Disc Golf Course Review

Great, very fun mountain course.
Brand new concrete tee boxes, excellent Prodigy baskets and good signage.
Lots of trees, many tight shots so bring your A game.
Hole 1 is an intimidating Par 3 but it gets easier from there with other long holes as Par 4's.
Lots of birdie holes, so a low score is possible.
Solitude with good views and lots of variety. Long and short holes and challenging and birdie holes.
Hole 13 is awesome. Quite a few very well designed holes.
Benches are good resting spots.

Hole 20 is a blind tee shot. Aim up and right.
Some hiking so bring your water and boots. The hike after 2 is tough but not bad overall.
Wish the hole signs were a bit more detailed, but they suffice.

Well worth the drive and will be heading back.

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*OCTOBER 2024 UPDATE* - A lot of work has gone into the course since my visit a year ago: a handful of paver tees, lots of clearing. With the exception of playing from a lot of packed dirt tees, the course conditions are fine - and the design is excellent.


+ Two sets of tees (Whites are long ["Advanced"], Reds are short ["Amateur']), one DisCatcher on each hole. Baskets have green bands (chosen by the Township, and they own the land!). Once you're used to them, visibility is a problem on only a few of the deeply wooded holes when there isn't a lot of sunlight.


+ The signs (distance and map) are excellent, and the wayfinding signs are red and white metal arrows, pointing to each tee respectively. Tee sign posts are clearly painted either red or white. And the metal numbers atop the signs are reminiscent of Brakewell and Buzzy's (not a surprise, since this is a Dan Doyle course).


+ The overall design makes great use of the varied natural terrain. After a few open holes, much of the front nine plays through deep woods, up and along a steep hillside. The middle holes run along a flat narrow valley (with the creek playing a big role), and then you head up and along - and eventually down the wooded hill on the other side of the valley. The course finishes in a loop, but it fits in a tremendous amount of variety.


+ The two layouts reveal their differences right from the start on Hole #1: The White tee is 200' back from the Red - and most of the difference is across a big pond lying between them. You need only 175' to stay dry, but it's right there staring you in the face on the first tee.


+ The White layout is 2000' longer, but it adds 8 strokes to par - it adds a lot of challenge: hillsides to throw down (#2) or up (#4, #14) , adding angles (#5, #13), water carries (#1, #10) and a handful of narrow wooded alleys. But having the 8 additional strokes for par will keep an intermediate or better player in the game and not overwhelmed.


+ The Red, though shorter, still packs a punch. You're going for the same baskets as the Whites, so you're facing the same tricky placements, low ceilings, rollaways; etc. But the on the back nine especially, the Red takes on a different personality from the White: a few surprisingly short holes create ace run opportunities.


+ Shoutout to the terrific #10, with the wide creek running along the entire right side. The Red tee plays 50' or so away from the creek, but the fairway is thick with trees, and an unlucky kick could get you wet. The star of the show is the White tee, laying above - and beside - the creek. It's only 205' to the protected basket, but your disc is going to be over the creek the entire way.


+ The course finishes with a pair of terrific downhill holes. 17 is a long downhill/sidehill requiring control to make the gaps AND control to float something in to the tight green at the base of the hill. 18 starts in the woods, but opens to a huge field - after you make it through gaps guarded by trees and a stone wall.

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- As mentioned, only a few of the tees have framed pavers so far. The rest are level and packed dirt. A few are too short for runups, and the course isn't going to be as good when the tees are wet and muddy. But playing during a dry spell in October and not needing much runup, I found the conditions to be fine.


- # 5 from the long tee is a sharp dogleg to the right. You're playing through thick woods and the angle at the turn appeared to me to be almost 90 degrees. There may be a few lines for cutting the corner or playing a little long and making it back to the fairway, but I didn't see them. In fairness, it's a par 4 - and it feels like the only play from the Advanced tee is to lay up to the corner.

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~ Not cart-friendly. There's a lot of hiking here through the woods, up and down hills. It's enough of a workout without dragging a cart behind you. The course is new, and still requires some beating in through lots of play. The throwing lines are pretty well-defined. The paths have been cleared (probably a huge effort in itself), and the rough is gradually being thinned out.


