I love this course. The holes are well designed. There is not much elevation change, but that is the canvas that the course designers were given. There are a variety of shots required as you make your way around the course. Tees are great. It seems pretty easy to navigate from hole to hole.

There is one big con. There are narrow fairways and the weeds are nasty. We saw 4 other groups on the course on a Saturday afternoon. 3/4 groups were searching for discs. The group I was playing with spent 30-40 minutes looking for discs on one home. I don't mind looking for an occasional disc but the opportunities for lost discs at this course are endless. We ended up sending a spotter down before we threw on the majority of holes. This definitely slowed our play. At one point a guy we saw looking for his disc approached us and went off for a good ten minutes about how frustrated he was. He told us that he had lost 2 discs that day. It was evident that he was emotionally distraught. He was in genuine pain over his experience at this course.

I think there are only two options at this point. Either a support group has to be formed to help the discers who have been wounded by this course, or mow the damn weeds back. I have to think that people are staying away from this course after their first safari. I know our group will not be returning until the colder weather comes and the weeds retreat.

Driving up from Cincinnati , I knew this course was right off of I-70 . I missed the street sign for Channingway Blvd , one of the first streets North of I-70 on your left , So I pulled into Speedway , a block and a half up the street on the same side . The locals nor the employees and manager on duty knew where Walnut Hill Park was , and it was a couple of blocks behind the Speedway !!! Anyway ,,,, once you drive into the park , go to the end and park up as close to the front as you can . Your course map THAT YOU WILL PRINT , will not navigate you to the first tee , which I wandered around for a good while before I ran into someone coming off the course to tell me . Walk along the cement path that starts to the left of the playground and your car . Follow it for 250 to 300 yards and look to your right . You will not see tee signs , but you should see large tee pads even with the ground , 2 per hole . The baskets are yellow banded Machs in good shape , that will be in one of at least 2 pin positions per hole . The actual tee signs and imprinted in the tee pads , which is a great and unusual touch . The fairways are well manicured and fairly wide in most spots which will entice you to let your drives really rip . There are still some trees that will either overhang the fairway or basket to snare your drive or approach . The baskets in either position are well placed on this course . There is plenty of length , even on the short tees , that will interest you . The elevation is moderate to less than moderate , and the only water you could experience on this hole would involve the occasional flooding of a few fairways after a hard rain or two . Without a map , you might miss the flow of the course , more notably 2 to 3 which is a hard left turn instead of the obvious right to #5 . Somebody did this right with the LONG tee pads on each hole . The course itself is on an old golf course , and the disc golf course only uses about half of it . Still very well designed and unique . There are no courses in the Columbus area that will let you throw this fast and hard , so you can test ALL of your drivers on this course .

Okay . Since this has the potential to be a high caliber course , let me tell you why it's not . #1. No kiosk and no direction to tell you where the first tee pad is when you drive into the park . The reason might be that the parks people may fear theft since it is a rough area ( similar to Brookside in Indianapolis ) . Make sure you hide your valuables and electronic outlets and lock your car when going to the course , because the locals can guess that you will be unable to see it for the next couple of hours . #2. THE ROUGH ! If during a round that I looked in the rough for my off the fairway throws for 20-30 minutes total , and I happened upon or saw behind me 3 more individuals kicking the weeds for their missing discs , then that would mean that the rough is way too thick and high . The tee pads beckon you to throw further than you need to and make you pay a heavy price . #3 . It is not the fault of the park , since it is on an old ball course , but no tunnel shots , no woods , no water . Not a huge deal to me ,but ,,,,, . #3. For such a long course which I understand hosts tournaments , it has no benches and not much shade . Bring water , and carry in and out , because it also lacks trash cans . ( ? ) . I guess maybe vandalism might be the issue here , which might have led to closing the golf course . #4 . LONG walks to and from 1 & 18 , which also hide your car during your round . #5 wind wasn't a factor in my round , but it looks like it could have an effect much of the time .

