1) Initial impression as you enter the park is very aesthetically pleasing. The property is a protected arborium with a diverse mix of floral and fauna. The property is mowed, well maintained, and free of clutter, trash, and limb debris. It is a beautiful park that trades normal ammenities like playgrounds and courts for simple paved walking paths and nature.

2) Good but not great course signage. Has all the necessary info but without U-Disc or taking a photo of the course sign navigation is difficult.

3) Tee pads (4'X12') are concrete and in great shape, baskets are Discatchers and also in great shape.

4) Despite tons of trees on the property, I would consider it lightly to moderately wooded as the woods do not come into play often and there are no holes in which I would consider a technical wooded tunnel shot. This can definitely be a positive for players with less distance who need side to side movement to get the distance most holes demand.

5) Great use of elevation change on this design. You will find yourself throwing down extreme downhill declines (50 feet drops or more) and up severely inclined ones as well. This adds to the overall beauty of the course and makes it extremely difficult to choose a signature hole.

6) There are what I would call 15 excellent top tier holes and 3 holes that feel out of place. Still great holes, but not of the level the rest of the course provides and makes you expect. (Holes 12, 15, and 17) They feel out of place here (short par 4 that even Rec level players can birdie consistently, wide open downhill 350ish hyzer Par 3 with no protection, etc) But beyond those 3 holes, the other 15 each provide a unique and memorable hole shape and design and challenge.

7) Big arm dream course as it is much more open and forgiving than other Championship level courses (like Idlewild). Hole #1 which is a majestic long downhill par 3 that plays at least 50 feet elevation drop tee to green that slopes into a large pond on the left will both frighten you and awestruck you at the same time. This is making the first hole memorable done to perfection.

8) This course trades ace-runs and forgiving landing zones and chooses violence. 400 foot Par 3 with 70 feet of elevation, check. Forced water carries over 325 into a wall of trees, check. 6 pond holes on the course that swallow the slightest mistake, check. Almost 2 miles of feeling like you are on a stairmaster while praying your tee shots, approach shots, and putts don't roll away, check. This may be a negative for some, but the adrenaline swings on this course and the focus needed to play well here make it amazing to me.

9) I normally am pretty harsh on HB Clark designed courses. I like the man and respect him immensely and most of his designs, but I usually walk away feeling like he plays it "safe", provides a copious amount of righty back hand hyzer holes that mirror themselves, uses a lot of bland get from one good hole to get to another good hole filler holes, and leaves large walks or switchbacks between holes that seem unnecessary. That is not the case with Mahr. While there are a few holes that seem like filler here, they all have their own identity. There are some decent walks, but nothing absurd, between holes. And you never feel like he forced anything while playing here. I would consider this his masterpiece.

10) It is ok to admit this course is too much for you. It is ok dislike how you perform here. But playing here, regardless of your skill level is a treat. Plus it allows you to see just how large the gap is between you and the pro players who've carded tournament rounds here (like when I watched Chris Dickerson shred it for -15) or watching players like Dutch Napier card the Eagle on Hole #2. You can look at the pictures, or even watch coverage, but once you set foot on the grounds, you will understand just how amazing those players really are.

1) This course plays extremely long time wise. Set aside 3-4 hours minimum depending on your group size. More if you plan on trying to fish discs from the multiple water hazards.

2) The elevation changes here are no joke. Bring a cart, plenty of water, and be prepared to stop and take a breather on the many benches provided. Those with bad knees/ankles/hips, or not in the shape they used to be should steer clear.

3) Not beginner friendly, no alternate pin locations, no short tee pads. There is a recreational course on the back of the property that is fun in its own right for those who aren't skilled enough yet for Big Mahr.

4) Not a fan of forced water carries but this course isn't designed for noodle arms.

Not on Idlewilds level, but definitely deserving of the 2nd best course I've played in KY. This course checks so many of the right boxes. Definitely a bucket list course and coupled with Madisonville City Park is great weekend trip destination.

From the top-of-the-world opener to a final hole that includes two ponds on the longest par-4 of the course, the monstrous Mahr Park delivers on its promise of a championship-level course with 10,000 feet of disc golf that contains constant elevation and a beautifully designed layout.

