Jul 25 2005, 05:13 PM
I took a road trip to Cincinnati this weekend to play some disc golf. I hit up five different courses in two days - Mt Airy, Burnett Woods, Boone Woods, Idlewild and Banklick.
Burnett Woods is on U. of Cincinnati's campus. Nothing much to say about this one. Most of the holes were fairly open, with several trees in the fairway. The course was very well manicured. Boone Woods was a decent course, but not very challenging. The average hole was about 250 feet, and the course played over a valley and through some trees. It was a fun course, but the kind of course you could play entire with a putter.
The course that I was really looking forward to was Idlewild. I wanted to see if it was as hard and as good as everyone made it out to be. After playing all I 18 I must say.. it is tough. However, I got more birdies (4) at Idlewild than I did at any other course I played. Strange, but true. I was actually playing very well that day. I was shooting +6 going into hole 15. I took a triple bogey on 15, a bogey on 16, par at 17 and had another triple on hole 18. So, I went from a +6 to a +13 in the final four holes. Still, I was very happy with my score (67). Idlewild is a beautiful and challenging course, but I thought some of the holes were kind of ridiculous. Hole 5 and hole 18 come to mind. I don't see how anyone could make a 3 on hole 5.
Mt Airy was a very nice course too. I played the course with a couple locals who helped me find my way around. I learned one thing about Mt Airy - stay out of the rough. Anything not in the fairway will make for a very tough second shot. Another thing I noticed about Mt Airy is that most of the shots seemed to be big hyzer shots - I didn't get to use my sidearm much at all, although I found a few good holes for a roller. I think I shot +10 at Mt Airy, but I had a great time playing the course and would like to play it again.
Banklick was AWESOME. Wow! Why don't more people talk about this course? IMO, this course it waaaaay better than Idlewild. 24 Holes on a beautiful park and a ton of variety. The scenery was amazing as well, especially the holes down by the creek bed. The front nine plays relatively easy and short, with several nice wooded holes. The back nine (or 15 in this case) was nothing short of amazing. One of the holes that sticks out in my mind is a downhill shot where you are throwing down a 45 degree slope and the basket is on the edge of a drop off. I threw my putter, but it caught a tree root and took a roll down to the bottom of the hill - not very easy to park this hole. The best hole on the course had to be hole #24. It is 519 feet to the pin, and you are standing about 70 feet above pin height throwing over trees, and a lake on the left - it is the coolest looking golf shot I have ever seen. There was a left to right wind when I was playing this hole. I took a beat up proline beast and crushed it with some anhyzer and it carried in the wind forever. When I walked down the hill I was amazed to see that I was only 40 feet from the pin. I finished out the course at +7, but it felt like the round of my life. Overall, there is nothing negative I can say about Banklick. I loved the course, and the challenge it presented. This has to be the best course I have ever played, and I plan on making the drive back to play it again soon. Bancklick rocks!
Burnett Woods is on U. of Cincinnati's campus. Nothing much to say about this one. Most of the holes were fairly open, with several trees in the fairway. The course was very well manicured. Boone Woods was a decent course, but not very challenging. The average hole was about 250 feet, and the course played over a valley and through some trees. It was a fun course, but the kind of course you could play entire with a putter.
The course that I was really looking forward to was Idlewild. I wanted to see if it was as hard and as good as everyone made it out to be. After playing all I 18 I must say.. it is tough. However, I got more birdies (4) at Idlewild than I did at any other course I played. Strange, but true. I was actually playing very well that day. I was shooting +6 going into hole 15. I took a triple bogey on 15, a bogey on 16, par at 17 and had another triple on hole 18. So, I went from a +6 to a +13 in the final four holes. Still, I was very happy with my score (67). Idlewild is a beautiful and challenging course, but I thought some of the holes were kind of ridiculous. Hole 5 and hole 18 come to mind. I don't see how anyone could make a 3 on hole 5.
Mt Airy was a very nice course too. I played the course with a couple locals who helped me find my way around. I learned one thing about Mt Airy - stay out of the rough. Anything not in the fairway will make for a very tough second shot. Another thing I noticed about Mt Airy is that most of the shots seemed to be big hyzer shots - I didn't get to use my sidearm much at all, although I found a few good holes for a roller. I think I shot +10 at Mt Airy, but I had a great time playing the course and would like to play it again.
Banklick was AWESOME. Wow! Why don't more people talk about this course? IMO, this course it waaaaay better than Idlewild. 24 Holes on a beautiful park and a ton of variety. The scenery was amazing as well, especially the holes down by the creek bed. The front nine plays relatively easy and short, with several nice wooded holes. The back nine (or 15 in this case) was nothing short of amazing. One of the holes that sticks out in my mind is a downhill shot where you are throwing down a 45 degree slope and the basket is on the edge of a drop off. I threw my putter, but it caught a tree root and took a roll down to the bottom of the hill - not very easy to park this hole. The best hole on the course had to be hole #24. It is 519 feet to the pin, and you are standing about 70 feet above pin height throwing over trees, and a lake on the left - it is the coolest looking golf shot I have ever seen. There was a left to right wind when I was playing this hole. I took a beat up proline beast and crushed it with some anhyzer and it carried in the wind forever. When I walked down the hill I was amazed to see that I was only 40 feet from the pin. I finished out the course at +7, but it felt like the round of my life. Overall, there is nothing negative I can say about Banklick. I loved the course, and the challenge it presented. This has to be the best course I have ever played, and I plan on making the drive back to play it again soon. Bancklick rocks!