beautiful, shaded places to rest thankfully. If you have been playing for at least three years and want to see where you are at in terms of skill, play the Black Course. It is grueling, it is challenging for sure, but it is a world class course for very good reasons. I feel like my confidence and overall skill got a noticeable upgrade from playing the Blacks just once. I would like to thank all the volunteers and the fine people at the Disc Golf Farm for their hospitality and camaraderie my friends were shown during this wonderful past weekend at Moundsville. The park itself is unforgettable, but you guys really made our whole trip a mini-vacation.

-Great elevation to throw from.
-Well maintained park.
-Fairways were mowed when I was there.
-Nice variation of distances on the holes.
-Has legitimate par 4s, and par 5s.
-Great views.

No cons really other than a map of the hole on each sign would be nice.

This is the longest course in WV. It WILL test your game and hiking. Bring plenty of water and time. A must play course for any serious golfer.

- This course has every type of drive needed. A lot of the holes are very long and require a long shot or 2.
- The baskets are great and have the black strip around the top to know you are on the black course.
- This course uses its elevation changes amazingly. There are uphill shots and a ton of downhill shots which are great.
- Hole #18

- Tee boxes are ok. Made of asphalt but some is chipping away.
- Tough to find the first hole because the Black Course's first hole is the same as the Yellow Course's second hole.

The final shot on 18 is awesome. You are literally throwing off of a mountain to a basket that is 1008' away. It is impossible to only throw once from up there. The pictures barely do it justice. The park is nice having the 2 courses to play on.

Championship level 18 hole course with single boxed gravel tees and black banded Discatcher baskets. Phenomenal use of the elevation and terrain and OB. Excellent variety of pars, from ace runs to par 5s. The Yellow Course offers something for beginners and is a nice warm up for the Black Course and there are plans for 3 more courses in the park! Restrooms and pro shop. Zip lines! Cabin rentals. Lots of wildlife, even saw an albino deer. What a Grand Vue from the top of the mountain over looking the town!

-WARNING- the Black Course is an extremely difficult course which we only recommend for the highly skilled golfer.

The boxed gravel tees aren't that great, but they didn't bother me. Moderate potential to lose a disc either into the abyss over a cliff or tall grass areas in the summer. Plays over and around park roads on a few holes, but I doubt it's much issue since traffic is very low volume here. With all the deer, there's lot's of poo, but whatever, look at the view around you and not at the ground.

The Black Course is a difficult and challenging course that should be played only by low-handicap golfers. The course is for walkers only and its slope rating is one of the highest in the northeast. Anyone who has played will tell you it is a true test of golf skill and physical endurance. This is one of the latest courses designed by master golf course architect Johnny Sias, and is said by many to be his finest work.

The elevation and length are used to the extreme as it's a mostly open course. Don't let that fool you though, as there are a couple heavily wooded holes, and the open holes have treacherous slopes and OB galore. Many of the baskets on the open holes are tucked into woods making the drive more important to setup an easier approach to the basket which is most likely on an insane slope. If your disc goes right of the fairway on hole 9, it's gone into the abyss baby! It falls off a couple hundred vertical feet just a few feet from the basket, and you can't even see the ground!

If you are serious about disc golf, you should play here. I would love to see a NT tourney here with all the top pros. It would be awesome if it could be included in the Worlds at Pittsburgh, but it's probably just too far. The locals I played with were all great guys and golfers! Thank you Paul aka DiscGolfFarm for the tour! I was still dreaming about the course the entire 5 hr drive home. I can't wait to come back and hopefully the other 3 courses will get approved.

Grass was just cut. Nicely manicured with benches added this year. ( Major bonus ) Areas that had previously been swampy all season appear to have had work done to assist in drainage. Wonderful mountain views! This course is in wonderful condition. Noticed a sign when we started that said holes 3,4,5,6,7, and 8 are close. I suppose the sign is rather outdated as we played all of the holes and waved to park workers while doing so. The course provided nice score cards and color maps of the course for first timers.