The course design is fantastic and varied at Mahr Park; nearly every hole offers a unique challenge while offering plenty of risk-versus-reward disc golf.

There are only five par 3s at Mahr Park, which makes sense considering that par is actually a fair 69. Most of the holes are multi-shot challenges that reward hitting an ideal landing zone to set up the next throw.

The very hilly descriptor fits; only a few holes on the back nine would be considered anything close to flat. Lace up your hiking shoes and be prepared to obtain at least 50 floors climbed on your fitness app.

The course was in excellent shape when I played. Despite being a huge course, every hole was recently mowed and maintained. I agree with wellsbranch and his beauty assessment; this is one of the most visually stunning courses I've played.

This course is easy to access and is near the Pennyrile Parkway that runs through the western part of Kentucky.

There are many memorable holes at Mahr Park. The blend of immaculate lawns, significant elevation and fair but challenging pin locations results in numerous holes vying for the title of signature hole.

There are a couple holes at Mahr Park that are a bit flawed in their design. Hole #2 is a weird upside-down J-shape that climbs a significant hill, though there is a possibility to go over the trees on the second shot and trim the distance required. Hole #10 is a 325-foot water carry with the teepad just a few feet in front of the pond. There is an option to bail out to the left, but the detour requires a precise throw and veers away from the straight line to the basket. While I appreciate the championship-level challenge, I'm not a fan of forced-carry holes that don't provide a reasonable alternative to sacrificing discs to the water gods.

Even with nearly two miles of disc golf holes, Mahr Park omits a couple things on the list of hole styles. While there are trees aplenty on several holes, there aren't any heavily wooded holes. And with the shortest hole being 330 feet, there are zero ace runs.

While the overall par of 69 is reasonable, calling Hole #4 a par 3 is a bit rough. It's 400 feet but straight up a hill for the second half of the hole.

The championship version of Mahr Park has only one layout; there's no option for the wimps and noodle arms. If you want easy birdies, go play the nine-hole recreational course in the same park.

No trash cans around.

Mahr Park is an enormous course that requires plenty of distance with some finesse. Just standing on the Hole #1 teepad was a joy, as I soaked up the beauty in every direction, complete with manicured fairways, mulched areas around the benches, towering trees and peaceful ponds. The anticipation grew and the ambiance accurately foreshadowed a challenging but pleasurable round.

This isn't Idlewild. But Mahr Park should stand tall and be proud of its place as the second-best course in Kentucky; in fact, after Idlewild, it's the only other Kentucky course on the most recent UDisc Top 100 list, fwiw.

So I met the designer, HB Clark, last year at the 2018 BG AMs and told him how I've played a bunch of his courses (26 to date) and thought his newly installed Panther Creek in TN was his finest achievement. HB's immediate response, "You haven't played Mahr!?" (Note:If you aren't familiar with his work, check out http://www.bluegrassdiscgolf.org )

Mahr has been on my list ever since and finally got to give it a go. I reviewed Panther Creek as a 4.5 and in my top 5 and now Mahr Park has joined the ranks. In the same way Panther Creek is like a giant, exaggerated woods course, Mahr Park is a giant, exaggerated city park course. Hole 3 embodies the spirit of this course: Long top-of-the-world drive, somewhat forgiving but necessary line to hit, water to navigate, and tricky basket location.

Based on the previous reviews, I knew I'd be in for a hike. I somehow grossly underestimated how extreme it really is. These nicely manicured hills are HUGE. Simply being able to finish this course felt like an achievement. I doubt there are many 10,000 ft DG tracks that aren't on ball golf courses. It's actually very, very hard to believe that this much publicly maintained land could be devoted for disc golf! Regular mowing and trimming is evident and it's a very tall task to cover this vast area. Between the fine nearby Madisonville City Park DGC and Mahr, I have a suspicion that (hot take!) the residents of Madisonville/Hopkins County pay the highest percentage of their income taxes for disc golf than any other municipality.

-There were at least 5 top-of-the-world drives (1, 3, 9, 14, 18) but all except 18 required a somewhat specific line to hit. As a normally 300-350ft guy, I UDisc-measured a few drives (holes 14 and 18) in excess of 450ft here. Incredible.

