Every hole fits well in the overall design. Nothing seems artificial, extravagant, or out of place.

General features I like most:

Long holes that require different strategies: I have no power, but appreciate a course that rewards those who throw 300+ feet with control. At #1, the first shot should ideally stay high to the left, and at least crest the uphill for the tight dogleg right approach. The 17th has several roller coaster hills and trees to navigate. The 5th is long and essentially straight, and slopes down to the brush on the right. You need to stay left, and just keep going until you hole out. It was a bear for my most reliable left-right forehand.

Doglegs of various severity: several with generous landing areas, and a well-defined best line of play. The 15th begs for a long strong drive that stays safe on the high left side, but the fairway is wide enough to accept a bit of left-to-right drift.

Excellent basket placement, including the 1st and 17th: Others of note when I played - the 4th stands on a slight slope and gap in the woods. 11th is great for risk-reward. On a steep wooded slope that could drop all the way to a dry creekbed with bad enough luck. 13th basket to the far right maximizes the dogleg. 15th stands on the crown of a cleared hill, with the forest on all sides.

Again, the challenge: The 6th through the 8th provided about the only chance for a par without my best shotmaking. Of course that gives another clue to my limited ability. 15-17 are relentlessly tough closing holes. The 16th is relatively long and very tight, snaking through the woods. 18th offers a bit of a relief, but not much if the pin is back.

Great pro shop: lots of discs and a very friendly staff. There's a net set up outside to practice full throws - a big help given the immediate challenge of #1, and the number of people at the course.

Nothing too serious. This course isn't fancy like some. Simple signs. Most baskets are well-worn. Some of the cement tees are cracked, but somebody put in a lot of effort to get them level.

Only one set of tees, with almost no gimme holes. If you're not good, you should at least be good-tempered. I've already mentioned the challenge as a plus, but for some it would be a definite problem. I will not be taking my daughters to this one.

Lots of blind shots. It's essential to pick up a map at the pro shop, especially to get from basket to tee in a few cases. Experience should make a big difference in scoring. Wishful thinking for me.

Never played the previous layout, but the current setup seems great. Lots of mid-afternoon mid-week golfers when I was out, and nobody minded my wildness. No conflicts with non-golfers in the park area either.

Hole Variety/Course Layout-
Mt. Airy Forest is a pretty solid course. Good variety, even though I would say it still heavily favors big arms. Elevation helps make this course fun in a lot of spots.

Course Maintenance-
Most holes had concrete tee pads and nice signs (exept the new holes), benches on a few holes are a bonus too. The park itself was clean and well maintained.

-When I was here we met up with a cool local, and she helped us navigate the course right so we never got lost, but without her we may have been confused after a couple holes. She also told us that they had just redesigned the course and some of the old holes are no longer there. For example, holes 7 & 8 on the current pictures are gone (yeah, two of the coolest looking holes). We even walked up to hole #7 (which still has a bench and tee pad, but no basket). I dont understand why they took these holes out, this hurt the image of the course to me very much.

-Like said before, theres alot of people in this park (not just the dg course), these people can get in the way sometimes.

-Overall its a good course. There were some awsome holes, and some boring holes. There were some cool people and there were also some assholes. I think you can get my point.

The holes each offer different challenges, not being able to see the basket or going through moderatly to heavily wooded areas. More of a challenge than some of the other courses around Cincinnati.

The earlier holes aren't bad but in the middle of the course it becomes difficult to navigate through the people that are usually there that aren't playing the game. You can't blame these people though, they just want to enjoy a day out, they can't help that a disc golf course runs through their picnic area. Also some of the tees are hard to find if you are not used to the course.

It would be nice if something could be done to help keep people from walking right in the middle of a hole. Again it's not their fault that mor thought didn't go into the planning of the course and picnic areas. Because of this I rarely play the course, and when I do I'm reminded why I stay clear of it.

The hole layouts are really the reason to play this course. Wonderful variety of elevation and doglegs with enough trees to keep it interesting. This course plays long, probably longer than the yardage makes it seem, because many tee shots are on a slight uphill.

Overall the course is well maintained with garbage cans (buckets) on many tees and benches and water fountains sprinkled throughout. It is also a scenic course and not too crowded.

A couple of holes (8? in particular) have tight and dense tree shots that sometimes amount to a pitch 'n pray hole.

