Being in a state park, the course is very well maintained. The fairways are kept short and the surrounding area is very nice. If you get off of the fairway, the rough can get a bit long. Luckily, the rough is very thin so it is pretty easy to find your discs if you get off course (especially if you are throwing bright colored discs). The water doesn't really come into play except on holes 1 and 2 and, only if you throw too hard and get an unexpected drift. The terrain is all over the place! If you're not throwing up or down to the hole, you're throwing on a slant. You'll certainly get a workout just walking the course. The changing elevations make up for the size of the course. One other nice feature is a hole map on each tee pad along with the par and distance to the hole. If you have trouble finding the holes, check out the map on DGCR. It's an elevated shot of the course with tees and holes marked. It makes it super easy to find each hole! You can find the first hole about 100ft directly behind the boat house in the boat house parking lot.

Let's face it, the course is very short. Many holes are less than 200 ft and the rest are 200-300 ft, so you won't be throwing down any bombs anywhere. While DCGR indicates a white tee with longer distances for this course, it doesn't appear to exist anymore. The tees are made of rubber with no real foundation under them so they are quite bumpy. Some are at an awkward slant making it difficult to get a good step off. Holes 7 and 8 are the mostly likely candidates for a lost disc. You may want to have someone stand near the basket so they can see where your disc lands if it isn't near the pin. Also, if you go on a hot summer day, expect a lot of gnats flying about your head (which makes for interesting tee offs)!

The course is pretty easy for your average player and even though the course is short, I still found it quite fun! The changing terrain makes each hole unique. The course also appears to be well laid out and without "impossible" holes. There are a couple holes with steep hills at the basket which can make for difficult down-putts and crazy long roll-aways if you miss your putt. My favorite hole is also the shortest. Hole 5 has the basket right on the other side of a steep drop-off. If you throw your drive just a tad heavy, you'll have a long putt. Throw just a tad light, and you'll have a very difficult steep downhill putt! The park itself is beautiful and well maintained. Other things to do there are hiking, beaching, playing volleyball, throwing horseshoes, canoeing, fishing and more. Make a day out of it and enjoy the scenery!

The tee pads had the distance to the basket and the direction, that was easily seen. Short holes that test a player's accuracy. Built around a beautiful state park.

Hard to find the first hole, as there are no real markings to show which way the first hole is. The tee pad's are uneven so it can be hard to get a good throw off without turning an ankle. Long grass off the fairway on a few holes can make it hard to find a disc. Wind coming off the lake can make throwing for accuracy hard on some of the holes. Some of the holes go directly through the park so you have to look out of park guests when throwing.

Overall, a decent course that is pretty well maintained but definitely has room for improvement. It's an ideal fishing spot as well for the fishing type.

Shawnee State Park is a short 9er with a little variety set in a scenic state park.

This course is pretty easy and most intermediate and above level players won't find too much difficulty. The first half of the course plays through a fairly flat tree lined area close to the lake. A little line shaping is required to avoid the trees, but nothing exotic.

The second half of the course incorporates the elevation of a large hill. #7 is an interesting shot, requiring a blind RHBH anny down the hill. #8 is a beautiful shot that throws back up the hill at a basket perched at the hill's highest point overlooking the the park.

The strongest point of this course is the beauty of the surrounding area. The course starts near the lake and plays towards a more wooded section.

The baskets were in good shape and the rubber tee pads were adequate.

This course is inherently limited by the amount of land dedicated to disc golf at the park. The land used is great, but it's a small area that doesn't allow for any distance. If you're a player who likes to air it out, you won't like this course.

About half of the course is located fairly close to a pavillion and a playground, while the first couple holes are in the same area as the boat rental building. These things don't come directly into play with the actual course, but they make this a high traffic in an otherwise spread out, quiet park.

Navigation here is a little confusing and it's not clear where #1 is from the parking lot. Some additional signage would be helpful.

I enjoyed my round here and would recommend this course for a quick round, or as a place to take a newer player. For a 9-holer the course itself is average, but the scenery of this area makes it a nice DG experience.

*Set in a Beautiful State Park - options for children and families while you play the course - beach/biking/play ground
*Distance and Direction of holes printed on Tee Pads
*Very good course for beginners/amateurs
*Good variety of shots - left/right up hill/down hill
*First five holes, and hole 9 are in the area of the park that is well maintained (grass cut, etc.)
*3 Bathroom facilities located around course (may be closed during late fall/winter/early spring
* Course was laid out very efficiently - with minimal travel between hole and next tee
* Can be played very quickly 20 - 30 minutes for a twosome (which may also be a con)

* Short course (longest hole 300')
* Some of the rubber tee pads are not on flat ground and can be slippery
* At least four or five of the holes are on hills where a shot that hits off of the basket may result in a 40 or 50' roll - even into the lake (hole 1)
* Hole 6 - 8 play through high grass/hay. There is about a 12" foot fairway mowed from tee to hole

This is the course where I played disc golf for the first time last fall. In Western Maryland we have nothing close by so at 40 minutes this is not bad. I like this course because I can bring the family and the little ones can head to the beach/play ground while the older play a few rounds. Also, has a nice picnic grounds to bring a meal before or after you play. If you are heading through Western PA and want to stop off at Bedford this is about a 10 minute drive.

