- Nestled in a dense, secluded woods next to an abandoned rail line, it's hard to believe this course is only 10 minutes from downtown Wilmington and five minutes from the I-95 freeway.

-The course design is outstanding. The front 9 plays through dense woods, with the back nine offering more opportunities for open drives. Par fours are mixed in. It makes excellent use of the elevation change and the two streams that cut through the course, requiring a variety of angles and unique shots. Fairways are clean enough that birdie is attainable on every hole (though not easy). Holes 5, 13, and 17 were particularly attractive downhill shots.

-Tee boxes are resourcefully cut out of an old turf football field. They are large and well-installed, some of the best turf tees I've seen. Each hole has a primary Dynamic Discs basket; several also have an older blue DGA basket in a shorter position.

-If a course is going to do a lot of variations, it needs to do them well. Here, some holes have multiple tees, some holes have multiple baskets, some holes have both, some holes have neither, and the quality of signage varies widely throughout. I think simpler would work better here.

-From reading older reviews, it is wonderful that the disc golf course has helped clean up the park. However, there is still a rough element to the area, evidenced by scattered trash, defaced tee signs, and old cars parked in secluded turnouts.

-Rough terrain. On several occasions you'll have to jump small streams, pick your way across larger ones, and navigate steep slopes. Not recommended for carts, young children or bad knees/ankles.

-I played during dry weather, but I imagine the chance of losing a disc would rise drastically after a heavy rain when the streams and low areas fill up. Several holes also have thick rough areas with potential for lost discs.

-The first tee is difficult to find, located in a wooded tunnel to the right of the short basket on #17. I believe the long tee for #1 is from the road, although it is unmarked.

-Canby Park is a terrific course and a great asset to the Wilmington area. Its convenient location is perfect for locals as well as anyone traveling through on I-95.

-This is a solid public course with 18 good holes of golf.
-There's a stream that runs through the park and adds challenge and beauty, but there's little risk of losing discs in the water.
-Some holes have multiple tees and baskets.
-Few thorns or nasty brush. My guess is there's little poison ivy, but I can't be sure since it was early March. Overall, it'd be hard to lose a disc here.
-Nice mix of open and wooded. Wooded holes have good fairways so you're not playing plinko.
-Navigation is decent.
-Free.
-Plenty of parking.
-Easy to find.
-18 hole loop brings you back to the parking lot.
-Nice mix of left-to-right and right-to-left holes. No holes are too short or too long. Good design!
-Turf tee pads are sweet. Nice and big with cool colors.
-Some nice uphill and downhill play. One hole in particular (13?) is a fun downhill mid-range bomb.

-It was muddy when I was there. Not too bad, but not great either.
-Navigation could be improved.
-Some of the signs are old and worn and it's not always clear which holes have multiple baskets and/or tees.

I played here once on a muddy afternoon in March. I had a really good time, in part because I ran into a nice local on the course and we played our round together. But also because it's a really solid course with interesting features, woods and open, and a stream that poses challenge without creating too much risk of lost discs. I could have rated it a 3 due to a few navigational challenges and confusion caused by multiple tees and baskets. But the turf tee pads are really nice and the multiple tees and baskets add more playability for returners than confusion for newcomers. I would love to call this my home course, but I live in Massachusetts. Definitely worth a round from anyone passing through the area.

Mostly wooded, with 4 open finishing holes




+ The course combines elements including woods, elevation and water into a set of holes that are puzzles to be worked out. You have to figure out the most important factor when standing on the tee (for example, there are holes where it makes sense to give up some distance in favor of placement; there are other holes - like #6 - which had a narrowing pinch in the fairway halfway up a long incline)

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+ Multiple tees, multiple baskets, good signage

+ Turf teepads (in this case by "turf" I mean artificial turf that's been repurposed from athletic fields, so most tees include hash marks, portions of team logos, endzones, etc.)

+ Water comes into play during the closing holes. The water on #15, #17 and #18 is sneaky. It's a small stream just inside the woodline on #15. There's a fighting chance you'll have no idea it's there, but you're throwing from an open tee into the woods - and kicks off the trees can have surprisingly bad effects. The water on #17 is visible, circling the front of the green to make a partial island (with trees adding a low ceiling to the approach). The stream cutting across the 18th fairway is lined by trees that will catch your disc and drop it right into the water

- Next Tee signage is decent, but lacking in some spots. There are a few transitions where you have to hunt around for the next hole a bit

- Some missing short baskets (at least we didn't see them, so we played to the longs)

- This course is not very cart-friendly because of rugged terrain between some of the holes, and a small gorge you have to navigate through on Hole #6

~ My first impression was that Canby felt a little raggedy, a little rough around the edges (the turfed tees, some course overgrowth, etc.). But then I realized that Canby is surrounded by courses in State parks, which benefit from all the infrastructure and maintenance that comes with it

~ Canby is a very well-designed, volunteer-supported course located in a city park. A lot of attention has gone into developing multiple layouts, and the course is well worth multiple plays because of the clever use of woods, elevation, distance and hazards

