-This short 9-hole community course plays through an open portion of Doylestown Central Park. The course features rubber tees, Dynamic discs signs and baskets, and a nice amount of elevation. Several trees have been planted which will soon add a bit more challenge to the course. Fairways are nicely defined with long but not overly thick grass.

-Three holes offer extra challenge: #1, a short right-to-left shot between a pond and the only thick rough on the course, #4, playing substantially uphill, and #9, the longest hole at 300'. Everything else is very straightforward — I took a relative here for his first ever round, and he made two birdies.

-This is a fantastic park to introduce kids to disc golf. You can finish a round in half an hour, and also visit the enormous castle-style playground on the other side of the parking lot.

-Rubber tees unfortunately do not have a long lifespan. After two years of use, several are already starting to wear down and tilt in the direction of the hill.

-All the holes are rather plain — nothing terribly unique or memorable.

-This course is very well done for an Eagle Scout project, giving the Doylestown area its first course. However, I imagine locals make the trip to Tyler or elsewhere for a more challenging round.

-Potential for improvement. The large size of the park here at Central Park gives ample opportunity for the layout to be expanded or reconfigured.

+ Quality tee signs, bright baskets and next arrows.
+ Brief completion time encourages multiple playthroughs.
+ Good use of available elevation.
+ Short distances for the beginners and birdie hunters, but...

- ...Short distances mean less challenge.
- All wide open with scarcely anything in the way.
-/+ Tee pads are just rubber mats bolted to the ground. They're flat, grippy and long, though.

I still find it kind of weird to review 9-hole courses because there is literally half of a conventional course here. Does that mean that we should take them half seriously and award half the rating? Should 2.5 be the highest rating a 9-hole course can possibly earn? Or do we all still use the 0 to 5 scale with the subconscious agreement that 9-hole courses are a different beast and held up to a different standard than 18-hole courses? Am I rating it too high? Too low? Am I meant to draw comparisons to 18-hole courses or just other 9-holers? ...And so on... I'm pretty sure that I'm one of the outnumbered nerds who gets bogged down thinking about this kind of thing. And the funny thing is that I have no problem reviewing courses with more than 18 holes. 24holes? Let me have it. 27holes? No sweat. But reviewing 9holes just feels strange to me, and now this paragraph has gone on long enough.

So, the 9-hole disc golf course at Central Park is a calm and pretty place to play. I thought hole9 looked particularly nice because of its gentle valley shape, with leaves changing for autumn on the left and a stand of pines on the right. The circuit of fairways installed here reminds me of a tutorial level in a video game. All of the challenges are plainly spelled out, and it's up to the player to attempt at their own pace. Hole7 is a nice example because it has a wide open fairway, so it's approachable, but there is an OB walking path far to the left just to introduce players to the concept of what OB means. Actually, now that I'm thinking about it and reviewing the pictures I took, there are a lot of OB areas because of all the walking paths in the park. Please keep that in mind before you throw. However, a seasoned player will barely notice, and a newbie likely won't end up in those places.

Special mention for hole4, though! That one was a nice surprise not only because of its satisfying uphill throw but also because of the basket's location. A bad putt has serious rollaway potential. That hole was my favorite because it felt like a true disc golfing challenge. Unlike hole2, which is a simple point-and-click fairway. Honestly, most of the holes here can be described that way, but at least there are some elevation challenges and a few trees to dodge along the way.


As far as 9-hole courses go, Central Park is a good entry point. Beginner-appropriate distances and terrain challenges will jump start the newcomer's interest in the sport and delight any experienced players. Not only that, but this is a pleasant and low-stakes area where you can bring the kids or go on an outdoor date, and everyone will enjoy themselves. Plus, it's well put together with its signage, baskets and nicely mowed fairways. The tee pads could use an upgrade, but it doesn't subtract from the experience. Well done, Central Park.