I believe the tee pads are in need of some adjusting. I think the original pad was a short one and was added on to. Wooded 4x4 frame with gravel inside. Need to remove the middle cross member as it makes approaching your drive odd. Small complaint for a wonderful course. I noticed a few "tee signs". Better signs I suppose but the provided map at the barn helped.

Bring lots of water. For what the course is could something else be done for hole #1. 180ft par 3? I had heard from a few locals last season that there were talks of a 2nd 18 hole course at this park. It would be amazing to have another course of this caliber there.

-The length - The back 9 alone is bigger than my entire 21 hole local course in Cleveland.
-Elevation changes - Love throwing uphill and especially downhill. #8 and #18 were great highlights.
-Maintenance - Course was very well maintained. I found nothing really wrong with any aspects. Some people my disagree.
-Accessories - Not sure if that really is the right word, but I love the fact that they have color maps, scorecards, and pencils for players to use.
-Skills - This course offers a true test of all skills. Distance, accuracy, control.
-Challenge - I finished with a +18 and personally, for a first time on a "championship level" course, I'll take it. Though the thought of hole distances can be intimidating, there is nothing that is too crazy for anyone to try.
-View - Absolutely beautiful views, especially #3 and #18.

-Being from out of town, the back roads through what was almost like a trailer park seemed kinda crazy. But I can't hold it against the course because once you get through, it just opens up wonderfully.
-I personally don't mind it but to attract more people, maybe trim down the thick rough just a little.
-Some tees were concrete, though small, while others had nothing. Again, this is something that does not bother me as I don't use a running start to throw.
-Some signs were a little confusing on pointing to the next hole. But we found the tees rather quickly anyway.

Let me start this off by saying I'm from Cleveland. I was visiting a friend who lived about 25 minutes away and we decided to give it a try. We went very early and there was nobody else on the course. The park itself was practically empty as well. Started off getting Pars on the first 3 and I will admit I got cocky. Then the bogies came and they came in abundance. This course is long and demands accuracy, especially 4, 5, and 6. 12, 13, and 15 are basically the same hole in that they cover the same curve within a hill. 14 IS GREAT! I hope they never change it. I thought it was a great challenge to get it in between those trees. My buddy who was playing for only his 2nd time birdied that hole. (He finished +15 for the whole course). I lost a Champion Orc on 11 which would've ruined my day if it wasn't for the course being so much fun. For those who play it, from the tee, it's in the thick brush by the tree that leans to the left as you face it. Kinda by the hole. It's purple. If you find it, please give it a good home. : ). I love the short 17 length before hitting the absolutely perfect 18th. I can see where safety for cars and people could come into play if the park was busy. I was able to clear the parking lot, barely though. I would recommend this to anyone who is in the area and has a few hours to play. Bring water and your hiking shoes cause you will need it.