~ Shout out to "friendly locals" - other players on the course called out to us when we were clearly having trouble finding the next hole. And we caught up with a pair on the final two holes who helpfully spotted our throws, and then helped me find a disc in the muddy stream on #18. I so often play disc golf alone that I forget how great this community is

multiple tee and basket options on most holes on a course designed upon land with wooded area and wide open fields..one of the best courses on in the philly region by far..kinda of a mix of sedgley brandywine and iron hill

the small creek needs a bridge on 18

I played this course in a different layout when it was first installed and the upgrades are tremendous..need to get back soon

+ Most of this course takes place in a peaceful woodsy part of a larger community park. Intent and accuracy will be in high demand here.
+ Most holes feature reliable 'next hole' arrows suspended from the baskets.
+ The hole info signs have it all: distances, pars, elevation to the pin and even the elevation of the tee pad itself (I'm assuming relative to sea level?)
+ There are creeks and streams all throughout this course. They add nice layers of character and risk to Canby- especially to the putting.
+ There are a fair few hills to work through here as well.
+ All holes have tee pads. Most are long and wide enough for a full wind-up. However...

- ...All tee pads are reclaimed turf from what looks like a retired football field, and a few are smaller than the others.
- Navigation is a little tricky here for first time visitors. For one example, there is an easily missed small path between holes 2 and 3.
- I didn't see a lost disc box or an information board anywhere.
- There is trash visible on almost every hole. Please don't litter, folks.
- Only the long tees have the hole info sign, and only the long baskets have the 'next hole' arrow- some of which were split in half.
- Holes 14, 15 and 16 are neighbors. This risks a small chance of putting other golfers in danger.
- The white baskets are numbered, but the blue baskets are not for some reason. As a result, I ended up treating 17blue as a second practice pin without realizing it...!
- Watch your step here. Exposed roots, slippery rocks and other hazards can lead to trips, slips and falls.

My favorite hole to play here was 13 because it was the lengthiest drop in elevation with a serpentine stream all over the bottom waiting to bathe your disc. My favorite hole to look at was 5 because it appeared like a haunted path to an old witch's house. And that clearing near the end with the stream by the basket was a pleasant sight. My least favorite hole might be 9 because of how plain and direct it is.

As for the course as a whole, I liked what I experienced here. It's a little rough around the edges with the navigation issues I mentioned earlier. The plainly visible garbage didn't help things, and the underwhelming basics subtract from the fluidity of the course. In spite of those things, the course still gets a better-than-average rating from me because of the solid golf and smart usage of this park's natural features.

in a certain way, Canby West reminds me of an accessible combination of certain nearby courses. It's got a more manageable version of the woods, roots and rocks that a more treacherous course to the west would have and a toned-down version of the kinds of wide-open hilly fields that you'd encounter at a pasture course just to the north.

Yet Canby still has unique features of its own to set it apart from other courses. An easy example is hole six with its fallen tree. It looks as though the massive trunk was purposely tipped over to create the perfect platform to bridge the gap from one side of a steep stream to the other. There are other examples, but just know that Canby does have a flavor to call its own.

Bottom line: Canby West lacks refinement, but the 18 holes on offer here are good enough to make that seem like just a detail. Bring your best tree-dodging skills and give Canby West a try.

Great wooded course hidden off MD Ave!
Awesome turf pads and baskets.
Never too busy
Nice variety of tight shots from each pad.
Awesome for putter/mid rounds

(Don't let the other reviews keep you away, ppl from outside the area don't know what they are talking about. This course is SAFE)

Non golfers often leave trash or broken glass on the walking paths

Whoever put this course together needs huge praise.

18 technical and fun holes with color coded dual tees and/or dual baskets playing through an urban hilly forest park and across a couple streams. Nice tee signs, and next tee arrows on baskets making navigation easy. Mostly disc golf only area of park.

Excellent course design utilizing the available elevation and terrain features providing great variety of challenges and some fun downhill holes faced with risk and reward choices. Underbrush appears to be well maintained and low chance of disc loss.

Some of the natural tees are a bit rough. Only one loop of 18 holes back to parking lot. Hole 1 long tee plays from the park road, holes 11, 12 long, and 17 long plays across the park road and throw from 17 may potentially interfere with hole 1 tee areas.

Plays next to train tracks and located in da hood. Lots of evidence of smashed glass car windows in the parking lot and some shady characters, keep valuables out of sight and beware your surroundings.

Canby West was better than I expected, the front 9 reminded me of a longer Sedgely and shorter Tyler, and the back 9 reminded me of a mini Brakewell Steele back 9, I believe the total course layout I played was right about 7000' long.

Hole 1 is a cool tunnel shot starting off. I really liked the uphill hole 4 even though I made the cardinal sin and kicked left down the cliff. Memorable hole 6 tees off by the train tracks and interesting building structure covered in graffiti playing across the high voltage easment to an elevated and protected green. Holes 11, 12 and 13 provide consecutive fun and challenging downhill shots. Hole 17 was probably my favorite playing a long downhill turnover to essentially the long basket on an island. Hole 18 was a good finishing hole as well.

I think many of the con issues of previous reviews have been rectified by the local club like signage and trash on the course. The biggest issues here currently are the lack of tee pads and the menaces of society in the neighborhood. Overall I'd say that Canby as a course is technically one of the best in Delaware for intermediate to advanced level players. With some sweet concrete tees and crime prevention Canby can be grrreat!