I always start most course reviews with how much I enjoy the natural aspects of the course. Pymatuning doesn't disappoint here. You play most of the front nine in and out of nice stands of old trees. There is a cool mossy undergrowth look to the landscape here that helps lend an old nature feel. There are some nice fields, creeks and valleys and then you get into the back nine where you finally get close to the lake itself. There is an oddly shaped hole here, with a very memorable green featuring a postcard shot look at a basket framed by trees over the lake. You flirt with the lake once more along the way as well, while playing through some pretty woods.

The course itself is fun to play. It's very much in modern design with multiple Par 5s and Par 4s that make you appreciate the biride Par 3 oops. You are going to use almost every trick in your bag as this course has some tight wooded cooridors and also some big one fairways. In tourney play, it really does lend any style a few holes to shine. That 9th Hole is a great one that starts with a big drive uphill in oft windy conditions, then down carrying a turnover shot through a valley, just a great hole. The 18th is a postcard hole, starting off with a tricky drive that need length and then a fairway that carries the lake the hole way.

There are three sets of tees here, with concrete on two of them. There are two baskets on some holes, though I have never played the long baskets.

I'll start here with the natural as well. As beautiful as this entire park and region is, I felt like the course could have used it more to its'' advantage. There is a gorgeous lake out there. You see it twice maybe on the entire track and only once does it come into play. That's largely because this is one of those courses that seems to have come into play with land no one was using. That's great in itself, but it means that a lot of this is holes built between the park roads and the town roads in mostly wide open spaces.

There is also too much of this course that does start feeling similar at a certain point. Half the course feels like you're just throwing drives in the same fields and facing crazy winds most of the time to boot, so it can all be a bit deflating. That 4th Hole is one son of a b..ch. Just so far and so tight, with ample trees to knock down most shots.

There are a handful of places on this course where you will cross dangerous wooden bridges. They are just wet and mud slicked and seem like they haven't dried in a decade. They don't seem capable of carrying much weight and losing footing is easy. The parking situation isn't easy. You can try to park in the shelter closest to 1st Tee if nothing is happening there, but most likely you're trying to find a spot down by the lake and walking a good bit to get up the 1st Tee.

I'm not basket snob but these are ancient

BRDGES
Parking

Sometimes you get all the right ingredients for a masterpiece and it just doesn't work out. This is a great course. It's got good amenities in a pretty park with some great shots. There just isn't any memorable holes. There's nothing that makes this course unique to itself and that's a shame in such a beautiful park.

I take a lot of newbies to this course because it is challenging at all levels. Some new ones kicked my butt not long ago because I had a horrible time with the tree holes. That's what I love about this course. We play whatever concrete pad is available and difficulty of party.

Depends on the season. Early spring has very tall side grass to look for discs. As summer progresses, they slowly cut those areas down opening up the freeways. Sometimes soggy on some holes after rainy days. Winds: Can come from any direction at any given time.

Play this course.

I played two rounds on this course and overall it is an excellent course. Of the courses I have played this is my third favorite course. Deer Lakes being number one and Moraine number two. The major strength of this course is the par 5's. I found them very challenging and using elevation change very well. This course has some great holes where you can just let loose. I also found using my forehand more in this course than most. The multiple tee positions along with the long and short basics make for different skill levels to be tested. Overall another excellent course.

I thought some of the par 3 and par 4 were just throwing at a basket in a field. I feel that they could have been setup better. These few holes are what keeps this from being in the same field as Deer Lakes and Moraine. Also I think a parking lot could be designated to disc golf along with some better signs showing where the course is within the state park.

Overall I enjoyed myself on this course. I drove 2 hours to play so I played two rounds. I would do the drive again so the course is worth it.

