Shippensburg, PA

Papa Jack's DGC

1.715(based on 7 reviews)
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16 0
HyooMac
Diamond level trusted reviewer
Experience: 6.7 years 415 played 380 reviews
1.50 star(s)

Well intentioned, but not much fun

Reviewed: Played on:Sep 10, 2022 Played the course:once

Other Thoughts:

Nine holer in an open town park next to the Shippensburg College campus.


Built in 2010 long before the disc golf boom, dedicated to a former 11 time Senior World champion Jack Roddick and his son the pro hall of famer Dan "Stork" Roddick (PDGA #003!). The very good signage displays a local business sponsoring each hole, suggesting there was real community effort to install a course and honor a couple of genuine legends of the game.


But - it's just nine baskets around an open park.Tees are grass, baskets are old Chainstars.
There's a little bit of elevation change, and one hole uses a park building to create a blind dogleg - but that's it.


Not beginner-friendly, unless your only criteria for beginner-friendly is that there are no trees to hit. The layout crosses plenty of other obstacles: town road, park road, walking path, play areas, satellite tower (the excellent signage even includes advisories like "never retrieve a disc that lands inside the satellite tower", "Never climb on the building").


In addition to all the hazards, there's too much length here for beginners: three holes are over 325', plus one uphill 427' - all marked as par 3's.


Main Review: A great idea poorly executed - community support, local legend. But the design, the patch of land - all inadequate


Alternative Review: Maybe this is an accurate rendering of disc golf back when Papa Jack and Stork were throwing lids back before my time in the game. When I originally found disc golf in the 90's in Minnesota, there were a lot of the courses with baskets set around open parks like this one. Maybe the group behind Papa Jack's in 2010 wanted to create a layout reminiscent of the days gone by - when guys were throwing lids 300' and dodging a few trees in otherwise open parks.


Either way - bag it, and move on.

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1 2
trayer3
Experience: 5.8 years 4 played 3 reviews
2.50 star(s)

Clean and Good Practice 2+ years drive by

Reviewed: Played on:Jun 16, 2018 Played the course:5+ times

Pros:

- Clean and open design
- Baskets in good shape
- Good use of park paths as tees (saved some money)

Cons:

- Less challenging
- Less variety
- A few throws are close to a road

Other Thoughts:

As a relatively new player and having played through some harder courses lately, I find this course refreshing.

This is an excellent course for new players to practice the mechanics and add a bit of power without ricocheting off into a forest or getting discs lost in fields.
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2 0
HawaiiJack
Experience: 19 played 17 reviews
1.00 star(s)

Nice that 2 guys were honored 2+ years drive by

Reviewed: Played on:May 4, 2015 Played the course:once

Pros:

Wide open. Nice tee signs show the location of other tees and pins to help with orientation on a mostly featureless layout.

Cons:

No shade. Very little variety. Tees are marked only by bare spots or a single painted line on walkways.

Other Thoughts:

Any course is better than no course is about the best that can be said here. A sign at the start indicates this course was built in honor of two local legends. That part is great but some more effort and imagination would have honored them better. There is little to challenge any level of player here. Nearly every shot is just a straight shot to the basket.
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3 1
GRTgolfers
Experience: 1 played 1 reviews
2.00 star(s)

2+ years drive by

Reviewed: Played on:May 7, 2012 Played the course:5+ times

Pros:

A good course for beginners that presents a few long tees, two dog legs to the left, and a chance to easily score under par to build your confidence if you are new to the game. It also has a few holes where aces are very attainable.

Cons:

Generally, it is not very challenging. Wide open tee shots make it unexciting for those who are looking for a more difficult first shot. If you throw too far left or right on just about any hole, you will run the risk of launching your disc onto the road, into two baseball fields, in a children's play area, or in the pavilions. Obviously, if anyone is using these areas, it could be dangerous. They should make these holes have a mando so players are forced to throw away from these areas. Hole nine is a very dangerous hole that even if a mando was placed, it couldn't help prevent an accident from happening if a bad shot is taken. You have to throw over a parking lot that normally has cars in it. If you cannot control your tee off's, and there are some cars parked there, I would suggest forfeiting this one.
One thing that also makes this course irritating is the windiness. On average, I would say every time we visit this course, the wind is constantly blowing at least at 15- 20 mph. I know it might seem like the wind would make it more challenging and exciting, but it just takes any strategy out of the game because it is so over powering.

