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Coleman Memorial Park reviews
16
0
Excellent New Course
Reviewed:
Updated:
Played on:Feb 1, 2024
Played the course:once
Pros:
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*** The two previous reviews are pretty comprehensive. You should read them. I'l try to stick to points that aren't covered as much. ***
+ Big warm-up area with a practice basket. Large course map on announcement board; park bathrooms available seasonally.
+ Flush concrete tees, two sets of DisCatchers (Yellows short, Reds long), excellent signage. Adequate navigation for most transitions, directional arrows fixed to the base of cages.
+ The difference between the layouts for most holes is just length, but it's substantial: it adds 3000 feet, although that's offset some by adding 12 strokes to par. Intermediate players with sub-300' length can tread water on most Red holes, except for a few of the longer par 3's. Consider playing one of the mixed layouts for more variety.
+ OB rope lines along the ground around a lot of the greens and landing areas (especially Red), creating extra challenge.
In Summary: many excellent holes - and no bad ones. No really short ones (several Yellows under 300' in the middle of the layout). A few very memorable ones:
+ Five is a par four that starts with a steep and narrow downhill to an old forest roadway creating a left dogleg. You have to be able to throw something that won't fade for the first several hundred feet until it reaches the bottom, and if you do, you'll be rewarded with a significantly shorter approach. The yellow basket is tucked to the left behind a tree, and the red basket is farther out but it's off to the right. So you really are playing different types of holes with your second shot here.
+ 15 is the signature hole, with the baskets picturesquely set up on the ruins of the old Lebanon Furnace. They must have had to tear out a ton of heavy trees to make this hole.
+ 16 is another really pretty hole. You're throwing off a high tee into a fairly clear fairway below. There are some trees guarding the approach and the baskets: 323 Par 3 and 530 Par Four.
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*** The two previous reviews are pretty comprehensive. You should read them. I'l try to stick to points that aren't covered as much. ***
+ Big warm-up area with a practice basket. Large course map on announcement board; park bathrooms available seasonally.
+ Flush concrete tees, two sets of DisCatchers (Yellows short, Reds long), excellent signage. Adequate navigation for most transitions, directional arrows fixed to the base of cages.
+ The difference between the layouts for most holes is just length, but it's substantial: it adds 3000 feet, although that's offset some by adding 12 strokes to par. Intermediate players with sub-300' length can tread water on most Red holes, except for a few of the longer par 3's. Consider playing one of the mixed layouts for more variety.
+ OB rope lines along the ground around a lot of the greens and landing areas (especially Red), creating extra challenge.
In Summary: many excellent holes - and no bad ones. No really short ones (several Yellows under 300' in the middle of the layout). A few very memorable ones:
+ Five is a par four that starts with a steep and narrow downhill to an old forest roadway creating a left dogleg. You have to be able to throw something that won't fade for the first several hundred feet until it reaches the bottom, and if you do, you'll be rewarded with a significantly shorter approach. The yellow basket is tucked to the left behind a tree, and the red basket is farther out but it's off to the right. So you really are playing different types of holes with your second shot here.
+ 15 is the signature hole, with the baskets picturesquely set up on the ruins of the old Lebanon Furnace. They must have had to tear out a ton of heavy trees to make this hole.
+ 16 is another really pretty hole. You're throwing off a high tee into a fairly clear fairway below. There are some trees guarding the approach and the baskets: 323 Par 3 and 530 Par Four.
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Cons:
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- My cons are pretty minor, except for one important safety hazard. As great as the basket placements are on #15 (up on the old foundry ruins), the walk back down is treacherous - even dangerous. There are a number of spots with exposed rebar sticking up out of the cement, and some of the sidehill path is already eroding. Staircases, walkways, maybe even boardwalks are necessary to reduce the possibility of injuries
- This is a new course, and I suspect this will be addressed, but a few transitions could use some additional navigational signage. 6-7, 9-10, 14-15, and 17-18 are a little difficult to figure out the first time through. A couple of well-placed signs on trees would help.
