Mary Rutan is a 20 hole course with short/long tees on most holes. All have short, about half or so as memory serves had long tees as well.

AMENITIES:
Parking-plenty, but there is sign banning the small lot near hole one from May to Oct for frolfers on weekends.
Bathrooms--yes
Water/food nearby--yes, plenty in town
Clubhouse/disc shop-not on site
Benches-no
Trash cans-spread throughout the park, not so much by teepads
Bag holders-no
Tee signs-yes, decent enough
Next tee direction/signs--yes, mostly correct
Wheelchair/cart friendly--no, yes

PROS:
Teepads--concrete, fairly long, and a few had rubber extenders as well.
Park setting--my personal favorite, plenty of trees (including many mandos) to force different shot shapes, but not enough to warrant any scrambling. Pretty easy on newer players.
Decent elevation for this part of state--course uses it well.
Shot variety--you won't empty your bag, but there are some clear R to L, L to R, and fairly straight holes, a couple nice touch shots, and some low ceiling shots. Again, for a shorter park course, not bad at all.
Layout was pretty clear overall, Udisc will help, but there is a nice map on hole one as well. No long walks between holes, just one 300' or so walk. Rest were mostly under 100'. Course is one large loop, and you are never far from where you start.
Very low disc loss risk unless you land in one of the concrete creek diverters.
Pretty low scrape/scratch risk, few thorns around except around creek edges there are a few.

Baskets--Discatchers, showing signs of age, had a few spit outs in my group, seemed more than typical.
There were 3 holes with the concrete barriers where a stream feeds through large drainage tunnels. Do NOT throw near these, as they are quite deep, much more so than the streams that run through them.
Hole distance--didn't seem like too much variety here, most holes from the main pads were in the 240'--300' range. We played the main (short) tees, so cannot speak to the long tees.
Park was quite busy, and there is some hole layout overlap, so make sure adjoining fairways are clear of frolfers and park goers in general.

Course is free, in a public city park and very easy to get to.
General difficulty--the short tees are definitely geared toward rec players, I think the long tees would interest int. players and advanced players who like park settings.
Course seems well drained overall, but there were a few wet spots as this part of OH has a lot of clay soils.
Water--3 holes with clear disc loss potential on the concrete creek diverters--can be pretty deep, like well over waist high. 3-4 other holes that play near this creek, but disc loss seems low on those.
A few holes have O/B to contend with--mostly on the right side with a fence.
Would I play again? Yes, had a nice time, pleasant setting with some challenge but nothing to beat you up too much.
Worth a drive? maybe 2 hours or so.
Several holes stick in my mind as fairly interesting, especially hole 17.
Would be a half star higher with…benches, trash cans, some length of hole variety, and less crowded (hard to ding a nice park for being busy though).

I am in my 50s, 55 or so courses played, 875ish.

very beautiful old park....nice lay out thru the park....holes were well thought out use most shots here.....lots of park use in the summer as it is in town....nice pads.

no cons really....the day i played it not much park traffic.

had a good time here...got some elevation change and lots of old trees .....well laid out.

The course itself is in a city park, well-kept grass, not much woods to speak of. Not much chance to lose a disc, unless you go right on holes 4 & 5, where there is a fence separating the park from private woods. Course has a good mix of holes, and offers a variety of shots to test your skills.

Two years ago, Hole #10 was taken out, and a hole inserted on the back nine (#16?), with all the hole numbers in between shifting by one (12 is now 11, 13 is now 12, etc). When they made the change, the tee signs were NOT CHANGED. Some tee signs are broken off. This spring (2016), hole 11 was moved slightly, and hole 13 is now longer, but again, signs remain the same. A person new to this course would be confused with the layout, especially given that the course map has not been updated.

There should be a common-sense rule in disc golf course maintenance. If you move baskets/change the layout of a course, you should install new tee signs THE SAME DAY that you move the baskets. It has been two years now, and the responsible parties have not made any changes yet.
With new accurate tee signs, this course would be a 3.5.

Being the feature element in the (light) mature woods of Mary Rutan Park, this 18 hole disc golf course boasts 25 large, level, concrete tees (plus more temp positions spotted, which used flypads), and decent DisCatchers to challenge players from Recreational to Advanced. The long tees combine with the many well-marked mandos to make them distinctly different from the short tees. While there are 'only' four holes over 350', the tree lines and moderately overhanging branches do a pretty good job of demanding precision, even for the longer shots.

