Surge is the last course inside the 275 loop that I hadn't played, so I finally made my way over during a lunch break from work.
-All 9 baskets were in and in decent condition
-Some nice risk/reward shots as the entire course is built on the hillside so rollaways are a constant risk.
-Holes 1, 6, and 7 were the best holes. Each had a tee area (or at least some level concrete) to throw from and 6 and 7 required a good bit of shot shaping.
-Plays pretty quick for course baggers

-The most glaring issue is that if you showed up with a course map you'd be absolutely lost. There are no signs of any kind, only 2 teepads that I could find, and no indication where to throw outside of numbers on the baskets.
-The 2 teepads I found will soon be lost to mud and weeds, and were not great to begin with.
-The course plays through/around the schools botanical garden. The garden was ugly, overgrown, and dead (likely just a winter problem) but was also in the way of the course. Hole 8 is perched literally on the edge of a water retaining garden pit that grows up tall. If it catches your shot your basically screwed because it's in a foot of mud, water, and growth. Hole 9 tees on a narrow ridge behind reeds that are taller than most release points. Hole 1 also plays near this area.
-Hole 2 plays near a road
-Several holes play up to a parking area and hole 9 plays near fenced in backyards.
-Hole 1 tees from a parking area that has its entrance gated with a sign that reads "employee and contractor parking only". As there were only 2 cars in the lot I entered through the exit side to park and throw, but just be aware.
-Broken limbs down around the course, some trash in one basket, and burnt out grassy areas all added to the vibe.
-The course basically plays on a hillside overlooking the main highway into Cincinnati. There's constant traffic noise.

Maybe this course was once interesting, but it's mostly neglected now and not worth your time unless you're a bagger, and then only barely.

Surge DGC plays right through the campus of Cincinnati State. Like most campuses, the grooming is great and the area is littered with huge trees, bushes, and a fountain along rolling hills (which are all on one giant hill). This is a beautiful setting to play in as a result.

The design does a nice job of requiring some shot shaping among the trees, as well as some lower releases under low-hanging branches. Elevation is always at least a factor as the entire course plays on the giant hill that is the front of the campus. You get to play a nice mix of uphill, downhill, and side hill shots.

While the setting is a pretty college campus, the atmosphere of it takes away from enjoying the course as much as you probably could. Like many campus courses, this plays right through, over, and around main walkways and sets of stairs. We played in the evening so there weren't a whole lot of people out, but I'd imagine that a few holes are virtually unplayable at various times throughout the day. Even without many people around, there were still chances of hitting parked cars on a couple of holes.

Even while being beautifully manicured, there are still chances to lose your discs in the thick bushes and pond.

Even with some directions, it isn't super clear where the easiest place is to park or throw from on hole 1 (throw from the parking lot). There also isn't very good course flow throughout the course as navigation isn't too clear or intuitive. In addition, many tees are hard to find and some seem to be nonexistent.

Disclaimer: I'm not a huge fan of playing campus courses. I'm glad they're there and can introduce people to the sport, but atmosphere is a big thing for me and affects the course here in a big way. The holes themselves were fun to play, the course just doesn't have a great flow to it. Fortunately, you aren't traveling out of your way to play here with many other quick 9's in the immediate area and some fantastic courses very close by.

Surge DGC plays in a somewhat unique setting, wrapping around a hillside on a college campus. Despite its centrality on the campus, the layout doesn't seem to conflict too heavily with campus-goers, although YMMV if any of them feel like picnicking on the grass or if the central stairs are overly trafficked.

The gentle but perpetual hillside slopes are dotted with enough trees to provide some interesting terrain, and patches of flowerbeds and concrete both provide added obstacles. Trees need to be worked around both off the tee and as you approach, and are thus used in a variety of ways. Line-shaping is required to an above-average degree, and you always need to be mindful of the slope, which can easily cause your disc to get away from you. While it's hard to comment on hole lengths too much owing to the difficulty in finding tees, the overall feel is that holes play at a variety of lengths, which is nice to see on such a casual college campus.

This course feels more like casual safari fodder than a structured layout, mostly owing to the difficulty of finding the tees: my playing partner and I both searched hard and we were only able to find two. While the land is good material for playing safari, I wish I had a better idea of the original design.

There are some opportunities to have your disc swallowed by dense flowerbeds and reeds, which is a bummer on an otherwise-casual course. A nasty rollaway also has a chance of ending up in the road.

Parking was harder to find than I'd expect given that it's a college campus.

On my summer visit pedestrian traffic was non-existent and the layout seems like it may not conflict with campus goers, but it's hard to say for sure. If the pretty grass slopes that the course sits on are popular to lounge on, then it's likely unplayable for large stretches of time.

Surge DGC was worth a quick stop and is helped by having so many courses nearby. I'd recommend visiting when school isn't in session to minimize your chances of conflicting with students. If you come expecting to make up your own holes then it's a fine, quick round.

The area on the Cincinnati State campus is very nice and well maintained.

