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Cincinnati

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BigAl724

Par Member
Diamond level trusted reviewer
Joined
Sep 8, 2012
Messages
246
Location
Waynesburg, PA
My brother (Qikly) and I are probably going to play here for a couple of days in July. I've played Idlewild and Lincoln Ridge and he's never been. Of course, the priority is playing those two courses plus Mt. Airy. After that, there aren't any large preferences that stand out among the rest of the courses. Mason and Monroe look promising as well. Osage Grove looks to be another one to hit up, but has mixed reviews.

We place a high priority on course design - course flow, variety, and technical challenge - over amenities, but still appreciate straight-forward navigation and basic amenities since we'll from out of town.

I've read multiple threads about the Cincy courses, but I wanted to start a new one in case of any new info about the courses, recent redesigns, bad conditions, etc.

So my main questions are:

-What are the more underrated courses in the area, the ones outside of the Big 3 that we shouldn't overlook even though they aren't as highly rated?

-Any courses in real rough shape this time of year that we should skip?

-Courses outside of the Big 3 that we should take into account large crowds? (I know the other three get very crowded)

We usually don't incorporate any sight seeing in our trips, but since we're not familiar with the city, any basic tips on food, which part of the city to stay, etc?

Thanks for any input!

P.S. - we're Steelers fans, are we still welcome?
 
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Mason and Osage Grove are well worth the trip. Monroe and Turtlecreek make for a nice day since they're close to one another. They also get pretty repetitive and don't really measure up to the big 3 like Osage Grove does. A couple that people don't talk about often are Cabin Creek and Cedar Sentinels. They'd make for a day of much driving but are a more fun day than Monroe/TC.
 
Tbird, I haven't been out there in awhile, do you know if they have finished the teepads at Osage?
 
I don't believe they have. The last time I suggested it for a round to my regular group they all said the grass is getting unruly out there.
 
If you're here for a couple of days (in the hottest time of the year), it's going to depend on your 'quantity' preferences: just a couple of rounds a day, or four or five? Obviously, you can get the southern repeats (Idlewild & Lincoln Ridge) in together, then adding Mt Airy makes that a pretty long day in July. If you plan to play Osage Grove on the East side, you might add Williamsburg for a fun round. But if you're planning a day on the north side of town, you could combine Monroe and drive over to Cabin Creek, if Bill & Midge are ready for you (it's a "must pre-arrange"). Cedar Sentinels is fun, but pretty far isolated west of town.

Keep us informed & we'll see if we can't get some local dgcr guides for each stop! :thmbup:

ps: The Valkyrie Kid hinted at a July return to town, which would make it kind of an informal meet-up.

pps: if you want a tournament & meet the local club regulars, Williamsburg hosts the monthly course challenge event on 7/15 (but that would limit the course bagging) :eek:
 
I can tell you DGCR's Cincy locals are a great bunch of guys, and I've been fortunate to play with quite a few of them (still a few more I'd like to get out there with). ;)

All I'll add is that Idlewild's challenging enough when the weather's nice, but it's a freakin' beast on a sweltering summer day. Temps hit 100+ when Ripper guided me around that place. Planning for success can make the difference between enjoying it and simply surviving it. Loose fitting, light colored clothing, having plenty of water available on the course and bringing a some refreshing snacks in your bag (oranges/clementines work great) will stack the odds in your favor.


Enjoy your trip! :)
 
BigAl724 said:
What are the more underrated courses in the area, the ones outside of the Big 3 that we shouldn't overlook even though they aren't as highly rated?
Click to expand...
I asked the same question while visiting The Nati store a few years back and was told Harbin was the next best, I found it to be kinda of boring golf and told myself just play the Big 3 more (plus Osage now).
 
discNDav said:
I asked the same question while visiting The Nati store a few years back and was told Harbin was the next best, I found it to be kinda of boring golf and told myself just play the Big 3 more (plus Osage now).
Click to expand...

Yea, Harbin is pretty boring... Unless you get to play the full tourney layout. There are some fun/challenging bonus holes there, including an awesome top of the world shot.
 
Another course people sometimes forget to mention, cause its only 9holes, is Mason Sports Park on the north side of town. Navigation is a little weird but its definitely a 9 hole worthy of stopping at, especially if you plan on hitting up Monroe or Turtlecreek. It does have a bit of a walk to the first tee and back to the parking lot after 9 but there are at least 3 holes there that are really fun. Not to much in the way of amenities, unless you're there on a day the baseball fields up the hill are busy. Just make sure you have the course map loaded up on your phone or print one off the map here.
 
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Sorry it's been awhile since your responses, but thanks everyone for the input! We're going to be playing early next week. It looks like it'll be hot, but not quite as hot as the weekend will be. Planning on meeting at Mt. Airy the first day in the afternoon, then what's next is probably the biggest question mark. Then Idlewild as early as possible the next morning, followed by Lincoln Ridge or a couple of other courses around the area. We don't have a full day either day, so quality over quantity is probably going to be the priority.
 