-Par 4s were mostly legit 2-stage shots where you need to hit a landing zone or gap in order to execute the next shot

-Water hazards abound. You'll have a few water carries off the drive and a few water carries before the green (even a "hidden" pond 20ft from 18's basket that's unseen from the tee.) Hole 10 gives you the chance to bite off all you want from maybe 270ft to 350ft over water--the more you bite off the closer you get to an ideal landing spot for this Par 4

-Hole 9 mercifully loops back to the parking area for the chance to refuel

-Tree density is just enough to require a variety of shots from the tee and upshots. All the lines are fair. Even if you're not a 400+ft thrower, if you hit all your lines, you have a shot at Par.

-Despite some ugly construction down the hill from hole 3, this park is pristine. The back 9 looks like a former golf course (was it?) and is almost maintained like one.

-Baskets, tees, signs are all of the top-notch HB standard.

Hard to fill out this section but the main thing that keeps me from 5.0-ville is a few relatively-speaking vanilla holes (12, 16, and 17) that don't quite fit the rest of the profile. These holes would be above average on 80% of other courses but definitely stick out here.

-No tunnel or narrow fairway shots. Not to say this is a largely open course but it could use a few narrow gaps to achieve full greatness. Looks like there's room in the woods beside 14 and 15. Would love to see something incorporated here.

Great destination course, especially considering getting a combo with Madisonville DGC down the road. Madisonville is a beast in its own right but once you play Mahr, Madisonville will seem like a pitch n' putt in comparison. Mahr Park is easily in the top 2-3 in KY, narrowly behind Idlewild in my book.

(4.275 Rating) (RE-EVALUATED) A very long course with plenty of signature tee shots.
- MEMORABLE - I decided to give Mahr Park a second look, hence this revision. I had rated the course as a tweener 4/4.5 course, but coming up just shy of my 4.25 threshold for a 4.5. I attempted to revaluate Mahr from just memory, and was able to visually remember every hole, nearly two years later. Mahr Park is no doubt some incredible disc golf land. Not every hole here is perfect. In fact, a couple are rather bland. However, there are numerous holes here that are just plain spectacular. Not quite Idlewild level awesomness, but close. After my re-analysis, I've opted to put the course across the 4.25 barrier for a 4.5.
- BOMBER HOLES - Currently as of this revision, still the longest 18 configuration I've ever played. It allows the biggest throwers to really air them out. The par 3's here average over 370 feet and a couple of them are over 400 feet. Also two 750 foot plus par 5's and a gazillion par 4's.
- CHALLENGING - Challenging indeed, but playable for a larger swath of players than one would think. I felt that this monster course is somewhat one dimension, being just long. For Intermediate level players like me than can only throw around 350, this course can be a par fest. The course feels about like a middle Advanced level course. I think a balanced 950 rated player should average par out here. This number will be skewed a bit for players that excel in length over accuracy.
- SIGNATURE HOLES - There are several absolutely phenomenal holes at Mahr Park. Hole (1) right out the gates is a 50 foot down shot with a slanted fairway toward the water the whole way. Then (2) is a wicked dogleg par 5 starting out moderately wooded and then it busts out over a creek and into open field. The approach then plays up 60 feet. The epic-ness continues onto (3) with a 70 foot downhill shot with a follow-up play over a small pond. This awesomeness pretty much continues all the way thru hole (10) which was my favorite hole being a risk reward water clear with an angled water's edge. Shots farther to the right will leave a better look at the basket on this hole but it will require a longer and longer water clear. There were five holes that really stood out here; (1), (3), (8), (9) and (10), which all now find my list of top 100 holes played. After these holes the quality drops a touch with a bunch of just "great" holes. There are also a bunch of average looking holes on the back nine, such as (12), (16) and (17).
- RAW BEAUTY - Piling on the Signature Holes pro above, the natural environment at Mahr Park is stellar. Still in my top 5 out of 429 courses played as of this revision. Anyone like me who's a sucker for killer landscapes in the path of play will love this course. 90 foot elevation changes in play (source topoquest.com) and several ponds. The only courses that I've played that have done a better job at using the combination of water and elevation elements is Idlewild and Flyboy. Great wildlife too. I saw at least a dozen whitetail deer.
- ELEVATION - Lots. There are probably a dozen holes with at least 25 feet of elevation change in them.
- VARIETY - In addition to elevation and water, this course has most of the other design elements typical of top tier courses. Two 90 degree dogleg right holes and three other 45 degree dogleg holes. Mostly lightly wooded but also a couple open shots and a few moderately wooded holes. As noted above, two par 5s and several par 4s. There is one substantial lacking item, and that is technical plays. I'd say not one hole out here is a heavily wooded technical tunnel shot.
- SEATING - Thank you, Thank you. A course this hilly needs seating on every tee and I only recall one tee that didn't have it on my visit.
- CHARACTER - A touch above average. In addition to seating, the basics are done great. DISCatcher baskets and 5 foot by 12 foot concrete tees. Signage is adequate but not top of line, see other thoughts. There's a practice basket and supposedly restrooms. Missing items include alternate basket placements and tee shading.
- MAINTENANCE - There were a few areas of longer grass but overall I was impressed. I figure they mow almost daily in alternating sections of the park and never go longer than two weeks on any one portion of the layout. Or I could be wrong, and parts of the summer it's brutally overgrown and locals curse the course maintenance on facbook. In this scenario, I could also envision jubilation posts when it's cut