I couldn't give this higher than a 3.5 , but it does have the potential to be a 4 for sure . Lots of area to work with , many good pin placements . Signature hole would be either #14 ( I think ) which is a long narrow shot moving to the left , up an embankment wihich drops off behind it back behind some brush , or #17 , the longest hole on the course ( 843' from the longs ) , a station to station narrow gap throw that will punish you if you leave the fairway . If you are from Columbus and have not played this course , then Why Not ? If you are in this area and want to give you arm an incredible workout and take in a + level course , then What Is Stopping You ? Play It !

- good hole designs
- long and able to open up on some holes
- nice fairways and kept nice
- tee pads with hole maps

- in a terrible area
- easy to miss holes 3 and 4
- walk to #1 and from #18

I personally love this course. It is longer than most courses around Columbus, but not too long. If you want to get out and open up on a driver than this is the course for you. Good hole designs with just the right amount of trees and rough to make it challenging but not too hard. Two sets of tees, and the course is always in good shape, at least when I've played. The one complaint I have is the area around the course but not much can be done about this. the course is on an old golf course, and the city could add 18 more holes easily, and hopefully one day they do so, since the land is great for it.

Great course to challenge your range, yet has a few holes to directly challenge your ability to miss obstacles

Challenges putting and approach, many holes suddenly elevate right around the hole, just steep enough to have your disc roll away

Has Pro and Amateur tee boxes

Has A and B hole placements, adds variation to the course

Tee boxes has great signage for each hole, I believe they are located on the tee box surface from memory

They packed a great course into what seemed like a generally bland wide open field

The way they cut the grass definitely gives you a clear representation of out of bounds versus fairway and greens

Isolated away from any bystanders, and not claustrophobic from hole to hole

If you throw a disc off the fairway, it will be swallowed by tall grass, this is expected though, hard to consider a con

Small almost unguided walk to the first tee box

No full course map

Really a great course no doubt

Just watch for the creek next to the first 3 holes

I can only see this course getting better with time

Walnut Hill sits on what used to be a ball golf course in Far East Columbus. This is a "links style" disc golf course that can get tricky with its tough pin placements and long fairways.

- Two sets of concrete tees with colored plates engraved within the tee. These plates have the hole number, par, a basic hole map, and distance. Very nice!

- Just because you have a big arm, doesn't mean you'll score well! The design takes full advantage of the scattered trees forcing you to think a little extra on even the longest of holes.

- Pin placement is genius! Many baskets sit on hills, or lips of the former bunkers, etc. Makes for tough approach shots and putts!

- While I don't have the biggest arm in the game, I can respect the design.

- Most holes kind of blend together due to the lack of elevation and tree cover. While I think the design uses the area perfectly, it's still lacking any really special holes.

- Can flood pretty easily, #16 was almost completely underwater. You know it's bad when ducks are swimming across the tee pad!

- In a somewhat sketchy part of town, seems the 1st tee is a popular hangout for some less-than-ideal individuals.

- You can almost always here traffic. It's in the middle of a commercial hub so you're guranteed to hear honking and the constant police car siren.

- #1 and #18 are pretty far from the parking lot, and you don't really see your car until after the round is over.

- No benches or trash cans that I noticed. It was also lacking any sort of kiosk or bulletin board at the parking lot.

Not a bad course, but it might get a little boring to someone who doesn't have a strong arm. The pin positions and interesting design really saved the course. Kudos to the designer for making the best of what he had!!

nice layout with good baskets, signs , and tee pads. lots of parking, on a old ball course so good straight throws off tee box is rewarded.

No complaints.

play in a tournament here...police watched the lots very nicely.

Nice quality teepads

Nice piece of land with decent potential

The course is located in a part of town without too many other options, so should see more play than it might otherwise.

The part of town the course is in is a bit sketchy. I know 2 people who have had their cars broken into.

Not much potential for growth, as most of the obstacles have been used.

Tee signs located in the rear of the teepad feel a little odd to push off of, and make navigation more difficult.