Other Thoughts:

If you are allergic to poison ivy, than this course will be one where you can definitely get away with wearing shorts. Off to the left of the first basket, there is some poison ivy. Also, in the wooded area behind hole seven there is some poison. If you stay out of these areas, which, you should be able to unless you have terrible shot, you can stay rash free! The rest of the course has no poison ivy whatsoever.
Papa Jack's is a fine course for those who live around the area of Shippensburg to get out and throw some discs. However, I wouldn't travel a long way to play there. If you are around the area though, you might enjoy this course.
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8 0
swatso
Diamond level trusted reviewer
Experience: 15.6 years 755 played 414 reviews
1.00 star(s)

Common Ailment 2+ years

Reviewed: Played on:Nov 11, 2011 Played the course:once

Pros:

New baskets at which to throw is always a good thing.

For most of the holes, the teeing surface will be asphalt, i.e. the walking path or the parking lot.

Makes the most of the minimal elevation changes and obstacles available.

Good signs/easy to navigate.

Cons:

While the distances and openness is appropriate for new and developing players, the proximity of things to avoid oft requires a fair amount of precision:
- #1 Thick shule along left side
- #2 Children's play area to left, walking path/tee-3 in vicinity of basket
- #3 Too far + too right = road
- #4 Across walking path/tee-5, basket blind (up-n-over rise), road far to left
- #5 To the right, tee-3/walking path; to the left, baseball outfield; too long, tee-6
- #6 To the right, basket-8/tee-9
- #7 Walking path = natural throwing lane
- #8 Basket/fairway-6 to right, tee-9 left
- #9 Throws across parking lot

The distance from teesign-1 to basket-1 is about ½ of the advertized 240'. Walking left down the path and throwing from near a generic park sign appears to be the correct distance.

Other Thoughts:

Take a bit of undulating land, grade most of it for ball fields, play areas, and parking lots, put a walking path in the midst of it ... then squeeze in some baskets as best you are able. Given the small amount of open space and the nearby non-playing areas, the course probably couldn't have been shoe-horned in much better.

If the park is filled with non-players, or even players, as some tees/fairways are quite near to baskets/other fairways, probably not safe to play. If the park is relatively empty, there is definitely a bit of elevation and distance to overcome. Hopefully the locals will determine the park usage patterns and determine when best to play.
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9 0
KAK3990
Experience: 14.8 years 121 played 10 reviews
2.00 star(s)

Hey, its a disc golf course, go play it. 2+ years drive by

Reviewed: Played on:Jun 20, 2011 Played the course:once

Pros:

-Provides a course for an area that didn't previously have one
-Easy to navigate with informative tee signs and nice new baskets
-Lots of other activities located within the park including a pool, playground, baseball fields and a dog park
-Uses the elevation within the park to add some challenge to most of the holes
-Best hole is #7 which plays downhill to a basket hidden behind a clump of trees

Cons:

-No tee pads, just signs
-Lack of shot variety throughout the course, mostly straight shots with some elevation change
-Not sure whats going on with hole #1, found the sign easily but it didn't seem as if you should tee off from there, don't know if it was a late change to the course or maybe a compromise with the township or municipality
-Beware several parking lots and stray children from the adjacent playground

Other Thoughts:

-Papa Jack's is a basically wide open course located in Shippensburg, PA
-It is not far from Interstate 81 and could easily be played in tandem with either whispering falls/wilson college or with any of the courses located within the Harrisburg area
-Not overly challenging but provides an option to the area, located just down the street from Shippensburg Univ.
-Dedicated to a disc golf hall of famer
-Not a must play by any means but it allows you an opportunity to stretch out the legs and bag a course
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11 0
Crooow
Gold level trusted reviewer
Experience: 36.9 years 248 played 52 reviews
2.00 star(s)

Not a Destination Course 2+ years

Reviewed: Played on:May 30, 2011 Played the course:once

Pros:

Nice park with basic amenities; near town for food possibilities; new baskets that catch very well; minor elevation; a couple of curved shots; nice but basic tee signs. Directions and map on this site are accurate. Holes 3 and 7 are fun; #9 is sort of an island hole though very easy. Free.

Cons:

No tee pads - there are white markings from which you should tee off. Never did find the one for the first hole - the sign is far too close to the basket for the distance listed. Hole 2 throws across a gravel lot which looks like it could be used for overflow parking. If you overthrow you could hit a playground. Number 3 is a nice hole that curves behind a building and has a road with a fence behind it so you need to watch for people and traffic. Many other holes are just straight and holes 4 and 5 criss-cross slightly. Hole #9 throws across a parking area but should not be a problem for most people. There was a lot of other traffic in the park (kids playing, picnics, bicyclists).

Other Thoughts:

There is a dog park here if you need that as well as a playground for the kiddies. If you wanted to play a selection of short 9-holers you could combine this with Wilson College, Willow Mill Park, White Tail Woods, and Messiah Village. Or skip these and play the 18 hole courses (Whispering Pines and Creekside) that are nearby. Always nice to have another course to visit but not worth a special trip. But it is young and they may move the tee locations (and perhaps supply pads) after it gets some play.
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