- This course has been cut out of thick woods, and the only relatively open park-style holes are 1, 13, 14 and 18. Designers tried to dress up 13 and 14 a bit with hanging baskets. All four holes are decent, incorpating scattered mature holes and elevation changes (reminded me of much of Klines Run). They're duller than the rest, but they provide a little relief as they move you to another deeply wooded area of the course.
- Wide fairways with tight gaps 175' - 250' up the fairway got to feel a little monotonous by midway through the round.
`
- My cons are pretty minor, except for one important safety hazard. As great as the basket placements are on #15 (up on the old foundry ruins), the walk back down is treacherous - even dangerous. There are a number of spots with exposed rebar sticking up out of the cement, and some of the sidehill path is already eroding. Staircases, walkways, maybe even boardwalks are necessary to reduce the possibility of injuries
- This is a new course, and I suspect this will be addressed, but a few transitions could use some additional navigational signage. 6-7, 9-10, 14-15, and 17-18 are a little difficult to figure out the first time through. A couple of well-placed signs on trees would help.
- This course has been cut out of thick woods, and the only relatively open park-style holes are 1, 13, 14 and 18. Designers tried to dress up 13 and 14 a bit with hanging baskets. All four holes are decent, incorpating scattered mature holes and elevation changes (reminded me of much of Klines Run). They're duller than the rest, but they provide a little relief as they move you to another deeply wooded area of the course.
- Wide fairways with tight gaps 175' - 250' up the fairway got to feel a little monotonous by midway through the round.
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Other Thoughts:
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~ A lot of the holes just add length between the two baskets, but three of them stand out as presenting varied challenges between Yellow and Red. The par four 5 places the baskets on opposite sides of the fairway, creating very different second shot shapes. Holes 8 and 9 add significant gauntlets of trees you have to navigate in order to reach the Red baskets
~ Local sponsors advertising on the tee signs and on the basket bands. Always a good indication of an active club.
~ Big credit to the designers of this course. They found a huge park with a lot of woods and cut a really nice disc golf course into those woods.
`
~ A lot of the holes just add length between the two baskets, but three of them stand out as presenting varied challenges between Yellow and Red. The par four 5 places the baskets on opposite sides of the fairway, creating very different second shot shapes. Holes 8 and 9 add significant gauntlets of trees you have to navigate in order to reach the Red baskets
~ Local sponsors advertising on the tee signs and on the basket bands. Always a good indication of an active club.
~ Big credit to the designers of this course. They found a huge park with a lot of woods and cut a really nice disc golf course into those woods.
`
14
0
Yet Another Course That Ruins the Grading Curve
Reviewed:
Updated:
Played on:Nov 19, 2023
Played the course:once
Pros:
Coleman Memorial Park is another in a string of Michael Dunkle & Charlie Greco designed courses. I enjoyed many of their previous area courses and this forested course is no exception.
I would compare it more to Boyertown Park's DG and Lenape in Skippack, than directly to South Hills, though. Definitely lengthier but the same type of vibe and seemingly endless amount of trees. In this time of year, brush was no problem -- although there are hints of it being a much bigger deal in summer.
It has significant elevation throughout but that also isn't a super major focus other than #5's big downhill bomber. Nearly all elevation is directly up or down head on, rather than any playing on left-right slanted hillsides.
Every hole has a single tee with yellow shorter baskets and red longer baskets. I played the shorter ones and there are two consistencies that made this course stick out. There are tight gaps everywhere and nearly every tee-off seemed to have some gap in the intermediate distance to navigate around.
Second, even on the shorter holes, which were plenty lengthy enough for me, there was a variety of viable ways to attack the basket, especially when inevitably scrambling. It's not just a backhand machete march through the jungle, well unless you want it to be, but often wasn't the best option. My rarely used overhands, forehand flicks, a few scoober rollers and evern a tomahawk got a lot more practice here.
#15 is definitely a signature scenic hole, baskets sitting atop the ruins of the remains of the Lebanon North Furnace. The park itself has a lot of other activities, like a pool or a Mini Golf course that sadly closed this year, and historical buildings combined and was one of the more historical places I saw in my DG runarounds.