A couple ticky tack things and catch 22s due to the course style.
- LACK OF CHAMPIONSHIP CHALLENGE - This is billed as a championship caliber course, so naturally I was expecting a gold level challenge. Perhaps I don't know what championship caliber is. To me, it's a course where 970 rated players struggle to stay par with par. I also feel that a championship course needs to challenge players in both length and technical skills. The length is 10,000 feet, but a few of par 4s are two short to be Pro or even Advanced level par 4s. As for technical throws, almost nada. I rarely hit a tree on my round, and even when I did, I still saved par all but once. The use of trees to guard baskets is very poor for a Championship level course. The use of my imagination to craft shots was subdued, compared to other courses I've rated at this level. At a tourney in May 2018. An even par 69 was netting a 948 rated round. Several sub 900 players broke par. That's not Champ course billing difficultly to me.
- SAFETY HAZARDS - A park road comes into play a couple times, most notable on (1) and (9). I never saw a car on it, other than my own when I drove into the park. A really minor issue
- LOST DISCS - There are several water features out here. Getting greedy or a lack of focus could be punishing. I made the mistake on (1) by not looking closely at the hole signage. At first from the tee, I thought my disc just went into the thicket on the left. As I walked down the fairway, I soon realized the horrifying reality that my two time ace disc was gone deep into the water behind a row of trees. It was one of the those times where I knew it was 100% my own fault rather than the course screwing me. I wouldn't be surprised to hear that some locals lose plastic out here every few rounds or so.
- BUGS - I don't subtract any score for this but I did pull 4 ticks off my body at round conclusion.
- BEGINNER FRIENDLY - I oddly met a player on his third round of disc golf ever out here. What the heck are you doing sir. Not surprisingly he had lost a disc and rolled an ankle. Seriously, play at least 50 rounds or be able to throw 300 feet before heading over here.
- TERRAIN - Any player not a fan of elevation needs to stay far far away from this course. 10,000 feet of constant elevation movement. The number of holes that change by less than ten feet is zero. This is the third most energy draining course I've ever played as of this review. I don't advise playing 7,300 foot Madisonville immediately before coming here like it did. Players that have bad knees or ankles need to stay clear of this course. Bringing a cart here seems surprisingly doable as there are very few rock laden fairways.
- SPACING - Mostly really good. However, players need to be aware of the disc traffic convergence between (8) and (10). Players playing (10), must cross into (8s) fairway to get to the basket. Holes (13) and (14) also partially share fairways.
- TEE SHADING - I was disappointed in the amount of tee shading which was less than 50 percent. Several times tees were located within 20 feet of tree that also didn't affect the play of the hole. I'm baffled as to how a guy who's designed well over a hundred courses, could not take this into account.
- TIME PLAY - Only 27 holes at Harmon Hills has taken me longer to play solo. Figure a pair at 2 1/2 to 3 hours and a foursome at 3 1/2 to 4 hours.