~ I don't know that I'd recommend Papakating to beginners, because even the shorter layout requires a lot of control/manipulation in order to score. And big arms might not find enough challenge. But you know who Papakating serves really well? Intermediate players (think 800 - 875 rated) who enjoy the challenge of having to control the flight of their disc. They can play both layouts with the expectation of scoring, and the varied design provides lots of challenge regardless of which type of "intermediate" they are.


~ One last thought about the dirt tees and however long it may take to build out the pavers. While playing the deeply wooded holes, I was reminded a lot of Greystone Woods. If you know Greystone, you know that it's been a ten year evolution, beating the course in with lots of play, building paver tees, benches and other features way out in the woods. Despite dirt tees, Greystone has enjoyed a reputation as an excellent course. I think the same will be true of Papakating Creek. It's still a little too new and a little too raw, but it's on its way.

-- Awesome holes, even if most of them are on the shorter side. One and two are good, but 3 really stands out. It's a legitimate par 4 at 286 feet. The entire fairway is a tight tunnel. Around the halfway point, it takes a 90-degree or slightly larger right turn. Clear that corner and land in the fairway, and you've got a decent shot to pitch to the basket and make birdie. Miss just a little bit, and you're scrambling trying to save par. Six is 220 feet slightly downhill through a 20-foot wide tunnel. Water sits 20 feet past the basket. A few bushes on the right side provide some protection, but an overthrow likely means a wet disc. No. 8 is a good hole and another short par 4, but this one feels too generous. The hole is 262 feet RHBH, but the tunnel is wider, and there is an open area short of the basket. No. 10 is 300 feet with big water right. Finally, 15 is 223 feet uphill to a basket set in a stand of trees.
-- New Veteran baskets. Previous reviews mention the baskets being in bad shape. That is no longer the case.
-- Concrete tee pads. Most are dedicated pads, but a few are existing concrete or asphalt. Some of the concrete tees need some TLC, but some have clearly been repaired, so someone is taking care of things.
— Map at beginning of course.
-- Benches at most tees as well as trash cans.

-- No restroom.
-- Tee signs are good when present, but several holes having missing signs. One of those caused me to play out of order. After 9, I went to the next visible tee. There was a tee pad and a post but no sign. I played that thinking it was 10; I figured out later that the hole I played was 11. Both holes are within a few feet of 300 feet and play in the same direction, so I didn't notice at first.
-- Holes 10-15 feel somewhat cramped. Holes 13-14 play parallel back and forth; their fairways are a little close to each other, and both have other baskets in potential flight paths. The tee pads for 13 and 15 are withing 15 feet of each other. The baskets are not numbered, so that adds to the problem.
-- The tee for No. 17 appears to have been moved. A blue directional arrow points you away from the concrete tee pad and its tee sign beside the water. You walk 200 feet from the water to find a large number 17 tacked to a tree, and a worn spot beside the tree appears to be where people tee from. I don't know why. From either 17 tee spot, someone standing on the 18 tee is in danger.
-- Work is being done near the water, so you've got tracks from heavy equipment marring the ground, and many trees appear to have been victims of this work. Holes 6, 7, 9 and 10 are particularly impacted.

-- Two holes (4, 12) have elevated baskets, both inside 3-4 foot tall ceramic bowls. One might be good, but two feels gimmicky.
-- No. 18 is a boring finishing hole. It's 303 feet and mostly open.
-- The course is next to the YMCA, so there is plenty of parking. I'm sure there's a restroom inside, but you likely have to be a member to use it.

The entire course is technical, for those players who like and prefer all technical courses. The short fairways allow most players to use primarily putters and mid-rangers. The course is hilly, with some uphill fairways, and some downhill fairways. The baskets are study Gateway Titans, with blue tops. There are signs next to each tee. The signs are the same type of sign, and the same size, of yard signs that are normally displayed in yards for candidates during election years. The signs display the hole number, par number, length, location of the basket, and an arrow pointing to the direction of the next tee. The tees are dirt, with pieces of trees cut to form tee boxes. Once I located the tee for Hole 1, the first 9 holes were easy to follow, like following a trail. The baskets were a short walk from the next tee pad, which made the next tee easy to locate.