The layout seems a little odd, with long walks from the parking lot to the first tee, and from the 18th tee back to the parking lot.

Long tees tend to be very unimaginative. Usually they're just 50-75' behind the short tee.

Walnut Hills fills a niche in Columbus, in that it is long, largely open, and mostly flat. In other words, it's largely a bomber's paradise. Given that it's on an old municipal golf course the designer did a great job forcing crafted shots with the relatively small number of trees available. I didn't expect the have to think through my shots as much as I did, and this was a tremendously nice surprise. When the wind picks up, the difficulty ramps up to an entirely new level.

I'm sure the long walk to the first tee was not by the designer's choice, but it is a minor annoyance. After that there are several other spots where navigation is somewhat counter-intuitive, but for the most part follow the mowed paths in the grass and you'll be fine. The one exception is after hole 2. The first time we played the course we skipped holes 3 and 4 (located to the left of hole 2, across a bridge) and jumped onto hole 5 without realizing it.

My biggest complaint is that the long tees are duplicates of the shorts, just slightly further back. Granted, hole 17 is the exception, but for the most part I prefer when the longs force a different line than the shorts, as opposed to just a different disc to account for a longer distance. Stacking the teepads in this fashion seems to be a hallmark of Paul Jay designs, but I vastly prefer the approach taken by the course up at Alum where you may have 2 similar distances, but 2 very different shots needed.

Overall this is a course with limited replay value due to the neighborhood and lack of variety. It is an interesting addition, and I will revise this review as the course matures.

18 holes on a former golf course so the didnt have to try and cram anything into a small area.

Varied shot lengths to test all skill levels.

Short and long tees offer a variety of ways to play the course.

Concrete tee pads.

Course maintenance. At this point the grass is close to the point of being ridiculous but they claim they are working on a fix for it.

There needs to be next hole markers for new players to navigate the course. My first time there I did a lot of extra walking trying to figure out where to go.

Hole maps could use some serious help. They are embedded in the tee box, which looks cool, but it also means they are usually covered in mud so you have to scrape them to see the map, yardage, and par.

If you have a couple hours to burn this is a great course. A lot of finesse is needed around some baskets but in no way is this course just another 18 hole repeat of the same shots. Its a great 18 hole compliment to the 9 hole Whitehall Community Park nearby.

This is a long course on a former ball golf course with a lot of great trees throughout and a serious challenge for your average/rec player.

Overall, I'd have to agree with the other reviews posted so far so I won't go over too many things that have already been said.

-First off, I'm just really happy that this land got repurposed for disc golf by parks and rec... thats a great sign that they are aware of the growing draw, and will hopefully continue to support the sport.
-The park is definitely a very pretty location and I can't wait to see it all in bloom.
-Easy to get to off of Interstate 70 and in an area of town that needed more courses.
-Concrete tees are nicely done w two positions and some benches have been put in as of mid Feb.
-The park looks great in general, and wildflowers have been planted all over (according to park staff) that will be popping up in spring.
-When the old putting greens have been used as new pin placements it just feels cool.
-Plenty of challenging shots, need to work around trees in MANY places, and chances to work a few different skills (rollers and thumbers especially)
-Great exercise if you'd like to get a good hike in!
-The course is long. You probably aren't going to get par. Just hang on and enjoy the ride, lol.

