West Branch SP has two courses on site. I played The Grassman a while back, and thought I'd try the Campground Course while I am in the area.

"The Campground Course" is a heavily wooded course that appeals more towards the average campers. However, I think an experienced player can still enjoy a round or two here.

A few holes have a great view of the lake. #5 is the only hole where it comes into play.

Good variety in distances and hole shapes. It has pretty good replay value for a 9-holes because of its variety.

Nice tee signs are posted on every hole, with par, distance, and a hole map.

Navigation is about as easy as it gets. Bright red arrows are on every hole, and point to where the next tee is. If that's not enough, there's tape on the bottom of every basket.

Most baskets are old versions of the DISCatcher. Even though they are older, they still catch pretty well.

Parking lot is huge, so parking will never be an issue.

There's a small practice area right next to the lot, if you need to work on your putting game.

Natural tees are pretty rough. They're uneven in some spots making footing a pretty big issue.

It's dumbed down a little bit for the average camper. There's probably a little more potential in the area, but the design was restricted to give campers a better experience.

There's a hiking trail that winds through most of the course, so watch out for pedestrians wondering the fairways.

No trash cans or benches along the way.



The Campground Course is a good 10-15 minute drive from The Grassman, even though they are in the same park.

Overall, I thought that this was a fun little 9-holes. If you play one of the other courses in the area, I'd check this one out as well. Good to warmup or wind down!

-Very scenic.
-Good, new baskets.
-Pin positions.
-The tight fairways can be challenging.
-Easy to get to off Rt.5
-Well shaded for summer days with high temperatures.
-Easy to get two rather quick rounds in.
-Much potential for either alternate tee boxes, and/or a back nine.

-Course plays through a series of walking/hiking trails. I had to wait 2 or 3 times for people walking through from the nearby campground. At least, given that you can see down each fairway rather well, its easy to see if anyone is coming. This is probably only a real issue if the campground is crowded.
-The natural tee pads could get quite muddy if there has been rain recently. There hadn't been significant precipitation in the roughly 2 weeks prior to playing, yet 2 or 3 tee pads were still moist.
-The backtracking to get to the next tee on a few holes, particularly between 2 and 3 and 5 and 6.

Other reviews have good hole-by-hole descriptions, so just a few thoughts: on hole 6 it seems that recently a large, old tree has fallen just to the left of the pin with much of the root system now exposed, up to 6 or 7 feet above ground. I would recommend leaving this tree and the roots where they are, undisturbed, simply because it adds what amounts to an inverted bunker to the hole. If you leave your drive to the left you'll have to shoot around or over the tree/roots. This definitely added a unique challenge to this hole and the course overall. Hole 8 was also quite memorable with its elevation change.
Perhaps painting part of the tee signs red (instead of leaving them brown, which blends in with the abundant trees) might help with navigating the course.
I will be interested to see what else is done to this course, either with adding a back nine or alternate tee pads. It seems like there is significant room for expansion to the west of the present course.
For what it is: a heavily wooded, tight but short course with challenging pin positions and elevation change, its a good course.

beautiful heavy forest setting
new baskets
low chance to lose disc
interesting layout
great map on each hole
differing shot patterns
tight but fair
basket areas are cleaned nicely
plenty of parking
nice practice basket

1 set of tee's
no garbage cans on course
natural tees with kick board(great shape though)
hard to navigate without map(I'm drawing a crude one up)
Par is a little off(should be all 3's)

Beautiful newer course with loads of potential. Heavily wooded but has nice fair lines that give everyone a chance to advance towards the hole Course winds through a dense forest just north of the main lake. When driving there turn into the main drive past the West Branch park sign and continue on road towards main office. Course will be on the left. Parking is just past the practice basket. The designer definitely put some thought into the layout. Course winds around the forest area just north of parking area. Definitely helps if you can throw a nice straight shot 200-250 feet. Fairways are cleared of trees and give you lines to follow. Course can be tricky to find your way around due to the dense forest it is sometimes a little hard to find next tees. I'm uploading a crude map to help fellow golfers get around. Two really nice signature holes to finish round. #8 is just a beautiful S-curve that drops down and then back up a hill . # 9 is a straight shot to basket into a field that allows you to throw away. The tricky part though is a grouping of low hanging branches that you must stay under before you make field. Makes for a fun, challenging shot. Site lists three holes as par 4's but course sets up to play all holes as par 3's.

Overall it is nice to see another nice course built in an Ohio State Park and has lots of potential to grow going forward.