There is no map on display at the beginning of the course or on The Landing Hub website. Without a map, it took me several minutes to locate the tee for Hole 1. The back 9 did not have the same easy flow as the front 9 had. The sign for Hole 9 had an arrow that pointed to the right for the next hole. After I hit the basket for 9, I walked to the right for what I estimate to be about 40 feet to what I thought was the tee for Hole 10, but the sign by the tee indicated it was for Hole 11. I wandered around several minutes looking for the tee for Hole 10, and did not find the tee or a basket for 10. I suspect that perhaps the sign for 10 was removed and the tee could have been covered with leaves? I returned to the Hole 11 tee and played 11, 12, and 13, which were easy to follow because those holes were arranged in the trail format like 1 through 9 were. After 13, I was unable to locate the tee for 14.

Because the course is not located in a public park, but instead on the property of a private business, there is a $5 fee to play per game, or $10 fee to play all day. Payments are made with the use of The Landing Hub website at https://landinghub.com/. An improvement to this course would be if a map were to be added to the website, and if a sign were to be installed with a course map next to the parking lot.

They finally built a course inside our fantastic metro park network!

Just about everything about this course is wrong.

It is laid out on an old par-3 ball golf course and you can tell.
Most holes are wide open, repetitive, and too long for disc golf.

Almost every hole looks just like the previous hole. There is almost no variety and very little technical challenge.
The only challenge here is the length of the holes.

The designer was clearly handicapped by the land provided. There are some nice elevation changes that could have been used much better. Most of the holes follow the old ball golf course, which means they are wide open, too long, and look just like the last 4 holes.
If you are looking for a very long, wide open course where you can try to throw 600 feet on every drive, this is the course for you. If you are looking for a fun, technical course with challenges other than shear distance, then look elsewhere.

Very technical with great use of trees and terrain
Wide variety of hole layouts
Good signage

Too many raised baskets.

This is a fun course. It is actually fairly easy if you can hit the fairways and miss the trees. But that's a big if. When you go off fairway, you're in jail.
This is one of the best courses in northeast Ohio.

Far more fun than the overhyped and overrated AstroHurst course in the Cleveland Metro Parks.

There are 9 good DD Patriot baskets and they are in great shape.
4 X 4 posts mark the tees, with pretty cool metal numbers on top.
6 of the 9 holes play away from other park activities.
Two holes I actually liked, #7 and #9. More on those later.

Very one dimensional layout, throw a Hyzer (RHBH), and don't let it fade too far into the thick brush bordering the course. No lake to worry about here (like that course in AZ) but you could still lose a disc with an errant throw.
No tee pads or anything like them, just grass next to the tee posts.
#1 plays over the sand volleyball court, it probably hasn't seen a game in a while, so no big deal.
#2 you can throw a hyzer over the horseshoe pits, around a tree and maintenance building, or you can throw a forehand that skips across the basketball court. Yea, you can see the problems here.
#7 plays around and possibly over one of the softball fields, could be tough to play if there is a game going on.
#9 plays down a walking path that leads to that softball field.

Yea, I decided to write this review to use that title!! And wolfhaley and ElementZ inspired me.
Pretty cool this Town/Village of 900 has two 9 hole courses. The other is at the High School and is a better course, even though most of the holes are straight layouts.
This course moves counter-clockwise around the border of the course (only #2 departs from the border), with thick rough of trees and brush down the left of those 7 of those holes. #3, #4, #5, #6 and #8 are basically the same holes. So yes, you better be ready to throw a lot of hyzers.
Which brings me to #7, my favorite hole on the course, the tee post is just beyond the right field corner of the softball fence. The basket is beyond the 3rd base/left field fence, about 40 feet from that fair pole. Oh, and the basket is just 10 feet from the border brush, it measures 300' staight line across the field. If you play it like I did, tee shot just beyond center field, then a high hyzer (see, the 2nd one) over the center field fence, over the left field fence that has to drop before the park border brush. It measures 360' on that route. Its one of those with obvious OB areas, but little chance of losing one.
#9 does play down an access path, but is a mostly straight tee shot (that could be hyzered) then an upshot to the basket in the middle of a couple of paths.
I would get tired of playing this course very often, but with the football team practicing on part of the other course in town, this was a good alternative. The tough thing for course baggers is that it's not convenient off of I94, better access is off Hwy 29.

Super challenging, 18 hole wooded course with a couple of peaks into the open in a park used almost exclusively for disc golf. Quality baskets, and multiple tee pads and/or basket placements on each hole. Very good variety in design with a mix of right and left turns and good use of the modest elevation present on the property. Directional arrows after each basket helps with navigation. Some signature holes here, especially the par 5 holes on #6 and #12. A lost disc box is now present. Though difficult, the course is very fair.