The Mahr Park Champ course is a huge reason to head back to Madisonville. No doubt a destination course by itself, but when paired with Madisonville City Park it becomes a wonderful one-two daytrip. Players looking for long courses to air out drives will get giddy here. Players that enjoy beautiful rolling hill landscapes dotted with tranquil ponds will love it here. Players with noodle arms and bad knees...... will need to forget that this course ever existed. To me, it was an instant favorite and still in my top 15 as of this review revision.
- NAVIGATION - Adequate on my play. There's a nice course map next to tee (1) detailed in typical HB Clark fashion. Normally I'll complain about the detail in his tee signs, but for this lightly wooded course they work. Tee signs show next tee direction on them, but considering the number of par 4s and 5s, I doubt many players will remember the direction by the time they reach the basket. I constantly found myself checking my photo of the course map to get around. The baskets could really use a painted spoke, an arrow below it, or some other type of navigational marker between holes. Hopefully some of these things have been addressed since my only visit in July 2018.

Scenic 10,000' par 69 championship style course with multiple true pro par 4s and 5s playing over huge KBG rolling hills and large mature hardwood trees lining the fairways similar to a traditional more open park style course, but Mahr really takes this to the next level.

There are six ponds on the course providing a bevy of water hazards down the fairways and near the baskets. Excellent variety of line shaping and landing zones to hit. Shot makers course that rewards distance with accuracy.

Nice single concrete tees and tee signs and DisCatcher baskets. Two loops of nine holes back to parking lot. Benches and restrooms available. Superbly maintained, all the bluegrass was freshly mowed and the course was looking like Augusta National.

Tons of wildlife, saw lots of deer, geese and all kinds of birds everywhere singing away, bull frogs, and a rather large water snake(I think) encounter that scared the crap out of me.

Nitpicking here, the concrete tees were a little too rough/grippy for me. Would be nice to have a shorter set of tee pads or baskets for more variety on this awesome course. Could use some limb trimming on few holes namely 3, 5, and 8. Also noticed some widow makers hanging over the fairway on 8.

The factory across the street was a little noisy on the front 9. The back nine introduces some walking paths along the course. Could lose a disc or few in the ponds. Can be rough in windy conditions and on hot summer days. Course might be too much of a hike for some players, it ranks up there in my personal list as one of longest and most elevation hikes. Definitely not a course for beginners as the Champ name indicates, the kiddie course is down the road.

Hidden hills? You can't miss them. I was tempted to drop a five on the Mahr Championship course, it's that almost that good IMO. Reminds me a lot Brakewell Steele in Warwick NY, and I think it features a bit more elevation, but less tree density variation, and while Mahr has the ponds, Warwick has the creeks. I had the entire course to myself except for a couple walkers on the back nine walking paths.

The front 9 was my favorite featuring huge downhills then uphills alternating every hole and while a lot a fun throwing it, it is quite the strenuous hike! Hole 1 starts you out with a big downhill drive to the basket near the pond. The par 5 hole 2 is a almost a complete U-turn around another pond and then about 100' elevation uphill on a fast green. Hole 3 is another big downhill drive with the basket perched just behind another pond. Holes 4, 5, and 6 were excellent. 7 was ok, but blind with a really fast green. 8 is a tough par 4 dogleg right and uphill with the fairway pinched in the middle off the tee. Then 9 is another big downhill drive with some danger of the pond.

The back nine features more moderate elevation changes, but more danger with water. Hole 10 gives you the longest water carry of a little over 300' to approach the basket for a birdie chance, or you can bail out to the left short and play for the par, or if you have a top pro arm you can go for the eagle and 450'+ water carry. Hole 11 is where I had my snake encounter by the water's edge and scared the crap out me and probably the snake as well as it dove into the pond while I was fishing my terrible drive out of it. Hole 12 was ok, I really liked 13 and 14. Hole 15 is the par 5 on the back nine, and the fairway kind of plays down the new walking path, it's ok, not as impressive as hole 2 though. Hole 16 and 17 were ok. Hole 18 was a spectacular finishing hole, it an uphill par 4 with the blind pond approaching the basket.