Overall, this is one of those courses, in a string of recent excellent courses, that make me go back and reevaluate a lotta old scores and lower them. The bar for what a typical course entails has definitely been raised here in SE PA, since I started reviewing around 2017. Back then, just having a few baskets that sat upright and looking like it was mowed at least once the last decade meant an automatic 2 stars. Have times changed!
I would compare it more to Boyertown Park's DG and Lenape in Skippack, than directly to South Hills, though. Definitely lengthier but the same type of vibe and seemingly endless amount of trees. In this time of year, brush was no problem -- although there are hints of it being a much bigger deal in summer.
It has significant elevation throughout but that also isn't a super major focus other than #5's big downhill bomber. Nearly all elevation is directly up or down head on, rather than any playing on left-right slanted hillsides.
Every hole has a single tee with yellow shorter baskets and red longer baskets. I played the shorter ones and there are two consistencies that made this course stick out. There are tight gaps everywhere and nearly every tee-off seemed to have some gap in the intermediate distance to navigate around.
Second, even on the shorter holes, which were plenty lengthy enough for me, there was a variety of viable ways to attack the basket, especially when inevitably scrambling. It's not just a backhand machete march through the jungle, well unless you want it to be, but often wasn't the best option. My rarely used overhands, forehand flicks, a few scoober rollers and evern a tomahawk got a lot more practice here.
#15 is definitely a signature scenic hole, baskets sitting atop the ruins of the remains of the Lebanon North Furnace. The park itself has a lot of other activities, like a pool or a Mini Golf course that sadly closed this year, and historical buildings combined and was one of the more historical places I saw in my DG runarounds.
Overall, this is one of those courses, in a string of recent excellent courses, that make me go back and reevaluate a lotta old scores and lower them. The bar for what a typical course entails has definitely been raised here in SE PA, since I started reviewing around 2017. Back then, just having a few baskets that sat upright and looking like it was mowed at least once the last decade meant an automatic 2 stars. Have times changed!
Cons:
I couldn't see any inherent flaws in the course itself. Outside of #5 and #15, there were really few distinctive holes, one seems to flow to the next -- which can be a plus or minus. I think it added to the vibe but others might want more variety.
Biggest letdown wasn't the course, per se, but the masses of leaves. It's just the most leaves I've seen on a course. There's a good chance to throw a disc and lose it as it slides underneath. Or worse, in the piles on the side of the fairways. Idk if this is just a shortlived fall problem or something that will hang around the entirety of winter. But I partially submerged my disc a lot and lost it completely a few times, that required intensive search and rescue.
Tees in, tee numbers in, no course or hole signs yet. People were working that weekend on a central course sign so expect it to come. Some big jumps between holes, use uDisc or d/l a map.
Biggest letdown wasn't the course, per se, but the masses of leaves. It's just the most leaves I've seen on a course. There's a good chance to throw a disc and lose it as it slides underneath. Or worse, in the piles on the side of the fairways. Idk if this is just a shortlived fall problem or something that will hang around the entirety of winter. But I partially submerged my disc a lot and lost it completely a few times, that required intensive search and rescue.
Tees in, tee numbers in, no course or hole signs yet. People were working that weekend on a central course sign so expect it to come. Some big jumps between holes, use uDisc or d/l a map.
Other Thoughts:
I played only the short yellows. YMMV on the longer reds.
19
0
Big Time Effort that is as Good as Advertised
Reviewed:
Updated:
Played on:Oct 23, 2023
Played the course:5+ times
Pros:
For a course that is over 9000 feet, it's relatively easy to walk. It's listed as moderately hilly but the elevation changes are very friendly. No cliffs to climb up or down.
#1 tee and #18 basket are right next to each other, and both are right next to the parking lot. A welcome relief.
Nice long flat rectangle tees on every hole, cement. The tee signs have been installed and are detailed and helpful. There is also a course map in the parking lot which it wouldn't hurt to take photo of if it's your first time. It's generally not hard to find the next tee on UDisc, but if this is your first visit, you might accidentally skip 9 and 14.