Some of the alternate pads might be a bit short for a course of this length. Hole 17 is impacted by heavy rains and 18 is virtually unplayable and had to be moved. Hole 16 a bit too narrow off the tee in my humble opinion. Parking lot has limited accommodation for events. Benches would greatly benefit the course. Requires a lot of maintenance (more on this later).

There is a sign by hole 1 warning players that this is a course for the truly advanced disc golfer, and truer words were never spoken. Located in a township park that is sparsely used save for a dog park near the entrance, Thompson Grove is currently one of the longest and probably the most challenging course in the state, designed with the high advanced and professional disc golfer in mind. Par from the long tees is near impossible, and the recent addition of alternate tees on each hole makes it manageable for players of lesser ability- critical for the course to be a viable playing option and get traffic from the average player. The Grove will challenge you in ways not normally expected at the average disc golf course, often requiring you to use multiple types of throws on a given hole. Its length is considerable, and high scores are common. One must put their ego in their back pocket and arrive in the right frame of mind to enjoy it here. The Grove will prepare you and make you a better player. If you succeed here, you can play well anywhere.

The biggest concern with this venue is the willingness of area players to help with its maintenance. A course like The Grove needs regular mowing and attention to its fairways to remain a quality place to play rather than an overgrown mess. A town can/will only do so much, and more players need to take ownership in the quality of area courses, giving back when the opportunity presents itself. Much credit goes to the designer and to those who helped with its construction.

REZ PRK or Reservoir Park definitely has enough edge for it to earn its shortened name. It's an 18er where the short hole lengths on paper shouldn't trick you about any actual ease of the course.

It starts out with SIX (#1-6) open holes in a big field, with some mild mandatories, bushes, and other course shaping, that transitions into a series of more heavily treed holes. First mostly straight up and down elevation, and then a couple of left-to-right sloping hillside elevation before returning on a more gentle uphill series with two semi-tunnel holes. It ends with two open holes again. Long #6 on the open, with a tree gap blocking the last third and ending on the right on a slope, and the #15 bowl shot are my favorite holes here. I find #12 and #14, the first heavily treed, the second uphill, both being narrow fairways the most challenging.

Rez would qualify as a fun local destination, something I would travel an hour plus change, but not much more if not specifically course bagging. Seeing all the little tweaks and changes since this place opened really shows off the involved community at this course. For example, this summer, #13 was totally redone with a new concrete teepad repoured and basket reset for a far less dangerous hole. (Details in Other).

There is a lost and found box right at the start, which also hosts a community garden. A seated pavilion at the end of #1. No permanent restrooms, lately there's been a portapotty but don't count on it. A Basketball court and the Community Center, which processes the lost and found is upfront. There's also a caged in dog park and rad looking mountain bike track near the disc golf.

Flip side of an involved community, this place is crowded with players, especially on any random afternoons. It often feels worse than it is because the course plays into itself in the center and bottlenecks in spots. #7, 8 & ending 18 share the same 160' width as fairway. Or the #9/10/11 triplet down/up/down fairways birthed together. I teed off #17 and hit #11's teepad often enough now. Stuff like that.

The beginning open holes don't seem too promising for many. By tee#2 -- an open long distance bomb hole with mando sign left of the big bush, about avoiding neighboring properties -- it can feel like yet another tacked-on course. Some afterthought crammed onto a spare park field. The kind you see behind some highschool athletic fields or the like, maybe with a singular tree or the long distances desperately trying to spruce up a boring course. But it gets better and the meat and potatos of playing feels like it starts on somewhere around #4's cliff ending, the left to right #5 and the backhalf of #6.

After playing multiple times, I tend to avoid this place in late spring and summers. There's enough growth and slopes here to makes scouring errant colored plastic circles an inevitability and a pain. It has gotten much better in spots since opening but fundamentally is still in the DNA of many holes and not an aspect of the game I enjoy.

From the main park on Fillmore Street, you drive into a NO OUTLET Franklin Avenue. It used to look rather sketchy, complete with overgrown chainlink fence and lots of No Dumping signs, but that's all been overhauled the last year into something far more pleasant. Past that first row of parking is the end lot, in sight of a Pavilion and a Community Garden.

If a comparison needs to be made, this is perhaps the type of course the old 9er, New Hanover Community Park DG, about half an hour away towards Boyertown, aspired to become years ago. Ultimately New Hanover just didn't get the space for it but this place does.