This a fun and phenomenal pro caliber course and would love to see the all top touring pros airing out some risky drives for all the glory. The course plays well for advanced players as well, but the course will really separate the big arms from the rest of the field. For intermediate and below players, this will be a war of attrition and may not enjoy the course as much as better the players will, except for maybe the duffer masochists. I travelled a long way to play here and was not disappointed, and hope to come back again one day.

I also highly recommend Brother's BBQ right down the street, good quick food, but might want two sandwiches as they were a little small and you will get hungry playing here.

Beautiful Property with Huge Elevation and Numerous Ponds

Teeshots and Upshots over water & Ponds behind and in front of Greens

True Par 4s and 5s!!! At least half even

Good Equipment:
Pads, Benches, Teesigns, and Baskets

More of a Golf Course feeling than City Park: very well mowed and cleaned up

Design at Mahr is indeed Champion Caliber

Some of the wooded rough areas appear to have Thorny Thorns, but there's plenty of Fairway to avoid these areas

Older players would like more Benches

I love this course, as a Blue Level player, for the challenges of true Championship caliber Frolf

Just had the pleasure to play in Madisonville again... Mahr is still Immaculately Maintained, and one of the best Gold Level DGCs anywhere

High quality Tee Pads, Signage, Baskets

Gorgeous, huge piece of property

Up and down monster hills

Water in play.

Twisting, turning Shots.

Bring your Bombers, Course is 10,000' long, Tee to Pin.

Front 9 plays back to the parking lot, pack a cooler in your vehicle and restock your beverages.

Really enjoyable, ball-golf style play.

Plays exclusively away from any other activities.

Fun Rec Course just down the hill, if you have the energy left for it.

Saw deer in multiple areas, running about,

I have none, maybe some would say it's more length, than having technical wooded shots galore.

This is a gunner's Course, people who want to air it out, and have the arms to do so.

Massive uphill shots at times, huge downhill others...

I recommend tackling Champ first, and then play Rec if you're still looking for more play, instead of warming up on Rec and then playing Champ.

H.B. Clark is The Man! See a Course designed by him, Go Play It!!

Pretty park, nice pads, nice baskets

It's new, so benches and bridges will come, but only a couple of each right now. Pretty soggy in several places, but it did just rain.

#1 tee is a nice downhill with water on the left
#2 tee is around the pond, but you have to walk up and around the wooded area to get to the path. The basket is around a pond then up to the top of a steep hill. It's at least 320' from the tee to get to the gap in the trees to cross the water.
#3 tee is across the road. The basket is down the hill across another pond. The pond is maybe 500' from the tee and it's about 200' across the water.
#4 is a drive across a slight valley with a guarded basket
#5 is a long gradual downhill medium tunnel drive with the basket back up a small hill.
#6 is back up the hill for 320' then right another 150' or so.
#7 is a gradual downhill with the basket slightly left of straight (one of 3 holes under 400')
#8 is a long valley shot with the basket next to the trees up at the top of the tree line on the right.
#9 is a downhill tucked into the wood line
#10 is 250-300' to carry the water then the basket is at the top of the hill
#11 is a low ceiling shot up a slight incline with the first 100' crossing water (2nd hole under 400')
#12 has 2 trees in the middle of the fairway you can either skirt under or shape around.
#13 is up the hill into the woods on the left.
#14 is a downhill sweeping left.
#15 is a long gradual downhill
#16 is a basic downhill guarded by one tree. This might be the only ace-able hole (3rd hole under 400')
#17 has tree lined water for the first 320' of the fairway then it opens up and the basket is next to a couple of trees
#18 is about 525-550' down the hill then up to the pond at the top of the hill, then 120-220' to clear the water.


This is a bear of a course. The length and elevation changes make for a tough round. Not a lot of shot variety, but it does require accurate placement around the water. Amateur tees would add enjoyment for non pros, but in its current format, I wouldn't recommend it for rec players. My threesome collectively lost 4 discs in the water.

Best long and technical cousre in KY. Elevation and variety of shots.

Long and lots of elevation changes but only listed in Cons because of wear and tear on your legs. Some throws are tough footing on an incline or decline but forces "golf" shots and setting yourself up for the next shot placements

Parking will be tough until the park is finished.