This course has such awesome potential - think a mix of Granite Ridge and Idlewild. There isn't as much elevation here at Pymatuning, but the mowed fairways are really neat and the course is still more hilly than your typical course. In addition, each hole has at least three sets of tees (pretty nice flypads), with some holes having 4 tees! Also, some holes even have multiple baskets (not just alternate pins, but multiple pins). However, there seems to only be 4 holes with extra pins now, as of June 2010. The course is mainly long and open (why it makes me think of Granite Ridge at Highbridge), with mowed fairways (which makes me think of Idlewild). The course will challenge the best of players. However, the course offers multiple tees and offers lesser players the chance to have fun because the courses ranges from 6000 to 9500 feet. In addition, the multiple tees weren't just thrown into the design. The multiple tees were well thought out and really add to the course. Even though the front nine was only partly playable (I will get to that in the cons), the front nine is going to be as enjoyable as the back nine. Holes 11, 13, and 16 were awesome holes from the back tees (hole 13 was the signature hole, which started out of the woods, went into the woods, down the hill, and back out of the woods into a protected green...and was 900 feet from the golds), and holes 1 and 9 really stood out on the front nine. See the cons for the main problem with this course...

As of right now, the front nine is only partly playable. All of the tees are in on the front nine (multiple pins per hole), and sign posts are in...but there are no signs yet so you don't know which hole is which. However, it was pretty easy to tell which hole was which because the navigation is pretty easy in the course. Also, the baskets have numbers on them. However, holes 3 through 6 do not have baskets in the ground as of June 2010 (just poles). Holes 1 through 2 and 7 through 9 are playable - however, hole 7 had some trees that were starting to tighten the fairway, as did hole 9. Hole 8 was a true gem, 340 feet slightly downhill with the lake in the background. However, some of the fairways on the back nine were getting a little long, and some of the fairways on the front nine weren't as nicely manicured (they were getting a little long). The main problem with this course is that it doesn't appear to get a lot of play, which is really a shame. Another con was the hole 14 gold tee - the back tee was no longer player because of a big tree with some overhanging branches. Also, holes 16 gold tee was playable, but some low hanging branches made for a tough drive. Bridges would have been nice on hole 16 and 18, with 18 forcing you to jump a small creek or trek through tall grass. And it wasn't a small jump....16 wasn't bad, as there was a small path through the tall grass, but any rain would have made the path very wet. The path from 17 to 18 was extremely wet and overgrown, but was manageable. Even though there are sign posts in the ground, the signs on the front nine do not have numbers or signs yet to indicate the lengths of the hole or the number of the hole. So as of right now, I would advise you to play the back nine (by shelter four) and then after hole 18 walk back up the hill towards the shelter and give the front nine a shot. While the navigation is somewhat difficult, its not near as difficult now because all of the holes do have tees. Keep in mind that holes 3 through 6 have everything (including hole poles) but baskets. Hole 6 looked a little tight around the basket (some more clearing was maybe needed around the basket), and hole 15 was awfully tight from the back tees, but I guess it was supposed to be hard from the long tees.

While some of the other reviews mentioned the navigation issues on the front nine, those have been addressed by all holes having multiple tee pads. The course has such awesome potential, but the maintenance appears to be lacking what some of the other public or state parks get. While the course is still very fun and challenging, the course is still missing 4 baskets and the front nine is still missing hole signs with distances and numbers. While it is now pretty easy to find your way around because the holes are laid out in nice order and the multiple tees make it easy to find holes (the only navigational issue would be after hole 2 you just walk across the road to hole 3), distances and hole signs would be nice. In addition, some of the holes on the back nine didn't have tee signs on every tee pole. While every tee had a pole in the ground, some poles didn't have the hole picture. This was only a big deal if you wanted to know the distance, and I think hole 17 was the only hole on the back nine to not have tee signs on every hole (each of the four tees). The main frustration with this course right now is the fact that four holes have the multiple baskets in the ground, while four holes currently have no baskets at all. Wouldn't it make sense to move the four multiple baskets to the four holes that currently have no baskets at all right now? Once holes 3 through 6 get baskets, and the front nine gets tee signs (keep in mind they already have sign poles), the course will be a 4.5 in my opinion. If the course gets better maintenance, the course would get a 5 rating in my book. It's not like the maintenance was bad, but there were some overgrown areas and some of the grass was long. But it wasn't enough to detract from the experience. For the most part, the fairways were nicely mowed and really added to the overall experience! I would definitely recommend Pymatuning.