It is centrally located in the heart of Cincinnati.

Where to begin...

The parking situation is pretty awful. The directions here say you can find a spot to park on the street but I saw nothing but no parking signs everywhere on the main street. Once you pull into the campus there are parking lots that are for faculty and maintenance only. This is where I parked but was nervous when I was there the whole time. Unless you want to pay $5.00 to park in the garage and walk a half-mile to the course, there is no other option to park.

The course itself is very problematic. Again, the directions say that hole one starts in lot A. I searched for a good 8-10 minutes and couldn't find any marker or spot to tee off from, so eventually. I just picked a spot on my own. This is the case for ALL holes! Nothing is marked, there are little wooden stakes that I went with at first, but there was over 12 of them and it is a nine hole course, so I think they had something to do with the campus and not the course.

I found baskets 1-8 but again looked for about 10 minutes for basket 9 and could not find it. There are no signs, maps, or directions making navigation and full completion of the nine holes very difficult.

I never felt very welcomed here either. I said hello to a couple of people and got a look like, "what are you doing here?" I asked someone about the course and got a brief and cold response that obviously was no help.

This course is not worth any stop at all. Tale the time to go up to the professional grade, Mt. Airy Forest that is just moments away from here. Also, Idlewild in Burlington, KY is not far either and is exceptional.

Update 7/5/14: I think the botanists win out over the disc golfers. Which is only a plus in that the place is beautiful. And the flash animated map mentioned in my review WAS the coolest thing I've seen in disc golf (but has been abandoned, as well). Look into cons for my edit.

Surge DGC at Cincinnati State (aka Copperleaf) is a relatively challenging nine hole course in the middle of town, and easily accessible near Interstate 75, so folks coming through town who want to stretch their legs (especially on a weekend) might want to see this unique course situated on a collegiate hillside botanical garden. There are educational signs all over describing features of the plantings, the paving, and so on, so if you have family with you that are more interested in gardening than disc golf, they can easily be entertained here while you get in a round.

Holes work their way back and forth the hillside, where you are forced to go left, right, straight, and tight, by the park-like trees and plantings that are extremely well maintained by the college. The landscaping itself is superb, while the disc golf holes range from 185 to 405 feet in length (depending on where you tee for #2 - there are two spots, depending on which map you follow), and possibly 500' up and around the blind hill. There are plenty of places for players with bigger arms than me to use the sidewalks creatively to lengthen the holes and increase difficulty. In fact, if you want to declare some areas out of bounds, like the raingarden area on hole 8, this course could challenge advanced and open players. In its intended state, it poses a decent challenge for rec to intermediate players.

The interactive map at http://itd1.cincinnatistate.e...flash_map.htmis one of the coolest things I've seen.

The 9th basket has been missing for at least six months (now 2 & 1/2 years). There are no trash cans or benches near the tees.

Navigation of the course would be very tricky without a map. For instance, The first tee is somewhere on the corner of the parking lot. Hole two tees off either on the central path up an indeterminate number of flights of stairs or somewhere unspecified along the sidewalk by the driveway, just to the right of the first basket. The fifth hole tees from the central stair/sidewalk again. You have to either hop over a guardrail or negotiate the steep hill 100' past the 5th basket to get to the 6th tee. The #7 tee is directly downhill below the 6th basket, and nearly invisible because of the mud running down over it. The 8th tee is marked by paint on the sidewalk below the main driveway, near one of the nation's biggest Gingko trees.

Only holes 3, 4, 6, (7), and 9 have dedicated tee areas, where they've used brick pavers, which seem to be the only neglected areas of the landscaping here. Some have weeds, and #7 is covered in mud, either of which can lead to slipping on your drives.

Edit 7/5/14: the tee on 7 has been obliterated by the sliding mud and can no longer be found. It does not feel right to throw anywhere near the rain garden area on 8, because we'd really harm it looking for a disc thrown in there.

Overall, the disc golf course seems to have been basically abandoned to the other landscaping. It's beautiful, but would be very frustrating if you didn't know the course. Sadly, to be accurate, I had to really drop my rating after playing there today.

They've added a beautifully landscaped raingarden which now constitutes the 8th fairway. I feel guilty throwing in there, and worry about trampling on the plantings, or possibly losing a disc there in the thick stuff.

I can't decide if this is a pro or a con: Hole 6 may be impossible for a beginner, with no clear flight path to the 300' basket. Big arms may be able to tomahawk over the tree in the fairway, but keeping a disc under a 5' high branch and running out along a hillside past another set of trees is a trick! I got lucky by accidentally firing my turnover beast through there, where it kicked up into a hillside roller to 6' from the pin!

This is a community college, and access might be limited during school sessions. I've gone on weekends, and had no trouble getting in to park, and have been alone on the course both times. I think the course gets relatively limited play, which might also be what the college wants in the long run: the botanical garden aspect of the landscape has clearly gotten the most attention. Not to say it isn't a really nice DG course: I'd recommend a visit either way!