Good use of the rolling elevation and the space keep most lines of flight fun as well as safe, while you will discover a couple of near-unique holes that cross the creek. Hole two flies straight over the well-built bridge and finishes to the right just past the first large pine. Hole 16 is a sadistic, er, I mean, clever hole that requires a placement tee shot best dropped just to the right of the large beech tree for your gut-wrenching putt to the basket just on the other side of the steeply-banked creek. Miss the landing zone, and you won't have a clean line for the putt you hope doesn't clank and fall back (like mine did).

The park has made some major improvements to the creek since the map (available online, or at the really nice kiosk beside the shelter at the top of the drive) was made: there are now some large, fenced storm drain 'tunnel' openings near the baskets for holes 3, 12, and 14 that make those 'greens' even more interesting. The signage (at the short tees) is really good, and there is more signage around the park cautioning patrons about disc golf play. Finally, it's really nice to see how many sponsors they've gotten here (listed on the course map), which demonstrates a good level of support from the community.

The rest of the amenities in the park look really nice: a huge swimming pool (almost a water park), an enormous, fortress like playground, the usual other sports fields and courts, and multiple play areas and shelters.

The basket chains are getting a little rusty (though they still catch well). There are signs telling disc golfers not to park by the course start shelters during peak summer months, but it's not clear where golfers should park otherwise. There is a walk from hole 7 across the street to six of the holes. You need to walk straight forward after 14, up the drive to the 15th tee. And then there's a long walk to play 16. Not only will you need to walk to the tee, but first timers really need to walk ahead and check out the approach. Then, you might be climbing down and up the steep creek banks (which could use some stairs), and/or around across the bridge (which is the 2nd fairway). And there'll be a hike back to 17.

Oh, and I'm pretty sure the basket for #10 has been pulled. Since there is still a large, incongruous section of chain link fence guarding the property beyond, I'd guess there had been problems with overthrows. Some of the later holes have shifted #'s on the baskets, and the basket numbered 16 sits in the alternate position on 18 right now, which means you could throw to 18B, 18A, or the practice basket there!

Edit 12/7/14 from cad77's conditions update, "Until new signs are installed, ignore the old #10 tee. Old tees #11 through #16 now shoot to baskets #10 through #15 respectively. New hole 16 shoots through double mando to alternate pin position for #18." So that might be the flypad tee you'll spot on the slope near the long 17 tee...

Overall, the Mary Rutan disc golf course is worth a visit if you're in the area, and just on the cusp of being worth driving into the area, as Bellefontaine isn't on the beaten path.

Very well maintained
Good flow
Water hazards, but none that eat discs
Great design
Good signage

Parking can get a little scarce especially on weekends
Can be muddy after major rain storms (but what course isn't)
Some are very close to the roads
Right next to city pool

Best course I have ever played at. Everything is well maintained and there is great signage including signs to point to the next tee. Multiple tee boxes for different skill levels. All pins are in excellent condition. By far BEST course I have ever been to. (Maybe I need to expand my horizons?)

Concrete teepads.
Some holes with pro/am tees.
Good signage.
Well maintained (park officers (?) were mowing the leaves on the ground, clearing the course)
Practice basket.
There is a decent variety of holes. Repetition isn't a worry.
Good use of the available elevation. In particular holes 4, 12, 15, and 18. Hole 4 from the long tee plays much longer than marked due to constant rising elevation. Hole 12 is a fun rhbh anhyzer shot down a large hill and across a creek. Hole 15 is a downhill shot that needs to be kept below a low ceiling or potentially an anhyzer, but the anny can be knocked down if it's a little wide. Hole 18 is an uphill shot that hides the basket.
Hole 12. Worth putting as a pro, in my opinion the best hole. 475' downhill that a nice anhyzer will have no problem with getting near the creek or possibly over the creek. Getting an eagle on this hole is possible.

All signage is at the short tee.
No real par-5 bombers. With three holes over 400' (5, 12 and 17) there are bombers, but a huge par-5er would be nice. The park isn't huge, but with the walk from hole 7-8 some distance could really be added to 7.
It can be muddy and slick, especially in the lower areas.

