Let's start off with the fact that this is a 27-hole course. If I was really local I'd probably play different configs of 18 each time, but since this is an hour drive for me, when I make the trip I always play all 27. I actually recommend starting at Hole 10. You'll do the hardest part of the course and longest walks early on and leave yourself the "easy 9" for your final piece.

There are some incredible holes here that give you a chance to throw shots that you just don't see anywhere else. #11 is a cool throw along a creek to a basket sitting on the right bank. #13 is a crazy shot down into a canyon to a basket sitting opposite side of a creek there. There is another fun downhole shorty on the final 9 as well that plays off a cliffside.

I am actually a fan of park courses and this delivers just about all of disc golf. The original front 9 plays very much through multi-use park. You get a lot of walkers around you, though never in play, and find opportunities for friendly convos with the locals. There is a huge amphitheater there with a basket in front of it that sets up nice photograph opps. The woods in the final 18 are spectacular. You play very much along the sides of a large hill, so there are a lot of rock formations and boulders and the aforementioned creeks in the course also.

The front 9 are pretty much old school disc golf. Many might find them too short and too little of a challenge, then you basically walk into the jungle. There is little to no maintenance happening on the final 18 holes. Watch your discs carefully because the potential for loss is high here. Too often the shot is blind and the tee signs are no help at all. This is rough golf. I don't mind that but many will so it's worth noting. My biggest issue though is the lack of manicuring. Too many holes are just a tee and a basket with a lot of trees between. It's poke and hope more than shot shaping.

There are at least two tees that play off a rock formation. Now, these are great photo shots and unlike most anything you will ever see in disc golf. Also incredibly unsafe. Are the odds low of a fall? Maybe, but any potential on a drive to overstep and fall 30 feet is concerning. Putting that aside, 18 of these are carpet tees. I'd almost rather have grass than moldy carpet.

The walks get increasingly long as the course develops. Think of this as three rings. The first 9 are the inside circle, then each 9 expands around that. By the time you get to 19-27 you are playing a large circle around all of the first 18. There is no signage to help you either. Pretty much follow the dots on a Udisc map or whatever you use because it's all you have to navigate. They really needed to look at an aerial map and re-number a lot of holes after they expanded. There is a more intelligent layout here that they just ignored.

In the summer there is a restroom to use, but it's closed off-season. Bring bug spray because you will be deep in the brush here. Definitely check out the Time Capsule too.

Only one set of tees on all holes.

Thompson Park Disc Golf is set on a multi use park . Parking is somewhat crowded and tight at peak times . I did not see an open bathroom here , but the park homepage mentions that there are restrooms here that are open year round . Look at the online DGR course map for clarity . This is a 27 hole course .
The Equipment - There are short narrow 2 1/2' X 7' cement tees on the front 9 , and the last 18 holes have natural tees . The tee signs are on wood posts with sponsors and some basic information on them . The baskets are Chainstars and seem okay . Some helpful tape at the bottoms of most of the baskets help navigate around here .
The Landscape - The park was mowed and the fairways in pretty good shape when I was here . This course rolls for the first 9 holes and plays park-style , lulling you to a relaxing state ,,, then you walk back to the back 9 and ,,,, nice woods and elevation + . There are still some park style holes like #16 , 17 , 18 and maybe #27 . A creek comes into play a time or 2 . Some nice rock formations show up in spots in the woods . There will be long walks ( see cons ) between the 9 holes sections and some other holes . Enjoy it . The park is pretty nice to look at .
The Highlights - the back 18 holes are where this course starts to glow some . I am not sold on the #10 downhill 420' drive because there is literally no fairway to shoot down . I do like the ending and the green is in a risk/reward area , over a downed tree and a huge drop surrounds the green . #15 is only 170' , but it is straight up , and the basket is guarded by a boulder . #16 , 600' , has a few mature fairway trees with branches that can swat down your drives . #23 is a 400' narrow woods fairway drive to a basket with no green to work with at all .
Signature Hole - #11 , 300' . The hole runs down hill at first and banks left to right over 2 creeks . The basket sits atop the bank overlooking the 2nd creek . It's also the best looking hole .
The Time - It took me almost 2 hours to play the full 27 holes . . A foursome will have their hands full getting out of here in less than 3 1/2 hours .
This is a fun play in a nice park . There were what looked like newbies just playing the first 9 . The back 18 starts at the parking lot , so you can go to your car if you need something .