While it is a woods course, the fairways are relatively wide and the rough is mostly pretty friendly. You're not stuck in thorns all day, and the undergrowth is not thick. Tall, but not totally inescapable. If you keep an eye on your line, it's generally not a big problem finding your disc. In the winter, the place looks empty now that the leaves are gone.
The maintained fairways are wide, but the lines are narrow and a flex shot is a really good idea, from both sides. Almost every hole requires you to hit a gap that only a few feet wide. And the gap is often 100 feet down the fairway.
For a brand new course, it's in remarkably good condition.
It's unusual to have a course with 15 par 4s and 3 par 3s, (the Red Course) but most of the pars are hard earned and fun. The three Red par 3s are all very difficult.
The Yellow course is 15 moderate to difficult par 3s and 3 par 4s that aren't long but are tough to birdie. You could also play #18 as a soft par 4, it's 380 feet uphill with the basket behind a row of trees. The opening day tournament did that and there were a lot of 3s.
#15 is a definite wow signature hole, with baskets set on top of the ruins of an old anthracite furnace. Creepy and exciting.
Each hole has 1 tee and two baskets and the Yellow and Red baskets are typically so far apart that it plays like two different courses once you get off the tee. The Red course is a hard-fought par 69, while the Yellow course is a somewhat friendlier rpar 57 or 58 depending on what you want to do with #18. (I like it as a par 4)
The only holes that are noticeably uphill are 2, 6 and 18 But holes 1, 4, 5, 7, 13, 14, 16, 17 are noticeably downhill. The course is ingeniously routed so that your walk between holes is often a gentle uphill slope so you can throw downhill more often.
There aren't a lot of long walks between tees. 1 Red to 2 tee and 17 red to 18 tee are mildly uphill slogs of about 500 feet, but other than that, it's all pretty close.
There are lots of places to park in the park, so if you want to start on a different hole, there usually is a spot not too far away to leave your car. It's a great tournament course because no matter what hole you're assigned to, you can get pretty close to the tee with your car.
#1 tee and #18 basket are right next to each other, and both are right next to the parking lot. A welcome relief.
Nice long flat rectangle tees on every hole, cement. The tee signs have been installed and are detailed and helpful. There is also a course map in the parking lot which it wouldn't hurt to take photo of if it's your first time. It's generally not hard to find the next tee on UDisc, but if this is your first visit, you might accidentally skip 9 and 14.
While it is a woods course, the fairways are relatively wide and the rough is mostly pretty friendly. You're not stuck in thorns all day, and the undergrowth is not thick. Tall, but not totally inescapable. If you keep an eye on your line, it's generally not a big problem finding your disc. In the winter, the place looks empty now that the leaves are gone.
The maintained fairways are wide, but the lines are narrow and a flex shot is a really good idea, from both sides. Almost every hole requires you to hit a gap that only a few feet wide. And the gap is often 100 feet down the fairway.
For a brand new course, it's in remarkably good condition.
It's unusual to have a course with 15 par 4s and 3 par 3s, (the Red Course) but most of the pars are hard earned and fun. The three Red par 3s are all very difficult.
The Yellow course is 15 moderate to difficult par 3s and 3 par 4s that aren't long but are tough to birdie. You could also play #18 as a soft par 4, it's 380 feet uphill with the basket behind a row of trees. The opening day tournament did that and there were a lot of 3s.
#15 is a definite wow signature hole, with baskets set on top of the ruins of an old anthracite furnace. Creepy and exciting.
Each hole has 1 tee and two baskets and the Yellow and Red baskets are typically so far apart that it plays like two different courses once you get off the tee. The Red course is a hard-fought par 69, while the Yellow course is a somewhat friendlier rpar 57 or 58 depending on what you want to do with #18. (I like it as a par 4)
The only holes that are noticeably uphill are 2, 6 and 18 But holes 1, 4, 5, 7, 13, 14, 16, 17 are noticeably downhill. The course is ingeniously routed so that your walk between holes is often a gentle uphill slope so you can throw downhill more often.