A few tee signs are missing; there is a post in the ground but no sign on top of it. The signs mark the length, par, and hole layout but not the way to the next tee. This makes a few hard to find (see Other Thoughts for these). There are scorecards available but they do not mark the pars and the lengths differ from those on the sign posts. Thus, a few of the holes the par is uncertain due to the missing signs.

To get to the parking lot take a right upon entering the park and then take the left arm at the fork.

Hole 3 is easy to skip if you aren't paying attention. After finishing 2 take the steps down the hill (leading to 3's tee), not the path to the left through the trees (this goes to 4's tee). The next odd one is 12, which requires you to backtrack from 11's standard down the road along 10's fairway. 12's tee is close to the fork in the road. 16 is easy to miss too because you can see 17's tee from 15's basket. 16 is straight behind the basket through the woods.

New in 2009 is a pro shop down the road from the disc golf parking lot (it's by holes 5 and 6). Has a wide selection of discs and is a good place to grab a drink and/or snack for the middle of the round.

What I personally like and how this course stacks up:
1) Holes with good risk/reward -- A
2) Holes that have rewarding birdie opportunities -- B+ (Many holes are too long for my 300-325' arm, making birdies impossible and pars boring.)
3) More wooded than open - lots of variety of shots required caused by hole shape and topography -- A+
4) Natural beauty (Appalachian beauty preferred) and seclusion -- A
5) Bonus amount for multi-shot holes with defined landing zones, good risk/reward and multiple options to play them -- C (one good one, and several tweeners.)

It's all about feeding the addiction, so I ranked this course subjectively based on my own "personal addiction factor". The grades above tell how well the course will draw me back to itself again and again and again. Since I have played a decent number of courses (115 18-hole, 50 9-hole as of early 2009), my hope is that players/explorers who have similar addiction tastes will find my ratings list helpful as they choose courses to play and explore.

Over time, I expect to fill some of my reviews in with more descriptive verbiage...if what I can add anything to what has already been written. For now, my list is more important to me than the verbiage of my reviews.

I fully expect others with different tastes/philosophies to disagree with me....that's the fun of things here. See my profile for my rating philosophy.

Wow. What a great course. There is everything you could want from a course here, including shot type, scenery, difficulty, cool locals and overall enjoyment. The second hole stands out still and I played it several weeks ago. Long, sweeping downhill shot with really nasty woods on right (i know this firsthand...). This is followed up with a narrow uphill/downhill shot to a blind basket. Matter of fact, there are several blind shots on here, but lucky for me I hooked up with 3 brothers that were out and they carted me around (thanks, guys!) and showed me the way. I had enough fun that I shot really badly over par (+10 or something? that part I don't remember clearly...) and still have fond memories of this course.

The cons for me were that there were a lot of folks walking around and having picnics, etc. One pavilion (hole 12 or so?) was almost right in the fairway. Most of the course, however, is away from the uncool non-DGers. So, not too many cons.

I am lucky enough to travel around in 7 states and play a lot of courses now and this started the best two days I've ever had in my DG career: Here, Idlewild and Banklick

Very nice course, good variety, and challenging but not impossible. At times it reminds me of a ball golf course in appearance (take hole #2 and #18 for instance). Popular but not too crowded.

A couple of the holes changed due to some erosion issues. I liked the old holes, but oh well. There are newer holes to replace, they are ok, and just need some time to mature. Navigation is a little tricky a couple of times, just ask somebody though.

Mt. Airy is the first upper level course I ever played, and I loved every minute of it. It is hard to believe you are in Cincy- grassy, rolling hills, woods, deer everywhere!

If you are in this area Mt. Airy is a must play. Best Cincy area course north of the Ohio River.

Great sweeping vistas,
Challenging hole locations,
Long Driving Distances,
Mixed Difficulty levels,
Lots of wildlife,

One or two holes are close to a driveway and to avoid them you have to tempt a massive black hole of honeysuckle and tall grass.
Some people don't understand that the area is for disc golf and get angry if you try to play through.
This course is not for beginners, there is too much distance between holes that will tire out the inexperienced.

This is an amazing course with a lot of great features, but make sure you are on top of your game before you try to play.

Mt. Airy Forest is an excellent disc golf course. Its even mix of long/short and wooded/open holes require players to master all aspects of the game. Also, several holes (#2, #13, and #15 in particular) feature significant elevation changes.

My favorite hole is #2. This is a long, challenging hole which winds down a large hill and bends slightly to the right. Dense woods crowd either side of the broad fairway, and push you to execute a clean drive, and approach. Reaching the chains in three shots is difficult, but attainable. Also, the view from the tee/fairway is picturesque.