This really is a very nice course and makes incredibly good use of the land. The balance of holes should have everyone enjoying the course, but for higher level players there probably won't be much of a challenge. The mandos usually require the most likely line, but this is likely do to keep other players on different holes safe.

I would suggest using the long tee from hole 5 on hole 2 for more challenge. It's to the right if you're facing the bridge and back a little bit, and it would force a bigger curve versus the straighter shot from the normal tee.

Parking can be a little weird (I had to park by hole 12 on 11/5/12 because the normal parking area was closed).

-Very well maintained.
-Wonderful use of the land.
-Creative hole designs.
-Clear signage makes it easy to navigate.
-Concrete tees are in great shape.

-Parking can be difficult in the summer on the weekends.
-Popular course so it can get crowded on a nice day.
-Some of the low areas get incredibly muddy after a rain, especially in the spring.

This is a wonderful park course, probably one of the better park courses out there. However, because it's a park course, it also comes with the negatives of a park course. I don't know if I would go out of my way to play this course, but if you're in the area you'll be happy you stopped by to play it.

-concrete tees
-duel tees on most holes
-beautiful park
-short tees are well suited for beginners
-some elevation shots
-creek comes into play
-several opportunities for aces
-park was clean and being mowed while i was there
-a good amount of OBs that bump up the difficulty level if not playing a casual round

-rusted chains
-had to back track a couple time to get to the next hole
-not a lot of parking available and not allowed at the shelters on weekends through the summer

if a local group did a fund raiser for new chains would be nice. they are really rusted. otherwise this course is great. i rated it as a 3 and thats the equalvilant of a 5. it cant be a 5 because there are courses a lot "better" but this course is about as good as it could possibly be with the given surroundings. it is a great place to take a beginner or kids. a fun course and can be played in a short amount of time. i will make the 40 minute drive to play this one many more times

Cement tees with excellent hole description.

Great use of natural obstacles and elevation changes.

Requires a variety of shot types and distances.

Very nice baskets and course flows from hole to hole nicely.

A lot of foot traffic through the park and pedestrians do not seem to care about the disc golfers.

Parking for disc golf is almost non-existent. What little parking is available is reserved for the shelter houses in the park.

A lot of unnecessary OB and mandos.

There are several intimidating holes which test your confidence and shot selection. The course takes full advantage of every opportunity mother nature has provided. There isn't a single tree in the park that does not come into play, not to mention the creek and little old log cabin.

This course is well layed out with some trees and rolling hills. Very good baskets and cement tees. Every hole is marked and has a hole description plaque mounted at the tee. Large overall course map located at the first tee.

This is a very popular park and can get very crowded during the summer. Parking could also be a problem with some restrictions on disc golf players. There seems to be some weird OB designations on this course, don't make sense.

Many changes on this course. Many of the trees have been cut down exposing several baskets. A lot of the hole markers have been damaged. Several dholes have been changed because of construction or other events. The Trees along the creek are being cut down making challenging holes easy. Hopefully things will improve but the old large trees can never be replaced.

Well thought out holes. I really expected this course to be a typical "in a park" course, but I was very wrong. The course designers really used every tree, creek, and several mandos to make for a fun and sometimes challenging game. You must cross creeks stay in mandos. It was windy when I played (20+mph gusts) but nothing a nice overstable driver (Innova Destroyer for me) couldn't handle.

The baskets are nice Innova DisCathers and the tee pads are concrete. Well designed, and well built.

People. Lots of people. I went on the first 80 degree day of the year, like every other resident of Bellefontaine. You really want to stay in control here. There are mandos, creeks, playgrounds, shelters, people, roads, and more people. Your best bets are conservative drives, then go for it on the mid shots and the putts.

I had a lot of fun at this course. I was very impressed with how the designers used the land they had to work with. They took a park that could have been nothing but boring shots with no elevation changes or obstacles, and made a course that is fun, semi-challenging, and unpredictable. Nice.

Had pro tees for many holes.

I liked the use of the creek and because it was so shallow you couldn't really lose a disc. At deepest part I noticed was maybe 6 inches, you could jump across the creek in most places.

We printed off a course map, otherwise playing for the first time there was no way we could have found our way around.

Holes interfere with other people in park. This includes other people playing disc golf, cars driving by, baseball games (hole goes into outfield), basketball court, and anyone else just generally walking around.

Not bad for the area.

