The Golf Center at Kings Island

Great Jr. Summer camp. MaryAnn was a great help to our new golfer. Many matches played and enjoyed at Bruin.

Got a good price on Golf Now and played the North and West course. Do not walk this course, a lot of distance between holes. Got talked into playing the tips with my buddy as its a shorter course. Good for the average golfer but lots of hazards and if you’re not hitting it consistent you could have a long day in the trees and the rough. Rough was too long and hard to find your ball, too much time was wasted looking for a ball a couple feet off the fairway. Fairways had some slope and the greens were really soft which had a lot of divots. But there’s also lots of geese you can try and catch for bonus points… we failed. If we’re ever in Cincinnati again we’re going to try somewhere else.

Played golf at the Grissly 2 out of the last 4 days and except for getting a bit confused on where to go, my issue of course, the course was beautiful and well maintained. Amazing what a lot of water can do. Crew from club house to cart barn to those bringing around water were great. Boy time flys. How can I be so close to a course yet think I live so far:). And now I’m under senior rates wow! I was so excited to save my few dollars I payed for my friend. So I actually spent more than less. Ok so I’m still doing the math. Regardless, it was a really a great time and will be back. By the way a good course only helps the view not the handicap as I found out.

What a shame. I used to play this course regularly 15 – 20 years ago and it is not the same. The place is built up and where there was once nice fairways there are now houses. They took out 9 of the 27 holes and just have 18 remaining. The place has gone downhill since.
Let me start by saying the carts are old and worn. No towels provided, no coolers for cold drinks. We teed off on 1 North and were hounded by some old guy who said we were playing slow. I looked at my watch and realized we were 10 minutes ahead of PGA standards. Found out later its because they send people around on both the front and back-​so you have to hustle to «fit in» when you make the turn. Once we made the turn, we waited on every hole and never saw old man ranger again. Good luck trying to plug your tee in the tee box. They are hard as a rock and are not cut for proper fairway alignment. The water features are falling apart-​leaking water and eroding at the banks. It’s obvious they haven’t spent a dime on the place in years.
Greens are crappy, fairways not manicured, and nobody fixes a divot. Cart paths need to be resurfaced. Some traps have 5 rakes to them, other traps you can’t find a rake. The cart girl came by one time, we asked her to stop back, and never saw her again.
This course used to set the standard for public courses in Cincinnati. Not anymore. I would save the money and go somewhere else. They haven’t put any money back into the course or facilities in years and it shows.
I won’t be going back and if I want to play a public course again I’ll play Stonelick Hills.

Great outdoor patio out back, perfect spot for a pre-​reunion party. Live music and a great outdoor bar with some good grub.

Oh golf… the great equilizer. The thing that pisses me off more than nearly anything else in the world. Oh, how I love you.
But, I love the Golf Center at Kings Island. Mostly because of «The Bruin» it’s the little golf course. The cheaper golf course. The easier golf course. I love easier golf courses.
I’ve never played «The Grizzly» but I’m sure it would bring me to my knees and charge me a lot to do it. But, I’ll play it one day.
It’s just a nice thing to spend a day playing some golf… getting pissed off with your friends, and wrapping a club around a tree because you threw it in anger.

If you are looking for a good round of golf without having to drive too far outside of Hamilton County then The Golf Center at Kings Island may be your place. The Golf Center is in Mason right next to the Lindner Family Tennis Center, and the main course was originally designed by golf legend Jack Nicklaus. The Grizzly (18-​hole championship course) and the Bruin (18-​hole shorter course), as well as the CourseView Restaurant and a great pro shop make up the Golf Center.
I’m not much of a golfer, but one of my three times playing nine holes was at the Bruin. It’s a nice course and good for beginners or for anyone looking to work on their short game, but the Grizzly is the real course in Mason. The Grizzly is nice and has some tough holes, although my father says it isn’t the very best or the toughest around. Nevertheless, it is a good course and it recently was the home of the women’s qualifying tour tournament, the second annual Duramed Championship. Just a few years ago the Grizzly was the site of the Kroger Senior Classic too, while it also hosted an LPGA and possibly even a PGA event many years ago.
The Golf Center offers yearly memberships which include unlimited golf, preferred tee times, bag storage, cleaning, and service, some greens fees discounts for friends, and 20-​percent off pro shop clothing, golf balls, and «novelty items.» Prices are $ 1795 per individual and $ 2295 for families, each down $ 200. The Golf Center also has a great teaching professional staff – well, that’s an assumption – and offers 40 minute lessons.
While I don’t have much to compare it to, I do know that The Golf Center at Kings Island is good place to play. With a great pro shop, a nice little restaurant, and two golf courses to play on, this somewhat old, yet always in good condition golf center is a fun place to play nine or 18.