Finally, wildlife on the course is abundant. You will frequently see deer and other animals roaming.

My only gripes with Mt. Airy are minor. Several holes have been moved in the past 2-3 years due to erosion. This may confuse unfamiliar players who have gotten out-of-date maps. cincinnatidiscgolf.com should be updated in the Spring of 2009 with accurate pictures and maps, so check out that site if you plan to play in the near future.

The deer I mentioned in the "Pro's" section leave "droppings" everywhere...watch your step.

I titled this review "3rd Best Course in Cincy Area" because I consider Idlewild and Banklick superior to Mt. Airy. However, please don't construe that to mean this is not a good course. Those other two are very tough to live up to. Mt. Airy is my home course. The frequency of which I play it contributes to a sense of familiarity, and drains some of the novelty, but not its quality.

A pro shop is being installed next to holes #5 & #6 in the Spring of 2009, so you should be able to buy discs and refreshments on the course soon!

Top notch course that blends Distance and Obstacles very well. Natural obstacles are used well but OB with paved roads add an additional challenge on many holes. Very Challenging. Some particular high points:
Hole #2 - Lovely tee shot that can get you in trouble if it goes right . Your approach better not hit on it's edge or a long painful roll could be coming.
Hole #4 - A Beauty that combines multiple elevation changes and large well postion pines to protect a pine on an incline. 4 is acceptable - A three and you are happy.
Hole #10 - Long(700') horseshoe shaped hole that is well protected by rough and OB. Play too good placement shots and take your 4 (if lucky). Big arms could get in trouble looking for a 3.
Hole #15 - Tee off by the Shelter and pin on a point behind a clump of trees. Skipping long into the rough can be trouble.
Hole #18 is another left-to-right horseshoe with the tee protected by trees.

Course is setup pretty evenly between forehand/backhand friendly routes. The fairways are fair but errant shots will be punished. Lots of inclines at or near pins to make you be careful with putts.
Very well balanced course - Fun to play!

They've had to move/modify a couple of holes because of problems with errosion. The new holes don't yet have concrete pads. The rearrangement causes confusion in the numbering of 5 thru 8. Can be sloppy at times - Like most wooded courses.

Pros way outweigh the Cons. Lots of elevation changes make for a good workout. Definitely worth the visit!

Mt Airy is an excellent course, with shots that will challenge players of all skill levels. Each hole is unique, with only a few standard/simple par 3's. Most of the time you will be dealing with throwing in woods, over steep hills, or extreme doglegs.

This is a challenging course, and accuracy will be rewarded. One some of the harder holes, your drive will be a placement shot just to get in position for a possible 3.

This course gets some major traffic, and its not uncommon for a round to take nearly 3 hours on a busy day.

If not for Idlewild/Banklick, this course would easily be the best option within the greater Cincy area.

This course is heavily populated with deer - don't hit them with your discs!

Mt Airy is a fantastic course. It will challange even the best of disc golfers. For me.... par is always hard to attain here. This course has some of the most beautiful holes I have ever played. Number 2 from the tee and number 4 from the upshot instantly come to mind.

The course has good tee pads, tee signs and baskets. The land has great topography for a disc golf course. Not only is it a good course but it's also an invigorating hike as well. This course is easy to navigate for the most part. You will have a chance to use every shot in your bag. Big arms will have a bit of an advantage here but they will be kept honest in most cases because the shots are not all open.

There are restrooms here as well.

Unfortunately a couple of my favorite holes (7 and 8) were recently removed because of erosion. The replacements are renstalled after hole number 4 (behind the white building). They do not have concrete tee pads and tee signs yet and the other holes still needed to be renumbered. Also... one of the replacement holes is a little bit of a disapointment. It's a must deuce turnover shot (for the righty). But the hole after it makes up for it's relative ease by being very very hard.

If you're in Cincinnati this is a must play course.

Nice, fun course. Mach 3 baskets. Mix of open and wooded holes. Long holes. Cement teepads. Good teesigns. Not that crowded. Challenging holes. Great for a party. Hole 18 basket near Tee 1 so get in a few putts. When pro shop is open, there is a practice basket out. The pro shop is cool. The owner, Fred Salaz, is a nice person and if you need to find a certain kind of disc he can help you find. They have over 3000 discs. Visit http://www.thenatidiscgolf.com / to look at what they have.

687ft. dogleg Par 4. Now that's crazy.

