Paint Creek State Park Disc Golf Course

Basic Information

Course Location: Paint Creek State Park

Geographic Location: between Hillsboro, OH and Chillicothe, OH (39.26738, -83.38000)

Date Visited: October 2023

Number of Holes: 21

Course Length: 6063 feet, par 69

Cost to Play: free
Difficulty Level: recreational, high

Carts: should be fine here

Potential to Lose Discs: medium due to dense woods in rough

Park Information: https://ohiodnr.gov/go-and-do/plan-a-visit/find-a-property/paint-creek-state-park

DG Course Review Page: https://www.dgcoursereview.com/courses/paint-creek-state-park.4896

UDisc Page: https://udisc.com/courses/paint-creek-HSSF

Course Walkabout Video, Front 7: (coming November 15)

Course Walkabout Video, Middle 7: (coming November 22)

Course Walkabout Video, Back 7: (coming November 29)

Driving Directions: Just east of the Ross/Highland county line, take US 50 to Rapid Forge Road and turn north on Rapid Forge Rd.  Drive Rapid Forge Rd. north 3.7 miles to Taylor Road and turn left on Taylor Rd.  Drive Taylor Rd. west 0.8 miles to the signed campground entrance on the left.  Turn left to enter the state park campground, and park in the gravel lot on the right across the road from the campground store.  #1 tee is on the west side of the road just north of the gravel lot.

Course Constructions:

Tees: concrete, 1 per hole

Baskets: Discatcher, 1 per hole

Signage: hole sign on each tee, some signs pointing to next tee, scorecard available at camp store

Amenities: some benches, some trash cans, campground, mini golf, other amenities elsewhere in the park

Summary Review: 4 Stars (out of 5)

The disc golf course at Paint Creek State Park occupies a mostly flat piece of land near the entrance to the park's main campground.  The course has a nice mixture of open and heavily wooded holes, long and short holes.  That said, most of the open holes come at the beginning or end of the course with all of the heavily wooded holes in the middle.  The terrain is very flat with only a couple of holes offering any significant elevation change.  Every hole offers a solid challenge, but there are no truly memorable holes on this course.  Also, some of the par 4s maybe should be par 3s.  The course maintenance was fine when I came here.  The course route forms a true loop, but I would have had a hard time finding holes #6 and #7 north of the Taylor Road had I not picked up a free course map and scorecard at the campground store.  Signs mark each tee, but those signs were somewhat faded on my visit.  This course could really benefit from some alternate tees and basket locations; this feature has become standard on most top courses these days.  Overall, this is a solid course with a nice variety of holes that will challenge most players at least on occasion.  Yet it has no signature hole and may not have enough variation to keep you coming back again and again.

Hole-by-Hole Review 

Distances taken from hole signs.  Picture sequence for each hole is 1) tee, 2) approach, 3) basket to tee.

Hole #1: 421 feet, par 4

Comments: you can't see the basket from the tee, but it is near the flagpole you can see over the edge of the campground road.  This hole is very open, but the campground road is definitely in play, and it is a potential safety hazard.  Check for cars on the road before you throw.  At least the road's dirt banking provides some elevation on an otherwise boring hole.  #2 tee is at the edge of the woods to the left.

Hole #2: 342 feet, par 4

Comments: now the course heads away from the road and into a lightly wooded area with dense understory in the rough, where it will stay for the next 3 holes.  This hole goes west for about 300 feet before curving sharply left to reach the basket.  The basket is surrounded on 3 sides by dense woods, which discourages you from getting too aggressive with your tee shot.  The woods also mean you have to go back out the way you came in to get to the next tee.  Maybe this hole should be a par 3.  #3 tee is to the north, back up the fairway.

Hole #3: 217 feet, par 3

Comments: a copy of the previous hole but shorter.  #4 tee is is to the east, back up the fairway.

Hole #4: 217 feet, par 3

Comments: a slight dogleg left, this is another mostly open hole with dense woods on either side.  Watch out for the cedar trees in this part of the course: they will really eat up your disc.  Follow the trail behind the basket to #5 tee, which is near the campground entrance road.

Hole #5: 452 feet, par 4

Comments: the longest hole on this course, this hole is the third consecutive dogleg left.  It plays through a 40 foot wide mowed-grass area with dense woods on the left and the campground road on the right.  The road is out-of-bounds (OB), as it should be, but it still presents the same safety hazard as it did on hole #1.  #6 tee is across Taylor Road behind the basket (not the campground road to the right of the basket) and to the right.