Wonderful views of the lake and surrounding hills. Huge Lot and bathrooms on the course. Good for beginners as there is minimal disc loss and no mammoth distance needed. Good for experts as it's a quick play relaxing play but offers interesting approaches with fast greens, wind, and guarded greens. Courses has elevation shifts and a few interesting holes albeit short. Holes 1, 6,7,and 8 employ extremely fast greens. Hole 5 is an interesting very short shot with a low ceiling that drops down a bank in such a way that your drive must almost wormburn to have a shot at ace. Never had a look like that....I liked it. Holes 3,4,6, and 9 have alternate lanes to the pin which is great for beginners as it introduces strategy and expersts should enjoy the diversity.(course plays fast so multiple rounds with different options is good) Water lurks nearby but doesnt eat discs outside of rollaways on 1 and 2. Hole 4 is the longest hole with an assortment of options to the pin. I never found the right line after emptying my bag....It's only 300 feet and appears semi-open but for some reason I could not hit the right line....interesting. Rubber mat tees provide hole map and info...awesome idea.

Tees are uneven and lumpy which was awkward even for such short holes I was a bit disoriented on these tees a few times. No real distance or true throw mighty of the hill throws. Much of the course plays through/near a picnic grove. Hole 7 is blind and actually has a dramatic drop-off to the lot and road nearby...scout ahead. Looking at the nearby woods and the spectacular massive hill across the lot I felt empty and thought more could be done here.

If there was an effort to put a more expert friendly back nine employing the unused hill and some of the woods nearby to complement the simple front 9 I would return here....otherwise it's not really worth it unless your in the park or introducing the game.

I just started disc golfing recently, so my skills are...deficient, to say the least. What I enjoy about this park compared to other courses nearby is that it seems to be designed for people with average to below-average skill levels. As such, professionals seeking to play at this course may not be challenged very much. The topography of the course makes it both aesthetically pleasing while enjoyable and functional for playing disc golf. Kudos to Pennsylvania's DCNR for putting courses in places like Shawnee and elsewhere in the Commonwealth!

The tees seemed really slippery to me, which made it difficult for driving. I also had trouble finding the first hole, but didn't have trouble locating subsequent ones.

Because the holes are so close together and the distance of the holes are relatively short, you can play these 9 tees in no time. A nice course for practicing or playing a quick game if you're pressed for time.

Nice Rubber Tee pads and Innova chains. Easy to navigate and can play a really quick round here. Beautiful park setting with great views of the lake and mountains. Convenient parking and bathrooms. Beginner friendly, yet entertaining for the experienced player.

*****6-1-09***** They've added a really nice selection of Innova Plastic at the boat rental office/store beside tee #1 and at Coach Ed's convenience store/bait shop just down the road towards Schellsburg, PA.

Although the tee pads are very nice... a plus... they aren't very level, either side to side or from front to back. This can make your stance a little awkward at times. Hole #6 & #8 pins are very close together. Other park facilities (paths, beach, picnic tables, etc.) are quite close on some holes. No alternate tees or pins (see below).

***Update 9-20-10*** As cccp00a mentioned in his review, the grass on #6-8 has not been cut this year. There's just a wide path cut through the high/thick grass in-between the holes. The path serves as a fairway on #7 and is really too narrow to even be a fairway on #8. A spotter is highly recommended, especially on the totally blind #7.

The holes are mostly short, with the slightly downhill 300' #4 hole being the longest hole. And then hole #5 is only 155' long. Can you say birdie... or ace?

In spite of the short length, the course is interesting to play. A well controlled approach game is important here as several baskets present serious roll-away challenges. For a RHBH thrower there are straight, hyzer, anhyzer, low ceiling, uphill, downhill, level, left sloping and right sloping holes. Although the holes seem relatively open, the more I think about it the more trees I keep thinking of that can come into play. The lake "shouldn't" come into play, but can on a really wild shot or a really bad rollaway. The woods can really only come into play on a couple holes.

A player currently has alternate, longer tees marked off with white flags. I don't know how long the park will leave them up but they add considerable distance to a couple holes and change the path to the pin on several holes. If there would be permanent long/alternate tees added the score could go up very easily. This course has a lot of potential for growth.

***Update 9-20-10***
The longer tee placement white flags are long gone and just a memory now. If you hit me up for a round as a guide we can play from the long locations, too. They were pretty fun.

Basically, this is just a good, fun course to play. If you're travelling through Western, MD or South Central/Western, PA check it out. It's worth the drive, as long as it's a short drive out of your way.

There's a group on Yahoo if you want to check it out.