One of the best courses in Cincy. Head over to Banklick and Idlewild for more rounds. Also Tuesday Ace Fund, Mt. Airy Forest. (6 dollars admission) Go to http://www.cincinnatidiscgolf.com for more info. Hole 17s basket has been relocated behind row of pines.

This course offered a wide variety of challenging holes. There is beautiful scenery and some really long holes.

A 687ft par 4 with a dog leg right? Wow, the par for the course is pretty tough to get. Also, the course map needs updated because it is easy to get lost on the hole progession.

The course wasn't crowded and I hit the best shot of my life (100 ft above and around trees to sink it on the second new hole), so it was a good day. If you get lost on where to go, make sure to ask. After hole number 4 you have to walk straight around an old white building to find the next hole, which is a little disappointing.

Very challenging and fun course. Par has recently been dropped to make the course even harder to break par. Holes 11-18 are much more beginner friendly than the first ten which challenge even the best players.

A couple of signs are missing and the new hole #5 is disappointing.

Great course for anyone looking to be challenged but probably not the best place for brand new players. This course is one of my personal favorites and I enjoy playing it much more than Idlewind in Kentucky as it seems to be slightly more forgiving while still extremely challenging.

Very aesthetically pleasing, one of the most beautiful courses I've seen. Very challenging, will challenge even the pros. Conveniently located 5-10 minutes away from downtown Cincy. You will have a great time.

There's just a few of these:
Some tee signs missing, two holes were moved due to erosion (one of them my favorite previously).

This course is my favorite in the Cincinnati Metro area. It combines thickly wooded holes with beautifully sculpted hills and wide open fields. Holes #2 and #4 have some of the best and most aesthetically pleasing hills I've seen incorporated into a disc golf course.

Hole #10 is a beast and will greatly challenge even the most masterful of disc throwers. But then again, so will most other holes on this course. And although you may be getting your brains beat out scorekeeping-wise (which WILL happen), the course is just too fun not to NOT be having a great time

This course combines many of the different aspects that make for a terrific dg course, and they are blended together excellently to create a course with an amazing overall flow.

Excellent city course. I'm sure that the local DGers have had to fight to keep all of the course intact. Highly skilled shots needed on this course, to include the skipper! I can't remember any other course where this tactic has to be used (hole #6). This course is also beginner friendly in that there are plenty of discs to be found by the patient student.

Rough can be VERY rough. With out a spotter, you could end up losing several discs on this course. Usually there are plenty of people around, so JOIN A GROUP!

Love the location. Once again, Cinci has great topography for DG courses. Just clear, mow and trim and BAM! there's your course.

Nice hole variety and plenty of elevation changes make for some really fun holes. The park itself is also well maintained and as jsalyers1 said, you definitely feel like you're not in Cincinnati, it feels far more remote.

Also, the tee signs, when available, were helpful.

The concrete teepads have seen better days and there didn't seem to be a standard pad length so some were quite short where others were a good size.

A few tee signs were vandalized when we played the course (spray painted over).

Overall these are just nitpicks as the course was still a lot of fun.

Mt. Airy was the first course I played in the Cincinnati area and it didn't disappoint. Between the elevation changes (Hole #2 sticks out in my mind) and going in and out of the woods, you were always kept on your toes as far as what the next hole would bring.

I was unable to find baskets #7 and #8 but after reading another review below it seems they may have been moved or replaced. We ended up playing from the #7/#8 tees and just aiming for trees that were around where we thought the baskets used to be.

This was a solid, stand-out course in a city with more disc golf options than most of us from other areas have the opportunity to choose from.

So what's the verdict? Should you play this course? Survey says.. Most definitely!

Mt Airy is a teriffic course for intermediate and advanced players. Pros will not be terrible challenged on this course - though a couple of holes will give you a good beating. Great balance of technical (i.e. woods/ significant obsticals) and distance holes (400 ft +). The park is weel maintained, and fast to get to off og I-75, or I-74.

Can be a bit intimadating for new players. Go to Winton Woods if you are new - you really will love it!

This used to be my home course. I have played courses in 11 states - and I have to say that Mt. Airy is still an excellent course. Props to whovere layed this course out!

You can't even tell you're still in Cincinnatti. The course is great. There are some awesome holes. Diversity is a major plus at Mt. Airy.

The new layout was hard to follow last summer. we played it a few years before and it was easy to follow but with the closing of 2 holes and the addition of 2 new ones it made it difficult to follow.

The best course in metro-Cincy. No doubt. There are some fabulous courses just across the river as well.