Holmes County Disc Golf Club Hosts Deer Run Winter Tournament in Millersburg

Glendon Yoder captured the Deer Run Winter Tournament title after a sudden-death playoff on hole eight, a 240-foot par three, as 39 local competitors played through blistering winds, snow flurries and single-digit temperatures at Deer Run Park in Millersburg. The playoff followed a regulation finish in which Yoder and Mathias Hilty were tied at four over par.

The Holmes County Disc Golf Club staged the event under the listing Deer Run Winter Tournament (The Lost Course Layout), with Doug Gray serving as tournament director. The DiscGolfScene schedule for the singles-format event called for two nine-hole rounds, registration from 11:30 a.m. to 12:00 p.m., a player meeting at 12:00 p.m., play from 12:30 p.m. to 3:30 p.m., and awards at 3:30 p.m. Divisions were shown as DIV1 - Even and Under Par and DIV2 - Over Par, each with a $20 entry fee.

Play-by-play from the final round showed Hilty and Yoder finishing four over par after regulation, forcing the playoff on hole eight. Hilty’s playoff tee shot “threw a long, fading drive that became entangled in some branches, dropping him into a difficult spot 80 feet from the pin,” while Yoder “threw a perfect, fading drive and landing his disc 35 feet from the basket,” with Yoder taking the win on that hole.

Tournament director Doug Gray framed the conditions and the field’s play: “There was a lot of ice out there, and it was very cold. But no one got hurt, and the attitudes among the players were really great.” Gray added perspective on the scoring and course difficulty: “Those were impressive scores. The course was tough enough, with only two birdie-able holes. Shooting even is a great score on a good day. These guys averaging just two-over per round with slippery tee boxes and swirling winds, they played very, very well today.” Gray also summed up the mood: “Everyone seemed to have a really good time. Even so, I am so ready for spring.”

The event was sponsored by the Holmes County Disc Golf Club and Keim, and club listings noted follow-up competition plans, including a May 14 tournament at Deer Run Park. Local listings show some date variation across platforms: DiscGolfScene has a separate listing dated Saturday, Feb. 22, 2025, and an earlier report described play on Feb. 19, but club organizers ran the Feb. 21, 2026 tournament under the Lost Course Layout banner for Millersburg players.

The Daily Record has highlighted Deer Run’s rising usage and community profile, with Ethan Steiner, vice president of the Holmes County Disc Golf Club, telling council members that “the course is getting a lot of use. It's not just a few people playing all the time.” Course statistics cited included more than 3,000 rounds recorded in 2021, more than 1,700 rounds recorded so far this year, and 198 unique players so far this year, with the course averaging about 10 rounds per day in summer and three per day in winter. Deer Run carries a 4.4 out of 5 UDisc rating, opened in summer 2020, and had hosted six tournaments since opening, drawing players from places as far as Dayton.

The Deer Run Winter Tournament underscored both the course’s competitive draw and the maintenance issues players have raised at Millersburg Council meetings, where requests for more frequent mowing and discussion of the amphitheater have surfaced. Ethan Steiner said, “In the disc golf community, the course is very well thought of,” and added, “I think we've got a really nice course here that is a really good asset for the community.”