There aren't a lot of long walks between tees. 1 Red to 2 tee and 17 red to 18 tee are mildly uphill slogs of about 500 feet, but other than that, it's all pretty close.
There are lots of places to park in the park, so if you want to start on a different hole, there usually is a spot not too far away to leave your car. It's a great tournament course because no matter what hole you're assigned to, you can get pretty close to the tee with your car.
Cons:
There are occasions where you play what seems like the same hole twice in a row. 9 and 10 are very similar, a short mildly uphill par 3/4 to the left. 13 and 14 are in a more park like setting, long downhill par 3 with a low ceiling. 16 and 17 are also very similar, downhill through the woods, cliff on the right. They're all good holes though
This is not the course's fault, but there is no garbage service at the park. If you see garbage you pick it up and take it home with you. Or you can put it in the dumpster of the Church that is next to 17 Red basket.
The main risk of losing your disc is on holes 15-17. The right rough is disaster, a long cliff that is near impossible to navigate. Just stay away from that. There are a few areas where you might find your disc, but don't count on it. On all 3 holes though the fairway is pretty generous.
I've played a few rounds with a left-handed player and they are forced to throw forehands most of the time, or a turnover with a Hatchet. A gentle right hand backhand flex drive is the play on most tees. However, once you get off the tee, the second shots to the Red baskets are difficult no matter which way you throw. The second shots are where this course really excels.
It is a woods course surrounded by a lot of trees and bushes that lose their leaves in the fall. There is a 2-3 week period with a lot of leaves on the ground and you do have watch out for your disc sliding into piles. However, I was there yesterday and the leaves have become a thin mat that the disc skips across, never had any problems with leaves.
This is not the course's fault, but there is no garbage service at the park. If you see garbage you pick it up and take it home with you. Or you can put it in the dumpster of the Church that is next to 17 Red basket.
The main risk of losing your disc is on holes 15-17. The right rough is disaster, a long cliff that is near impossible to navigate. Just stay away from that. There are a few areas where you might find your disc, but don't count on it. On all 3 holes though the fairway is pretty generous.
I've played a few rounds with a left-handed player and they are forced to throw forehands most of the time, or a turnover with a Hatchet. A gentle right hand backhand flex drive is the play on most tees. However, once you get off the tee, the second shots to the Red baskets are difficult no matter which way you throw. The second shots are where this course really excels.
It is a woods course surrounded by a lot of trees and bushes that lose their leaves in the fall. There is a 2-3 week period with a lot of leaves on the ground and you do have watch out for your disc sliding into piles. However, I was there yesterday and the leaves have become a thin mat that the disc skips across, never had any problems with leaves.
Other Thoughts:
This is a long, tough course but it is relatively flat so it's a friendly walk. it generally proceeds in a big oval shape that is about 3/4 of a mile wide, so there are times you're a long way from your car. There are 8 holes that aren't far from the parking lot though, and are a little more open than the rest of the course, so if you don't want to disappear into the woods at the back of the park, it's not hard to play 1-3 and then cut over to 13 and finish up a 9 hole loop. Holes 4-12 are in some pretty deep woods and are the toughest part of the course. You'll par 1-3 and feel pretty good about yourself....then suddenly you're stumbling to the back nine way over par and wondering how did that happen? 4-7 are all scorecard crushers even though they don't look that unfriendly.
The back nine is definitely easier than the front nine, so if you can get to 10 tee without being millions over par, the difficulty eases a bit, although it's not easy.
As the other reviewer mentions, Coleman Park is weird in that it forces you to re-evaluate what ratings you gave to other courses. In general, courses are getting better. The closest nearby course is the extremely popular South Hills which has at times been very close to Top 100 in the world. It always seems to hover just under the threshold. South Hills is a wonderful course, challenging to advanced players yet so beginner friendly that literally anyone can play their first round there and have a blast because there's hardly any rough (that's where I started) South Hills is where you should take every beginner, because if they don't like disc golf there, they just don't like Disc Golf. For a long time I've had South Hills at 4 1/2 stars. But after playing Coleman's numerous times, I had to reluctantly lower South Hills to 4 stars, because Coleman's is a step up from South Hills, yet it's not quite a 5 star course either.
