Pros:
The Players DGC in Alum Creek State Park is a challenging, intermediate level course that features wooded lanes and a couple of tricky water carries, utilizing nice, level concrete tees and quality discatcher baskets. They've undergone a bit of a redesign in the last couple of years, because the park extended and improved the boat ramp and parking area that divides the course. Along with the removal of numerous ash trees during 2013-14, the course actually opened up a bit to make formerly brutal woods lines more reachable, but still the kind of holes where a well-executed shot can give you a deuce opportunity, but a tree kick can leave you scrambling to save a four.
What makes this fun is the chance to challenge yourself in a beautiful, lakeside, wooded setting. You won't have much opportunity to bomb long drives, so bring your technical game here. Holes range from just under 200 feet to a handful just shy of 300, three under 400, and one 600 footer. Holes 5, 6, 9, 10, 11, & 13 all risk wetting your disc, with 6 being the feature challenge when the wind is coming at you, where you'll need to clear over 250 feet of lake to stay dry.
There are opportunities to shape shots left to right, right to left, S-shapers, and fair, but guarded approaches. What's interesting is that the holes on the East side of the boating lot (9-18) don't have an excessive amount of undergrowth to hide an errant shot. That's not to say you shouldn't keep an eye on some of the other holes (or send a spotter ahead), particularly on holes 1 (if you go long), 2 (right), 5 (right), & 6 (left).
There are some picnic tables, benches, and logs out on the course to sit and take a breather, there is a course sign and practice basket in the middle where the front and back nine loop nicely together, at least three bathrooms adjoining the course, and plenty of parking for easy accessibility. There really don't appear to be any trash cans out on the course itself, so carry in, carry out, please. Finally, there are plenty of activities here in the state park for the non-disc'ers in your party to enjoy a visit.
In all, this is a fun course when they've made it tourney ready (like this past weekend), and it will draw a lot of Intermediate level players who enjoy a technical challenge.
Cons:
Though I've drawn up a new Aerial map for dgcr, the pictures (as of July, 2014) are dated, and out of synch with the current hole layout and numbering. Presently, tee signs are simple PVC pipes with hole, par and distance painted on them, so they're visible and basic, but the distances are slightly different than listed here on dgcr (so that, and new pictures, need to be a priority for members who live in the Columbus area to update).
The flow of the course leads to a couple of long walks between basket and tee, particularly on 7 to 8 and 8 to 9. Hole 18 shoots out through the trees just left of the 17th basket and the practice basket, where the likely tree kicks may be a risk to folks on those greens. Use caution going for the big throw on 2 (and 8), because the fairways parallel, and errant shots could spell trouble).
The low lying areas (I'm talking to you, holes 3, 4 & 5) can be a harbor for mosquitoes and other insects in the rainy season.
Other Thoughts:
Some courses tend to be a little unsatisfying because you always get a similar result (a hole just out of your reach will always yield a three, for instance, once you've steadied out your game). The Players course is fun, because it's not unusual here to have a great, accurate shot on particular hole one time through, and a tree kick leaves you in trouble on the same hole the next time you play it. The fun comes when it works the other way around!