Probably the Best Open Course in the World. With signature #18's 1,000 ft downhill dropping 100 feet to a basket nestled on a small sloping hillside with dense woods to the right and the clubhouse barn to the left. I could sit at that clubhouse and watch drives all day dive bombing from the mountain above. The Black Course boasts 10 holes over 485 feet and 5 of those are over 725 feet. It is gargantuan and plays exclusively on top of a West Virginia Mountain Top that makes Paw Paw look like a speed bump in comparision. Inspiring Vistas and equallyspectacular disc golf make this what will be known as the greatest disc golf course for power arms known to mankind. There are massive open shots here but there are also some memorable long wooded holes and 5 of the best holes under 260 feet you will see anywhere. The open shots are long but everyone of them requires careful consideration as the greens and fairways play particularly fast with sloping hillsides utilized as well as trees and elevation shifts ranging from 50 foot elevation gains to 100 foot drops not to mention the valley holes which play flat tee to basket but play over 40-60 feet deep canyons of grass. Yeah that basket is really 850 feet away and at the exact same elevation as the tee but theres crescent shaped canyon that drops 60 feet that if you fail to land properly your gaining an oob stroke and shooting uphill 50 feet and 750 away so the hole will play well over 1000 feet. OUCH! Quite simply there is no other course built to such a massive scale on this planet. Need more proof? OK Hole 2 plays a mere 498 feet but uphill straight up a 50 foot rise with no protection from mountain winds and steep fast slopes. Imagine throwing your driver nose up in those winds...its either gonna hyzer glide away or roll away if you don't throw it just right. Hole #1 is a simple 228 foot opener....but its perched in front of a dropoff to the valley below..go ahead and ace run it I dare you. #3 is a relatively short and open run across the crest of the mountain but it's fast before and after the basket. #4 and #6 are perfect long woods holes one hyzers and the other anhyzers along long low precise lines traversing over 500 foot fairways. 8 is a downhill drive of close to 800 feet with a drop of over 50 feet in elevation to a pin nestled in a wooded lane on a hillside.10,11,12,13, and 15 play across enormous sloped valleys and require multiple huge drives to set up delicate approaches to par. 16 is a precise 750 footer that if bent to soon will result in you simply dropping 70 feet to a valley below when you want to stay above and shoot on a very pretty green nestled in a nook. 17 just kills your arm as it's 288 feet of straight up 50+ ft of rise to set up the Greatest On Top Of the World Shot ever made #18. Theres also a slew of interesting short holes here such as #5 a tight fairway of 258 with plinko hell if you stray right or left. #7 is just 188 feet and open but its over 30 feet of rise and pitches severely...an ace run perhaps if you can throw a disc straight up that high. #9 is another tight fairway of just 228 ft but the green has a cliff that falls into the wilderness below just 5 feet from the basket. Then theres #14 a basket in jail...an open drive to a stand of thin trees with the basket set in the middle. Try to break into jail and save par. I may sound like a frontiersman telling tall tales here but trust me this one is for real. The combination of length and elevation changes on the big arm holes, the clever shorter holes and the scenic isolation make this the one course that I think should be on every serious DGer radar. 9,114 feet of disc golf atop a wild mountain but relax the course was built in such a way that even with such massive drives few holes are blind and the area is maintained enough that disc loss should be at a minimum so go ahead and unleash your best driver as hard as you can..chances are you will watch its full flight and not lose it like other mountain courses where ski slopes have high grass or woods are nearby to gobble up errant drives. That doesn't happen here that often as most of the time it's you against the wind with an expanse of distance in front of you so tracking your disc is not so difficult. Ski hill type terrain but a permanent actual DG course!

It's raw as of May 2010 with natural tees, lackluster signage and still needs some debri removal and perhaps a tighter mow on a few of the open holes on the backside of the mountain (10.11). Has an abandoned feel and would benefit from some sprucing up with amenties particularly around the barn. I was the only player on the course the entire time...so sadly, despite the truly world class disc golf here it's in a backwater town that could never support the course. This course needs players. I hope they hold a top level tournament and theres video of the top players playing this course....anything to spread the word. I will admit this course was way above my playing ability and after a while I stopped keeping score and more or less just marveled at the course and imagined massive drives that I could not make. I don't think many players will be able to handle the mammoth distances here. The access road and lots do come into play on 4 holes but it's really not a busy park so I dont think it will ever be an issue. 12,13, and 15 utilize the same horsheshoe shaped canyon of grasslands over different elevations(12 across the top, 13 in the middle and 15 at the base of the canyon...all of them require mandos/oob to separate the fairways from one another...with the nearby valley of steep woods below the canyon and with the expanses of sloping fields beyond this area I tend to think a more creative use of space could have created something even more amazing. As an amateur I would have loved a floater down one of these huge valleys to a pin below rather than constantly playing above them and using them as punishers I would have loved to have a few little drives from top to base to add some fun!