-A lot of my frustration with this course comes mostly from design problems and missed opportunities. There were some very strange decisions made, imo, that hurt the experience of playing here.
-When you pull into the parking lot, there is a bulletin board at the end of the parking lot. If looking at this board, the practice basket is about 100yds behind you, down a hill, and to the right. It sits on a former putting green, so actually looks like its part of the course... you'd never expect it to be a location for practice.
-Hole #1 is actually probably 300yds beyond the bulletin board, over and around a hill (completely out of sight) and to the left along a walking path. So, in the complete opposite direction from the practice basket with close to a 1/4mile between them!
- I way prefer a practice basket that is inn close proximity to tee #1 and used as a "next up" waiting position when courses are busy. Who wants to use a practice basket during peak hours with the parking lot and a big walk between you and #1, watching cars pile in and groups walk over to #1 ahead of you?
-There is plenty of unused space along this walk for a practice basket, even right behind the bulletin board! I just don't get it.
-The only real hill at Walnut Hills is here near the parking lot. But its barely used. All that land you walk past to your right on the way to hole #1 is occupied by two picnic tables and could have been used for an interesting start/turnaround at 9/end of the course.
-Why the course wasn't set up so that the current practice green is the eventual #18 seems like a big miss.
-There are several confusing places on the course where it is very easy to get lost. I'm hoping there are going to be "next tee" signage.
-The signage at the tees is going to be a plaque embedded in the concrete. (update, these are going in now, Late Feb and do look really great!)
-This plaque system seems like a really cool idea, and would be if the course weren't inherently confusing. In this case, I'd rather have an actual post that could be easily seen from a distance. There are a couple of tees that are in former bunkers, for instance, and you can't see them until you are right on top of them.
-Its clear the course was designed to avoid just being all wide open shots in former fairways, and instead uses the tree lines that were formerly BETWEEN those ball golf fairways to add difficulty. But, in some cases (#7), its kind of ridiculously difficult right now until it gets properly trimmed up. (Like I said, get ready to ROLL!)
-The course also misses out using the area of land closer to the tennis courts and the driveway in. This area has some really great old growth trees and seems to be to have more logical and fun DG land use possibilities.
-I would have tried to avoid following the back portion of the land (along a row of apartments) and oriented the course more back and forth to and from the main hill and parking lot for a more interesting layout.
-And, finally, can get pretty swampy after a rain. Most of the course is in a low area compared to some of the surrounding neighborhood, so be prepared for that.

-A map of the course at the parking lot is critical.
-I can see the argument here for a longer course for bigger arms to enjoy, but I ultimately agree with Sisyphus' take on it in a previous review... I don't see it as that much of a technical or difficult course for your advance/open player, its just extra long.
-Overall, I'd say that Walnut is basically a super sized Griggs when it could have been another Hambick or Holton.
-I currently have a love/hate relationship with this course. I want to love it, but its just... not that much fun... right now. I don't need it to be easy, but it only has maybe 3 holes that I find interesting (3, 4, 9), and the more you play it, the more the rest of it starts to get kind of boring. I initially was really excited with this, but the shine is starting to wear off... will update later in the spring when the parks dept has a chance to get it finished and its flowering and see what I think then.

A variety of long holes that also favor accuracy. There are many low ceilings near tee boxes which force you to keep your drives low. Many of the basket positions are placed in challenging locations whether nestled behind some large trees or place on the edges of sloped areas making a 10 foot putt more nerve-wracking than it should be. Hole designs are varied and force you to throw more creative lines than other courses in the area. A challenge for players of any level, though beginners may feel overwhelmed.

A bit confusing at the moment because of a lack of signage, but it is technically unfinished, so this didn't affect my rating. Needs some more trash cans. Had to work my behind off to score a 58, some shorter throwers in my group became frustrated at points because of challenging nature of course layout.

Longer than anything in the area, a sort of "Anti-Blendon", if you are from the area and get the reference. It will test your distance and accuracy (not to mention recovery shots thanks to some hateful tree branches). Really excited to see how this course ages, because it has great potential to become a local gem. More of a 3.75 rating at the moment, with potential to be a solid 4 star course.

Boasting dual tee pads and basket positions, and built on a former ball golf course, Walnut Hills DGC will absolutely satisfy the need for Columbus area big arms to strut their stuff. Even playing all short tees to short baskets, it'll average 350+ feet per hole, with only three of them being under 300'. Long to long, and you're looking at an average of nearly 500 feet (and only one or two under 400')!