Variety of long and short holes

Nice pads and baskets

Good signage

Pleasant park

No real wooded holes or tunnel shots

Relatively flat

A few roadside holes

When we pulled into this park, I thought - "Man, this little park in the middle of town can't host a respectable course." It just looked like it would be short and wide open. I was pleasantly surprised to be wrong.

This course has good distance...and in good measure. In other words, the length has nice change up. There are definitely some bomber holes in the 400+ range to compliment deuces and ace shots.

Also, there is great use of natural obstacles. There may be no thick woods, but there are still plenty off trees, and the holes are positioned well to utilize them.

The layout has you shooting tight fairways, over creeks, over bridges and around multiple mando's.

I have been back a couple times since, and plan to make the trip to Bellefontaine, with some regularity, every year.

Hole #1: Good driving hole - will need to warm up well to get a good drive for a deuce opportunity
Hole #2: Challenging drive over the bridge - must keep to the right for a short putt to this blind hole location
Hole #3: OB to the right and creek to the left makes for a very accurate drive to the basket
Hole #4: Uphill to a basket behind a tree - Deuces are hard to come by
Hole #5: Flat hole next to OB fence line - Birdies can be had
Hole #6: Slightly uphill but with OB road behind basket
Hole #7: Many trees surrounding this short hole location - Deuces can happen with accurate drives
Hole #8: Very challenging hole with OB to the right and over 300 feet to basket. Log Cabin on left to further increase the difficulty of this hole
Hole #9: Trees everywhere and must be able to throw long and low for a shot at a birdie
Hole #10: Straight open hole - one of the easiest on the course
Hole #11: Shortest hole on course. Must go left of mando but this hole can be birdied with right drive
Hole #12: Longest hole on course and presents many difficulties including a mando, lots of trees and a creek. 3's can be had with a long drive and an excellent approach shot but 4's are the normal
Hole #13: Fun hole with an unneeded mando. Deuces are common on this rather short hole
Hole #14: Interesting hole with OB road to the left and creek beyond and to the right of the hole. Birdies can be made with accurate drives
Hole #15: One of the toughest holes of the course. No good open fairway to the basket. OB to the left and creek to the right with many trees in the middle making a 3 is not very easy
Hole #16: Exciting hole where you must cross the creek to the basket in the woods. Deuces are very difficult and Par is very good on this difficult short hole
Hole #17: Rather long hole with a hill sloping down to the left where the OB road is located. Hard to throw long enough or accurate enough to deuce this hole often
Hole #18: Uphill to a flat basket with another unneeded mando. Birdies are rare and par 3 is good

Hole #1: Long hole - hard to birdied
Hole #2: Must be accurate from tee box
Hole #3: Must keep from going down into creek to the left
Hole #4: Must keep from going right into OB
Hole #5: Must keep from going right into OB
Hole #6: Keep out of trees
Hole #7: Keep out of trees and OB long
Hole #8: Very long with OB right again
Hole #9: Must drive low under all trees
Hole #10: Keep out of trees
Hole #11: Must make mando but not hit wires or trees or go OB to the right of basket
Hole #12: Must make mando and have accurate approach shot to basket on other side of creek
Hole #13: Must keep right of basket and out of OB to the left
Hole #14: Must keep out of OB on road but not right into creek
Hole #15: No good fairway shot with trees and OB to the left and creek to the right
Hole #16: Very challenging drive needed to have birdie shot.
Hole #17: OB to the left seems to attract a lot of discs
Hole #18: Challenging final hole, which requires a long drive for a chance at a birdie

Course is my favorite with a good mixture of easy, fun and challenging holes. Would recommend this course to everybody from beginner to expert.

a very fun course with a lot of mature trees playing on long rolling hills. have never had to wait to throw and usually can meet up with a local to throw with. has a few very unique holes that play over a creek

at first kind of hard to navigate but not a huge problem. plays around several roads and fairly easity to put it ob if you have any arm at all. also the creek that plays threw the course can be troublesome but not a major concern

Very clean easy to walk course. The park is is very well maintained and the course flows well from one hole to another. Very nice tees for every hole as well.

Bathrooms are not always open.

Nice setting to play Disc golf.