The nearest two obvious 5-star courses to Coleman's are Faylor Lake (about 80 minutes to the north) and Muddy Run (about 75 minutes to the south). I have played both multiple times now, and both are Best of the Best type courses and deservedly ranked in the Top 100 in the world. So that's what Coleman's is going to be compared to when it comes to really high ratings.
Both have an advantage that Coleman's does not.... huge elevation changes, and extreme variety in the width of the playing corridors. At both courses, there are some holes that are very tight, and others that you couldn't hit a tree if you tried. Faylor also has vast amounts of water which make the course shockingly beautiful at times, and dangerous. That is probably why it ranks higher than Muddy in the top 100. Muddy has no water hazards at all, just lots and lots of rocky hillsides to throw up and down. I prefer Muddy, mainly because there you play up and down the hills. at Faylor, most of the steep hills are walks in between holes, which is less fun sometimes. Also, the back tees at Muddy are not incredibly difficult. Long, sure, but the pars are so friendly that on a good day you can reasonably think about shooting par. Faylor's long tees are so brutal that anything under +20 is a real athletic achievement. Coleman's back tees are in between that, unreasonable to think you're going to shoot par unless you're a borderline touring pro, but also not so hideous that you're going to double bogey every hole.
Coleman is kind of like Iron Hill in Delaware, a woods course with moderate up and down slopes and a few open areas but not many. There are no spectacular vistas, no top of the world shots into infinite space, and less variety off the tee. The playing corridors are all pretty much the same size other than the 4 holes that are in the more park-like setting (1,13,14,18). However it is a much friendlier course to walk than either Muddy or Faylor, and it is more difficult than Muddy.
Plus, Coleman's does have a lot of interesting things to look at, especially #15, a bizarre and unique hole with both baskets placed right on top of some old ruins. You'll just have to see it to believe it.
Coleman has an advantage over the other two in that there really aren't any prolonged weak sections, and there are no protracted uphill slogs. You feel pretty good when you finish #18 at Coleman, like hey, there's #1 tee right there, I just had a lot of fun making 11 bogeys and 2 birdies, so why not go around again! Muddy has a slightly bland stretch from 6-9, while Faylor has a bit of a lull from 10-14. But that's the problem with having spectactular land to work with, not all 18 holes can use the spectactular land.
I'd recommend playing one of the Yellow/Red hybrids at Colemans's for your first round and then if you aren't tired yet, do the other hybrid course the second time around. Both give you a nice full tour of the course without totally beating you up for 18 straight holes. Playing the all Red course is a real mental and physical challenge. Hole after hole of hit the gap and maybe you'll make a par, don't hit the gap and accept bogey (at best). Plus, the Red Course is now filled with OB ropes very close to the baskets, something you don't see much of at all on the Yellow course. The OB is intended to keep people off the mountain biking trail which parallels a lot of the holes. Playing just the Yellow course is a solid effort with tons of fun shots, but you do miss out on some cool Red holes.
I don't know if Coleman's will make into the top 100 in the world, but it's not totally crazy to debate it. I think it could someday sneak into the bottom of the list. Right now it has a 4.5 on Udisc and South Hills is at 4.6, but most of the Coleman ratings were done before there were tee markers and signs, so Coleman's has an unreasonably low 3.1 for "Signage" while South Hills has a 4.6. Coleman's score is higher in almost every other category though, which it should be. Once the "signage" score improves, Coleman's is going to be similarly rated to the other courses ranked around #100.
It's the best course in Lebanon County which is full of fabulous courses. Not only do you have South Hills, but nearby Lenni Lenape is much improved in the past two years and is also a wooded challenge. Twin Grove is nice, the two courses in Myerstown are short but well taken care of, and even the 9-hole Mt. Lebanon Camp Meeting gives you some really fun shots through the trees. Lebanon is becoming a very solid destination for a disc golf vacation.