Hole #6: 356 feet, par 4

Comments: the next 2 holes are the only holes on the north side of Taylor Road, which creates an odd routing quirk.  This hole starts in a wide open mowed-grass field, but it passes through a very tight gap in a row of pine trees before heading into an area surrounded on 3 sides by dense woods.  This hole is short for a par 4, but 4 would be a decent score if you got a bad ricochet off of one of those pine trees.  #7 tee is to the right.

Hole #7: 331 feet, par 3

Comments: kind of the inverse of the previous hole, now you throw out of a tight chute with a low ceiling before poking through a row of pine trees right in front of the basket.  This hole was significantly easier before trees grew and started crowding the chute.  #8 tee is back on the south side of Taylor Road but on the east side of the campground road.

Hole #8: 261 feet, par 3

Comments: similar to hole #6 but without the row of pine trees.  The final approach to the basket is quite tight.  #9 tee is behind the basket.

Hole #9: 286 feet, par 3

Comments: now comes the first pine planting hole, as indicated by pine trees growing in row and column configuration.  This tight fairway heads straight between two of the columns, but the basket is offset to the right of those columns, which creates a clever challenge.  #10 tee is to the left; the tee you can see behind the basket is #17 tee.

Hole #10: 226 feet, par 3

Comments: this hole promptly exits the pine planting.  The super tight fairway and gradual dogleg right make this short hole a real challenge.  The woods are super dense and make any recovery throw very challenging.  #11 tee is to the left.

Hole #11: 214 feet, par 3

Comments: another very tight hole, but this one is a gradual dogleg left.  The woods near the fairway are not quite as dense as on the previous hole.  #12 tee is to the right.

Hole #12: 245 feet, par 3

Comments: yet another very tight hole, and another gradual dogleg right.  #13 tee is to the left.

Hole #13: 221 feet, par 3

Comments: the next 2 holes are the only holes on this course with any significant elevation change.  This hole is another tight dogleg right, but the second half of the hole plays moderately downhill to the basket.  There is not a lot of underbrush near the fairway, so recovery is easier if/when you hit a tree.  #14 tee is behind the basket.

Hole #14: 178 feet, par 3

Comments: as you would expect, this hole plays back uphill, and the hill gets pretty steep near the basket.  This hole is dead straight, and it is tight but not as tight as some previous holes.  Thus, it is a very fair challenge.  This hole is the closest thing this course has to a signature hole.  #15 tee is uphill behind the basket.

Hole #15: 293 feet, par 4

Comments: now back on the flat ridgetop, this gradual dogleg left is easily as tight as any hole we have seen so far.  Two accurate throws will be needed to set-up a birdie opportunity here.  #16 tee is to the left.

Hole #16: 313 feet, par 3

Comments: finally a fairway with a little more width; welcome back to the pine planting!  As you would expect in a pine planting, the fairway is dead straight, but the basket is offset a few feet to the right.  This hole is another nice, fair challenge.  #17 tee is behind the basket and to the left.

Hole #17: 229 feet, par 3

Comments: very similar to hole #9 but shorter.  #18 tee is to the right.

Hole #18: 316 feet, par 4

Comments: another pine planting hole similar to #9 and #17 but longer and with a higher par.  The basket on this hole is offset to the left instead of to the right, and it has 2 different numbers.  The number on the front is correct; the number on the back is not.  #19 tee is to the right.

Hole #19: 325 feet, par 3

Comments: another pine planting hole with the basket offset to the right.  The area around the basket is surprisingly open.  #20 tee is to the right.

Hole #20: 245 feet, par 3

Comments: now at the edge of the pine planting, this sweeping dogleg left is heavily wooded, but the fairway is wider than some holes you have played previously.  The woods on either side are very dense, creating a tough recovery throw or even a lost disc if you end up there.  #21 tee is to the left near the edge of the woods.

Hole #21: 375 feet, par 3

Comments:  The course ends by coming out of the woods and back into the open area you started in.  The basket is not visible from the tee; it lies over the ridge behind the center pine tree you see 100 feet in front of the tee.  After you get through the pine trees, your tree problems are mostly over: there are no trees within 100 feet of the basket.  The parking lot is behind the basket and across the campground road.