A lot of baskets have solar powered mini-lights strapped in them. Helpful in the approaching dusk. I wouldn't know anything about nightgolf.

I miss the old #13. It was heavily treed gapped downhill with a narrow fairway to hit, that also had a super heavy left to right hillside slope to it. It was the most dangerous hole I played so far, and have slipped here many times. And if you missed the bowling lane wide fairway, good luck with the extra sketchy climb up or down. They did away with it for a friendlier but more conventional hole placed right before it, but the old tee is still there (basket gone, obviously). I miss its uniqueness but my body sure don't. I'm sure it has claimed many other ankles as victims in its time. Old 13, you will and won't be missed.

This is an epic course, full of exhilarating downhill bombs, humbling uphill grinds, and treacherous rough. I had an absolute blast playing here. So many holes are iconic and instantly recognizable from tournament coverage. Speaking of tournament coverage, the pros make this course look way easier than it is.

I played the long tees (!) because I wanted the full Toboggan experience. I started out with lots of bogeys and an occasional par (which I considered personal pars and birdies, respectively). Later in the round the holes got tougher and I got tired-er (this was my third course of the day), resulting into more double bogeys and worse.

The setting for this course is gorgeous, with massive hills and manicured fairways lined by dense forest. I saw a few others playing on a sunny and pleasant fall afternoon, but mostly felt like I had this amazing property to myself. It was nice being able to take my time and savor my round.

Red Chainstar Pro baskets were marked with the hole number, mounted level, easy to spot, and caught well. Concrete tee pads are large, level, and grippy. No complaints with either (but see cons regarding other course equipment).

Although a few fairways were more open than I prefer, many of the approaches and greens are treacherous but fair. Frequently, baskets were well guarded, set on sloped ground, or had steep drop-offs nearby. Consequently, approach accuracy, distance control, and angle control are critical.

My favorite moment of the round was playing through a group on one of the many big downhill holes. My drive flipped up, drifted right over the rough, and held for an agonizingly long time before hooking up and fading back into the middle of the fairway. Always thrilling to throw a perfect drive, especially with an audience.

The main cons for this course are due to its temporary nature. The lack of tee signs and directional signs are understandable, but still detract from the playing experience. Temporary tee signs and "next tee" arrows when the course is open would be significant improvements. Recognizing holes from tournament coverage helped, but I would have been lost without UDisc.

As of 2024 Toboggan is only open to the public from July through mid-August, and again in September and October. Open dates may vary from year to year. Again, understandable but certainly not a positive.

Early autumn rough was thick, thorny, and brutal, some of the worst I have ever seen. I did a pretty good job staying on the fairway early in the round, but later lost two discs due to bad drives leading to bad tree kicks. If you kick off the fairway into one of the usual places, lots of footpaths meander through the thorns and greenery. But if you hit a tree that no semi-capable disc golfer should ever hit, you may be out of luck (ask me how I know).

For a distance-limited player like me, some of the fairways were just long, open. and boring. Throw as far as you can and repeat as necessary until the basket is in sight, with not much penalty for inaccuracy. That said, challenging approaches usually redeemed those long open holes (see pros).

With the extreme elevation changes, players on other fairways can occasionally be in the line of fire. I noticed this particularly on #1, where I waited for players to clear #18's fairway before teeing off.

Hole #18's basket was not wrapped around to the right as I expected from tournament coverage. Instead it was off to the left, not far from playground equipment and the practice basket. Explains why people were throwing at me while I was warming up lol.

Toboggan is epic, thrilling, challenging, and highly memorable, all of the things that one desires in a great course. I had long dreamed of playing here, and the experience did not disappoint.

That said, I am glad that I played on a cool fall day rather than during the heat of summer. Those hills are no joke. It was pretty entertaining to stand on hole #1's tee, fresh as a daisy, and watch people huff and puff their way up 18's fairway.

It may seem that my list of cons is rather long for a 4.5-rated course. The best way I can explain is to say that the positives of playing here are so strong that they overwhelm the negatives, but the negatives are significant enough that I would never consider awarding a 5.0 without significant improvements in signage and navigation.

It costs $10 to enter the park, and another $5 to play the course as of 2024. Pricey but well worth it to me as a traveling player. If you have the time and endurance, the same entry fee also allows you to play the Black Locust Green and Blue courses.