The conditions are great at Colemans. There are hardly any thorny bushes, so you're not going to get slashed repeatedly which is good because it's not hard to get in the rough. But because it's sort of flat with short walks between holes, you're not exhausted before you're half-way done.
As for PDGA difficulty ratings, the first tournament was at Coleman there in late October 2023 A 57 on the Yellow Course was a 938 rating. A 58 was 929 rated.
The pros and MA1 played the Red Odd/Yellow Even hybrid course, including playing 18 as a par 4. This was a par 65 and even par was 955 rated.
The Yellow Odd/Red even course is a little more difficult, and I think even par on that layout will be 10 points higher.
Playing All Reds is a chore, but while it breaks your back early, the back 9 is filled with shorter par 4s that you can get to in 2 with a decent drive. There are a lot of par 4s under 500 feet. But because the second shots are so technical, it's hard to get close enough to the basket to have a realistic birdie chance. I think even par will be around a 980 rating.
The nice thing about the red tees is that even players of average distance can get a look at birdie at times. It's not all impossibly long beasts. If you have 250-foot distance you won't get a realistic birdie look on 1, 2, 4, 5, 6, 13 and 14, but the other 11 holes are all par 4s that are less than 600 feet and many are downhill. Two perfect 250 foot shots gets you to the basket. Good luck!
This week I played both the Red baskets at South Hills and the Red Baskets at Coleman. I shot +1 at South Hills (62), and +8 at Colemans (77). UDisc rated my round at 201 at South Hills, and 198 at Coleman's. So there you go, the Red Baskets are about 7 shots harder compared to par at Coleman's than at South Hills.
The back nine is definitely easier than the front nine, so if you can get to 10 tee without being millions over par, the difficulty eases a bit, although it's not easy.
As the other reviewer mentions, Coleman Park is weird in that it forces you to re-evaluate what ratings you gave to other courses. In general, courses are getting better. The closest nearby course is the extremely popular South Hills which has at times been very close to Top 100 in the world. It always seems to hover just under the threshold. South Hills is a wonderful course, challenging to advanced players yet so beginner friendly that literally anyone can play their first round there and have a blast because there's hardly any rough (that's where I started) South Hills is where you should take every beginner, because if they don't like disc golf there, they just don't like Disc Golf. For a long time I've had South Hills at 4 1/2 stars. But after playing Coleman's numerous times, I had to reluctantly lower South Hills to 4 stars, because Coleman's is a step up from South Hills, yet it's not quite a 5 star course either.
The nearest two obvious 5-star courses to Coleman's are Faylor Lake (about 80 minutes to the north) and Muddy Run (about 75 minutes to the south). I have played both multiple times now, and both are Best of the Best type courses and deservedly ranked in the Top 100 in the world. So that's what Coleman's is going to be compared to when it comes to really high ratings.
Both have an advantage that Coleman's does not.... huge elevation changes, and extreme variety in the width of the playing corridors. At both courses, there are some holes that are very tight, and others that you couldn't hit a tree if you tried. Faylor also has vast amounts of water which make the course shockingly beautiful at times, and dangerous. That is probably why it ranks higher than Muddy in the top 100. Muddy has no water hazards at all, just lots and lots of rocky hillsides to throw up and down. I prefer Muddy, mainly because there you play up and down the hills. at Faylor, most of the steep hills are walks in between holes, which is less fun sometimes. Also, the back tees at Muddy are not incredibly difficult. Long, sure, but the pars are so friendly that on a good day you can reasonably think about shooting par. Faylor's long tees are so brutal that anything under +20 is a real athletic achievement. Coleman's back tees are in between that, unreasonable to think you're going to shoot par unless you're a borderline touring pro, but also not so hideous that you're going to double bogey every hole.