#1 Navigation . The Course breaks off in spots . From 9-10 , 16-17 , 20-21 & 21-22 are just a few . Even on the short front 9 , you are going to be confused if a first time player going from 3-4 ( you have to backtrack and go over the road to find it ) . You might even have a hard time finding #1s tee ( hint : after parking the car , walk past the closest building and it is hiding under a low hanging tree Please update your course and DGR with an informative and accurate 27 hole map .
#2 Equipment - To take this course to the next level , course equipment needs to be updated . East Liverpool may not want to pony up the cash for cement or gravel tee pads , better tee signs or some yellow banded Discatchers , but all should be on the local disc golfers wish list . Some steps & benches would help , too .
#3 The elements - You may want to stay on the first 9 holes after a good rain or snow . 10-27 - mud + natural tees and elevation = injury . Wear hiking shoes if you have them .
#4 Long treks between spots . There are going to be loooong walks between holes . 9-10 , maybe 13-14 , 20-21 and 21-22 . There is a good walk from 27 back to the parking lot . Pack plenty of liquids . If any course needs a few benches , it's this one .
Disc Risk - Medium . Some blind shots , lots of woods , and the elevation here , will cause rollaways and ricochets . Take turns spotting .

I think that the course designers did a good job with the course . There may have been more than 1 set because of the front 9 looking so much different than the back 9 . Nice basket placements on several of the back 18 . I had to round up on my review to a 3 because of Thompson park being 27 holes , and it being divided into the first 9 being for newbies or families and a good warmup for better players before the descend into the woods for the last 18 . The course will give a little something for everyone . This course might empty your bag with it's technical and tight wooded features and its length and park style holes complete with doglegs . Try to link up with a local your first time out so you don't wander around aimlessly in a few spots .
My Recommendation - Front 9 is good for intros , newbies , families , and even dates . It is also useful as a warmup for locals, intermediates and up . Too off the beaten path for travelers , but might be worth it for Course Collectors , since they can get this , Chester City Park ,and Tomlinson run in a little over half a day . This is still a 27 hole stopover . if local or northeast of Pittsburgh , Give This Course A Chance . !!

1) Beautiful scenery
2) Cliff shots
3) Good mix of wooded and semi-wooded holes
4) Elevation changes

1) No concrete tees
2) Only one set of tees
3) Difficult navigation
4) Subpar signs
5) Lack of discernible fairways on some holes
6) Exhausting

Course design: 3/5
Scenery: 4/5
Tees: 1/5
Signage: 2.5/5
Navigation: 2.5/5
_______________
Total/Average: 2.6/5

This course is mystifying because it seems like it should be outstanding, but it falls short.

The course's front nine plays way different than the rest of the course. Here, the course is on well manicured grass, dotted with some trees throughout. The majority of the holes are 250' or so. Nothing special here.

Once you hit hole 10, however, the course changes dramatically. From here on out, there are some very challenging holes, and the majority are in mature forest, with fairly significant elevation changes throughout. The setting is gorgeous back in here and there are some amazing tee shots from cliffs that are a sight to see. Some of the holes are both challenging and fun, but some of them are just plain frustrating because there is no discernible path to get through the woods to the target (hole 10 comes to mind).

While the course has some appeal, the negatives quickly outweigh this appeal. From the get go, I found myself lost and wandering around to find the next hole...and this was so even though: 1) I had a map; 2) there was yellow tape on the target pointing to the next hole; AND 3) sometimes there were arrows on trees pointing in the direction to travel. Something needs to be done to address this problem because it really detracts from the enjoyment of the game; especially because this course has so much elevation changes, that it will exhaust you. The last thing you need is to walk an extra mile or so up and down hilly terrain just looking for the next hole or trying to find the target.