Beautiful, huge, level concrete tees appear to have a spot at the rear, intended for a plate describing hole details. Fairways incorporate sparse mature trees to force some line shaping and control, but nothing that would truly be described as 'technical'. The brand new DGA baskets have number plates which you'll be able to read (on your second or third throw?). The park is undergoing a great renovation with paved trails, benches, trash cans, picnic areas up on the hill by the parking lot, and a nice playground. There's a brand-spanking new course kiosk at the top of the lot that has yet to be sullied with a course map.

With this amount of space, there are some walks between baskets and next tees. I'd love to see them offer golf carts here (especially in the sunny summer months (not much shade here)! But it also means everybody can pretty much have at it without risking winding up in an adjacent fairway. I'm not sure if the course has the wow factor or difficulty (yet) to challenge Open and Touring Pros, but it will still be fun and viewer-friendly to watch them crush these drives, so, as a competition-worthy course, it might be kind of photogenic.

Right now, I would suggest the traveling disc golf course bagger hold off on this one: without any above ground signage, it's easy to lose your way after the second hole (the tee to your right is for hole 5, for instance), and the massiveness of the course says to me I should have waited until they have a map available to save my sore feet the wandering around. Good news is, you can expect all of the needed stuff really soon.

I noticed that some of the rough cut fairways have a lot of twiggy shrub stumps that kind of grab your feet as you walk (sure this will get better with time). There currently aren't benches or trash cans out on the course, and with holes one and eighteen being a 700 to 800 foot walk from your car, they're going to be needed. Newcomer tip: walk out the path from the parking lot toward the south until it bends towards the apartments and the pond, continue straight toward the 18th basket about another 400 feet out, and look to your left for the first tees.

Because of my age, weight, and skill set, I feel compelled to list this as a con, but some younger, fitter guys might consider it a positive: if you don't like 'LONG', this isn't going to be the course for you.

The name of the park (and course) is a bit of an oxymoron, as the only 'hill' that comes into play is on 18, where you finish the loop. The majority of the course can only really be considered flat to slightly rolling terrain.

Finally, I gave it a 3.0 for its current state. I expect once all the amenities are in, the average rating will get it slightly above 3.5.

Reviewer Background as of this writing: age 54 w/ 4 yrs experience, rated 900+/-, played 245+ courses in 23 states, 80% w/in 3hr drive of Cincinnati. Thrown with folks rated 600's to 1000's, ages 9 to 85 in events and leagues at all tiers. Seldom drive beyond 300-330, but have a solid up-shot and putting game. I haven't designed any courses, but try to lend a hand (with my severely desk-job limited skill set) when I can.

Great use of the available land. On several holes all you need to do is to hit your line and everything will be fine. A scenic course. It looks like there is enough land available for another nine holes. Most holes from the short tee pads are over 300 feet. I thought there was a good variety of different types of shots. Forehand friendly. It looks like they might be putting the tee signs in the tee pads. That will be neat.

There wasn't much I didn't like. It was a little difficult to find. Hint; When you are on Livingston, look for Walnut Hills BLVD and turn there, it will take you to the entrance of the Park. Not a lot of parking available. First hole is a small walk from the parking lot.

On a closed ball golf course. You can see where the water hazards have been filled in, probably as a liability issue. Different than all the other courses around Columbus, great addition to the Flyers.

Great baskets, tee pads, and variety

Nothing major to report yet, as signage will be installed at a later date.

Wow. This course will test your arm and patience for Rec and Intermediate players. Built on an old golf course, and it feels like it! Most holes from the short teepads, although unmarked as of 12-5-15, range from 275'-400', and are carved strategically between mature trees. The sheer distance won't scare the 300'+ arms, but many of the holes require a low, straight drive through a small tunnel of trees, and placement on the expansive fairways is also critical.

I shot a 59 on my first round, and found myself shooting for birdies from 50-100' out after clipping tree limbs somewhere. Just to be clear, the course is challenging from the short tees, and I wouldn't call it punishing. As a good Rec/average Int guy, I'm staying the hell away from the long tees, which boast 500-1000' holes.

This course will only get better, and it's a breath of fresh air for the Reynoldsburg/Columbus area.