I did get a birdie on hole 11...actually it was a drop in birdie. Was the personal highlight of my day. If there were more benches and Info as well as when the tees and signs improve..instant 5. I have one crazy thought...on the jail hole #14 I think it would be cool if a back door lane was opened up as I think the trees are low enough to be thrown over and a backdoor hyzer lane to the basket would be an instant signature hole. Be sure to drive to the rear of the park and visit the office and get a map and be sure to let the park personel know you are there to disc golf. I would recommend this course for the 18th hole alone but the other 17 holes instantly screamed potential top 10 course. I also love the fact that it's designed to be a Championship level pro course. I am sure subsequent reviews will whine about the lack of amenities and lack of short tees and the lack of pegs to hang my bag full of bosses even though I only throw 250 etc......if your an experienced player and want to play one of the best "layouts" in the country....Come Play The Black Course....I promise you that you will not regret it.

Huge and Hilly
Great Location
Big Holes and Huge Altitude Changes
Several Holes on on top of giant steep hills, it's so much fun to let em rip and watch em soar. Watch them carefully though, they may be tough to find if they don't land where you want them to
In an area that badly needs to be introduced to the sport
Land they used is fantastic for disc golf
Combination nature hike and killer game of Disc Golf
Well defined fairways
Great shot variety
Difficult but not frustrating
Perfect balance of open, wooded, short, long, turns and hills

Huge and Hilly
Still needs work
No signs and tough to Navigate (they're working on that though)
Natural tee pads, Some consider this a Con but I prefer them
Rough Terrain, be ready for a hike

I lived in this area for most of my life, I ended up moving away to the big city where I discovered Disc Golf. It's nice to see a course in the Ohio Valley. There are no other Courses within an hour of this one. It's an area that badly needs to be introduced to the sport and they got a great course here. Unfortunately most people who live around there have probably never heard of Disc Golf so they won't know what a gem they have.

This course is great now but it will be spectacular with time. This place is just overflowing with potential. It was snowing and cold when I went and I had a tough time navigating, but as I played I tried to imagine this course, with a little more work done, and in the summertime, I can tell its gonna be special.

There is more than one hole where you tee off on the top of a giant foothill, it's fun watching your drive it feels like it sails forever. The final hole is fantastic, it's over a 1000 feet down an enormous hill.

The holes in the woods can be tricky but have a well defined fairway. Like I said earlier, be ready for a hike. You'll be sharing the course with plenty of deer and wildlife.

The problem with it right now is that it's tough to navigate. If you play this course be sure to visit it's web site and print yourself a map before you go. Also When I did find where the hole was, I had trouble finding where to Tee off. I ended up making up my own spot on several of them. There is a sign at the Barn on the 1st hole that says signs and tee pads are on the way so this is a problem that should be fixed soon.

I imagine this course will draw a lot of first timers which in a way is unfortunate. This one might be a little tough for a beginner. Also one might get spoiled being introduced to the sport on a course as good as this one. Most courses aren't as good as this.

Great place to play, I'm excited to have a course to hit when I visit back home. I would have been happy with an average course but I'm happy for the people of the Ohio Valley because this one is outstanding!

* I'm adding to this review on June 1st 2010. In this review I said that I tried to imagine what this course would look like in the summer, well it's summer and I came back. It lived up to what I was hoping for much much more.

I don't have a huge arm but I have a good one and I was in over my head at the Black Course. But if I did have a big time power I would travel any distance to play this course.

I met the one of the guys that helped get this course up and running. He was friendly and I liked him a lot. He said he has sent Discs to the local schools and gave them a heads up that this place is here, I thought that was a great idea. He also plans to build more courses in the park. If the new ones are anywhere close to being as good as the ones they already got this could quickly become a Disc Golf Mecca.

I've played it couple times now and have never seen even one other person playing. Most people in this area have never heard of Disc Golf (the guy I talked to said people keep thinking the Disc Catchers are deer feeders) This place is probably gonna attract 2 kinds of people, first timers and road trippers. My concern is that this course may be to difficult for people to learn the game on, I know I learned on smaller courses and worked my way up. A first timer would definitely bite off more than he can chew here. Hopefully with patience and time the Ohio valley will be loaded with Disc Golfers. I guess you gotta learn some how.

Flock to this course, I don't care where you live or how far you need to go. Drive here, fly here, walk here, swim down the river if you have to, but find your way to this course. You will love it. I promise