Next, the lack of concrete tees made it particularly troublesome as some of the tees were on uneven ground. This made it difficult to get a run up, on top of the fact that it can be slick in spots because the grass is worn down to dirt (which was muddy when I was there).

Last, the signs looked old and many of them had the hole number obscured by a screw used to mount the sign onto the sign post. This just added to my navigation woes.

The bottom line...This course has so much potential to be great. It just needs some tweaking and some TLC and it could be a 4 star course. I can't say that I'd recommend taking a road trip to this course until they get the above issues fixed, especially since there's such high quality disc golf just over the border in Pittsburgh.

The average rating for the course was 2.6, which I'm rounding up to 3. Really a 2.6 should be rounded down to 2.5, but I felt there was enough there to warrant a 3 just because of the setting and the potential.

Like many 27 hole courses, this can be basically broken down into three 9 hole courses. The first set of nine appeals to beginners and families playing disc golf, as the shots aren't very long or difficult (they play wide open with a few trees here and there).

The middle 9 holes (10-18) are the best IMO. Some holes play through dense woods with a giant ravine in the park. Thus, nearly every hole plays with steep elevation changes uphill and downhill. The holes proceed out into the open with #16 and 18 being 600 and 400 foot drives, respectively. It's a nice balance of steep wooded elevation and wide open bombs on this set of nine. Hole #18 is kind of a unique hole, throwing the whole way over a baseball field from a top a hill. Can you hit a home run?

The last nine holes, called "The Safari," aren't bad, but they're not as memorable as the middle nine. Some of the holes play open in the open park space, while others are wooded fairways with varying lines to the basket. I feel like in an effort to get the last nine to wrap back to the first tee, they sacrificed some uniqueness and challenge for the sake of looping.

- There's a long walk from #20 to 21. Navigation in general is kind of iffy in the sense that it's not intuitive and some holes aren't right next to subsequent ones. I was definitely happy I had a map.

- The park was pretty crowded when I was there, but no people really came into contact with the holes. I'm not sure how often this could be an issue with joggers and other park patrons.

- The first nine are comparatively boring compared to the other 18, but I'm glad to see some variety--especially for less experienced players.

- The tees on #1-9 are too narrow and short, and the rest of the holes have no real tees to speak of at all. A set of concrete tees on #10-27 would be awesome.

I've been meaning to play here for quite some time and I'm glad I did. In addition to a quality 27-hole course on site, there are other recreational opportunities in the park, such as a nice swimming pool, pavilions, tennis courts, etc. In fact, Thompson Park has that big city park feel, like I was in Denver or Indianapolis or somewhere. In fact, without overstating it too much, this park kind of felt like a very short and slightly less challenging version of Water Works in KC, MO.

IMO, I think the course does a nice job of accommodating both beginners or experienced players. The first nine satisfy the former, and the last 18 satisfy the latter.

Nearby Chester City Park and Tomlinson Run State Park are other opportunities for disc golf in the area. Play all three in a day for a fun experience and a sore arm!

Beautiful scenic course with plenty of challenging holes. 27 holes in one location. Creative use of space. Very friendly course supervisor.

Some trees need to be removed to make a few of the fairways a little more reasonable. (I'm not being a baby go play it and you'll see what I mean) Tee pads would be a great addition.

Good mix of shots. Front and back 9 completely unique, not alike. Beginners can stay up top and if you got the guts try the back 9 but you need to be in shape. Challenging. Scenery.

No flow. Back 9 was added later, but neither 9 flows well or together, long, blind walks. Tee posts sometimes placed in the only spot flat/safe enough to tee off from making a good shot near impossible. Poison ivy is unavoidable in season.

I helped design the back 9, didn't plan to leave it 'unfinished' like it is, but I can't do anything about that. If they could clear more trees as was planned it would be epic.
With some tree work and some better tees and signs this would easily become a destination course. Time will tell if that can happen.