Coleman is kind of like Iron Hill in Delaware, a woods course with moderate up and down slopes and a few open areas but not many. There are no spectacular vistas, no top of the world shots into infinite space, and less variety off the tee. The playing corridors are all pretty much the same size other than the 4 holes that are in the more park-like setting (1,13,14,18). However it is a much friendlier course to walk than either Muddy or Faylor, and it is more difficult than Muddy.
Plus, Coleman's does have a lot of interesting things to look at, especially #15, a bizarre and unique hole with both baskets placed right on top of some old ruins. You'll just have to see it to believe it.
Coleman has an advantage over the other two in that there really aren't any prolonged weak sections, and there are no protracted uphill slogs. You feel pretty good when you finish #18 at Coleman, like hey, there's #1 tee right there, I just had a lot of fun making 11 bogeys and 2 birdies, so why not go around again! Muddy has a slightly bland stretch from 6-9, while Faylor has a bit of a lull from 10-14. But that's the problem with having spectactular land to work with, not all 18 holes can use the spectactular land.
I'd recommend playing one of the Yellow/Red hybrids at Colemans's for your first round and then if you aren't tired yet, do the other hybrid course the second time around. Both give you a nice full tour of the course without totally beating you up for 18 straight holes. Playing the all Red course is a real mental and physical challenge. Hole after hole of hit the gap and maybe you'll make a par, don't hit the gap and accept bogey (at best). Plus, the Red Course is now filled with OB ropes very close to the baskets, something you don't see much of at all on the Yellow course. The OB is intended to keep people off the mountain biking trail which parallels a lot of the holes. Playing just the Yellow course is a solid effort with tons of fun shots, but you do miss out on some cool Red holes.
I don't know if Coleman's will make into the top 100 in the world, but it's not totally crazy to debate it. I think it could someday sneak into the bottom of the list. Right now it has a 4.5 on Udisc and South Hills is at 4.6, but most of the Coleman ratings were done before there were tee markers and signs, so Coleman's has an unreasonably low 3.1 for "Signage" while South Hills has a 4.6. Coleman's score is higher in almost every other category though, which it should be. Once the "signage" score improves, Coleman's is going to be similarly rated to the other courses ranked around #100.
It's the best course in Lebanon County which is full of fabulous courses. Not only do you have South Hills, but nearby Lenni Lenape is much improved in the past two years and is also a wooded challenge. Twin Grove is nice, the two courses in Myerstown are short but well taken care of, and even the 9-hole Mt. Lebanon Camp Meeting gives you some really fun shots through the trees. Lebanon is becoming a very solid destination for a disc golf vacation.
The conditions are great at Colemans. There are hardly any thorny bushes, so you're not going to get slashed repeatedly which is good because it's not hard to get in the rough. But because it's sort of flat with short walks between holes, you're not exhausted before you're half-way done.
As for PDGA difficulty ratings, the first tournament was at Coleman there in late October 2023 A 57 on the Yellow Course was a 938 rating. A 58 was 929 rated.
The pros and MA1 played the Red Odd/Yellow Even hybrid course, including playing 18 as a par 4. This was a par 65 and even par was 955 rated.
The Yellow Odd/Red even course is a little more difficult, and I think even par on that layout will be 10 points higher.
Playing All Reds is a chore, but while it breaks your back early, the back 9 is filled with shorter par 4s that you can get to in 2 with a decent drive. There are a lot of par 4s under 500 feet. But because the second shots are so technical, it's hard to get close enough to the basket to have a realistic birdie chance. I think even par will be around a 980 rating.
The nice thing about the red tees is that even players of average distance can get a look at birdie at times. It's not all impossibly long beasts. If you have 250-foot distance you won't get a realistic birdie look on 1, 2, 4, 5, 6, 13 and 14, but the other 11 holes are all par 4s that are less than 600 feet and many are downhill. Two perfect 250 foot shots gets you to the basket. Good luck!
This week I played both the Red baskets at South Hills and the Red Baskets at Coleman. I shot +1 at South Hills (62), and +8 at Colemans (77). UDisc rated my round at 201 at South Hills, and 198 at Coleman's. So there you go, the Red Baskets are about 7 shots harder compared to par at Coleman's than at South Hills.