Pro and Am Tees on Most Holes
Good Variety
Distances Vary
Clean
Very Well-Maintained
Rec-Advanced Level Course
Water in Play on a Few Holes
Baskets in Great Shape
Great Tee Signs
Bulletin Board with Map near Tee 1

Picnic Areas, Playground, and Roads in Play
Fairly Open
Other Park Go-ers Unaware of Course
Limited Parking
First Tee Can Be Hard to Find

This is a really good course for any player, beginners, and advanced. There are a couple tough shots that might be hard for someone just starting out, but they should still enjoy the nice setting and the course itself is pretty fun to play.

The layout of the course is pretty good. There were only a couple things that I can think of that might be a little confusing. First, when you come to hole two the basket is across the creek, the fairway is the small bridge that you see in front of you. After two and three you will then need to use that same bridge to get back to the tee for hole 4.

That same bridge is going to come into play again on hole 16. You will need to use to get to the basket or climb down into the creek and back up the other side.

As far as whether or not I would call this course wooded, probably not, but keep in mind there are plenty of mature trees in every fairway to add challenge. The designers also added in a few mandos, holes 4, 6, 11 and 12 I believe, which is another added challenge.

As I stated above the creek comes into play on a few holes. Holes 2 and 16 you must actually throw over the creek, but there are a few more that if you have an off target throw, your disc could be swimming. This isn't a huge deal the creek is really shallow and the roughest thing you might encounter is the steep hill you have to climb down and up to get into the creek. With a bad throw you could end up in the creek on 3, 12 ( an even smaller creek here), 14, and 15.

The course is laid out pretty well and there aren't really any issues finding the next tee. Most baskets have little red arrows on the pole pointing to the next tee, its a nice little touch. The only places there are even the slightest questions about where to go next is after hole 3, like I said just cross back across the bridge and go to the right. After hole 7, you have to go down and cross the main road that runs through the park to get to 8. Then after #14,you cross the bridge and head up past the bathrooms about 100ft or so and the tee for 15 is up the hill.

I really enjoy getting out to play this course whenever I have time to do so. There are a couple really great holes on this course that make it stand out. Hole 12 is a 475ft down a small hill, over a road, and across a small creek. Holes 2 and 16 are also very good. I would recommend this course to anyone looking to play a nice course or anyone who is in the area.

Pretty park and as the other reviewers have said, lots of mature trees and well manicured fairways. Several holes require a good placement of your drive through very fair fairways in order to deuce.

Lots of crossing fairways where you have to walk in front of a tee to get to your next hole. I don't see this course playing smoothly once it has a tournament crowd on it.

Holes don't require a lot of strategy and there isn't a lot of penalty for being off the mark and result in easy threes. On this course you could shoot bogie free but get pounded because you didn't get enough birdies.

Not sure if so many holes had mandatories to make them harder or reduce the chance of hitting other players. However a lot of them were redundant since the mandatory required you to go to the most likely fairway anyway.

Here's a suggestion, why not put the hole information on the long tee rather than the short? In most cases you get to the long tee first so this would save you from having to walk up to the short, get the layout and distance and walk back to your tee. If you are playing from the shorts you can simply stroll by the long tee and not have to double-back.

this park is well kept and the course is brand new. mature trees with well defined fairways, guided in part by mandatories (arrows on trees and tee signs). short and long tees, both concrete. there are a variety of shots and lengths. backhands, forehands, low ceilings, narrow gaps, mandos, and big throws, as well as risk reward.

the layout is a bit tricky in a couple places but after the first time you get the hang of it. the tee signs are only on the shorts, so if there is a long, you have no info. there is a creek that runs along the park and comes into play on multiple holes, the con is that it has very little water in it and is very hard to be surrounded (perhaps ob lines should be painted or roped). you think it would be a factor but it doesnt really. benches would be nice here and there, but the park is great so i cant really complain.

i believe there are local doubles or leagues, as there was a flyer, but im not sure who takes care of this course or designed it. the mandos took a course that could have been boring and made it punish errant shots, and gave defined fairways.

the images make it look as though it is in the middle of nowhere, but it is actually right next to a large swimming pool and in the middle of town.

The Bellefontaine course is a very well kept park that gives you beautiful views and some challenging holes. Everything is well spaced out and has allot of different, such a as beautiful trees moderate hills and plenty of wild life. Plus it is relatively new so people will ask you how too play disc golf

The cons are allot of trees so if you hit one on every hole just be glad it was one tree and the kids that walk around may stair you down sometimes.