Idlewild and LR are a solid combo, I did that a couple times trying to get some practice for the Big 3 tournament (didn't go so well but they were fun days). There's also a pretty laid back open 18 hole course right near Idlewild (Boone County park IIRC). If you want to stay in the city, Dunham is a decently fun course to play, and there are a bunch of courses if you head East or North from Airy
 
I was just at Osage Grove in Goshen, helping a little (big work day there tomorrow, but we also have a nice B tier here in town...). As of right now, the baskets are still in, and the fairways are in awesome shape, but the tee pads are under reconstruction. As is (at this moment), it's still by far one of the best four courses in the region.
 
Played 9 courses all together on Monday and Tuesday, so I felt like we really got to see what the city had to offer.

Monday

I stopped at Mason first because it was on the way right off of I-71. I didn't have too much trouble navigating, but the map did come in handy a few times. I really enjoyed 5 and especially enjoyed 8. One of the best holes I played on the trip not at Idlewild.

Then made a quick stop at St. Bernard. There were hundreds of people at the pool, playground, and basketball court, so I wasn't able to play a couple holes.

Met up with my brother at Mt. Airy. Enjoyed the pro shop and the course. Most likely will give it a 4 rating. It wasn't mind-blowing, but had some really fun holes.

We then went to Dunham Rec Center, played some of the course, and then got harassed by the coach of some archers who said he "spread throughout the course" for practice. They probably only took up two holes. Said that the course was closed, even though the archers only needed about 30-40' from their targets. Biggest shame was that I would have enjoyed playing that kind of course to close out our day.

Because of the extra time, we played Emschoff Woods, Surge, and Burnett Woods. My favorite of the three was definitely Burnett Woods. I thought that it had some really good design and used well what the land had to offer. The park itself reminded me of Schenley Park in Pittsburgh.

Tuesday

Played Idlewild. It was my brother's first time playing there and he thought very highly of the course. Beat both of us up though! I played it a couple of years ago as a newbie and thought I would play a lot better this time around. Not so much.

Because of time constraints, we played Boone instead of Lincoln Ridge before we headed out of town. Was a good course to close out our trip and play after Idlewild. Not too much punishment after our previous beat down.

Definitely one of the best cities/regions I've been played in. Coming from the Pittsburgh area, where the courses are so spread out, it's very fun to drive a couple minutes in any direction and have a course to play. Wish we had time for Osage Grove. Next time.
 
I second a lot of Big Al's sentiments. Cincy seems like a great area to be a discer. I'm jealous of the variety, quality, and number of courses available.

Idlewild was quite a course indeed and definitely a draining round. Should I get a chance to play the course again I will probably skip the letter holes in order to maximize my ability to play the numbered layout which is quite demanding and has many holes unlike any others I've played. Some very true par 5s in there that will smack you around. Sometimes the course felt fair, sometimes it felt unfair, but it always felt awesome.

I was completely wiped after Idlewild so it's my fault we played Boone instead of Lincoln Ridge. Big Al was kind about adapting to his weary older brother. :p Hopefully we'll be able to hit the area again at some point so I can visit Lincoln Ridge and give Idlewild another go now that I know what I'm getting into.
 
Glad to hear you enjoyed the area. You definitely got a lot of courses in that most wouldn't think of playing. I didn't even think about Dunham's recent archery power grab. They have proven to be quite difficult, and they absolutely refuse to share the course despite the minimal area they occupy. It's a major disappointment, really.

Next time, Lincoln Ridge and Osage Grove should be priorities. I would recommend playing Osage Grove second since I like to describe it as a great mix of Idlewild and Lincoln Ridge.
 
tbird888 said:
I didn't even think about Dunham's recent archery power grab. They have proven to be quite difficult, and they absolutely refuse to share the course despite the minimal area they occupy. It's a major disappointment, really.
Click to expand...

This is nice to hear because honestly I felt a little crazy about the whole thing. They saw us unpack our car and get a few holes in before coming over to us and declaring the course closed in its entirety. Upon whose authority? I am not into confrontation but the grandeur with which the coach seemed to wield his invisible power tempted me to call his bluff and just keep playing. But we all have better things to do with our lives, and it's not like the course was that great. Ultimately we maximized our courses played that day and got to see more of the area than I'd anticipated, which was cool.

But honestly, a bunch of 10 year olds shooting arrows 40 feet in a confined space just is not a safety hazard in proportion to the way it was portrayed by Coach Imtheboss. I was not fond of the power trippiness.

We did at least get to play a few holes and see a fair bit of the course. It was like a miniature Slippery Rock.
 
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