+ Play a warm up round, introduce a beginner, or work on your short game here. This is a new, well-kept park layout that might be the best I've played for any of those three activities


BEGINNERS: Central Park's amenities give the sense of a "real" course: excellent signage with good maps and rules explanations, brand new DD baskets, good flat rubber tees. There are a few short (150 ish) holes, but most are around 200 - so beginners won't outgrow the course immediately. The "rough" is tall grasses cut to shape a few fairways, so beginners will learn about keeping it in the fairway, without suffering play-slowing or disc-losing consequences


SHORT GAME PRACTICE: The layout is built for fun mids and putter rounds. Starting with an excellent opening hole: it's only 160' but there's deep OB grass all the way up the left side, and trees guarding the basket. Perfect for RHBH practice a low controlled fade or dropping in a hyzer, or RHFH risking OB the entire flight.

Although none of the remaining holes are quite as much fun as the first one, the layout uses all the available elevation, so you're throwing soft shots up onto rises (watch out for rollaways) and down into a swale.


WARM UP ROUND: The layout finishes with its longest hole (only 300', but 100' more than any other hole except #4 - so it "feels" long). If you're putting from C1x or further on many of the holes, you'll be facing uphill, downhill or sidehill putts. And it's an open area, so you might have some wind to think about too.

~ Another Eagle Scout project (love to see them!)


~ An example of a course that "does what it does" perfectly. If this were Disc Golf Practice Course Review or Disc Golf Beginner Course Review, it would probably be a "5." But this is DGCR, and it's a solid 2.5



RECOMMENDED COMBINATIONS:

Overall, easy scoring to build up your confidence before heading off to Tyler, Fort Washington or Sellersvile. But if you want to do a day of short nines, combine Central Park with Windlestrae-Henning Field (longer, mostly open) and Tamanend (short and wooded). You could play two rounds at each in an hour or less, and string together a fun day.

This is a wonderful place to take a new player!!! There's lot's of space to warm up and do field work, and the course really offers "distracted field work while playing". There is very little "penalty" here and a good amount of opportunity to address wind and elevations and just plain THROWING. Hole number 1 is really the best hole here with a choice of playing over the OB Grasses on the left, or around the tree that guards the first hole......however, beginners will risk cranking into the Water Filled retention basin to the right. Otherwise, throw and laugh and learn how to play before you hit Sellersville or Tyler or Fort Washington, etc.

It's such a PERFECT "what it is" course..... a Beginner cannot Fail Here. It's hard to knock the place as being too simple...That's what it IS!!!

We often "add holes" Playing from #5 basket to the 6th basket offers a nice longer, elevated throw. You can mix and match like that across holes 4-7. We often throw from Basket 7 to basket 3, simulating an approach from elevation around tress. This continues to be a very nice "play it twice" JUST THROWING Round.

Central Park DGC is a new 9er, an Eagle scout project course that opened just around now, kudos to Matt. Coming in, the park is ridiculously nice and you'll want to park in the last (third) lot of the long one-way U drive and walk towards the asphalt path in the direction opposite of all the park you've just seen.

Distances are short, obstacles like trees are sparse. Five of the holes are under 200 ft but elevation is there. Many of the fairways are bands of mowed grass with unmowed tall growth (grass) on either side, that can have some disc loss but realistically probably be trampled by previous players. Elevation plays a slight role on two of them (#3, #9) and a more major role on three (4, 5, 6).

The baskets are Dynamic Disc Veterans, my first encounter with them. They give a nice, pleasing jingle with anything that goes in. Tee Signs are instructive although a bit flashy. Tees were longer rubber mats.

Uphill #4 is imo the star hole and #9 is a nice, longer distance (300') ender.

This is DGC appropriate if you're relatively nearby, about 20 minutes drive or less, for casual play or introducing people to the game. My nearest comparison is Branchwood, a little over half an hour away west.

LHBHer and RHFHers will feel left out here. All straight or hyzer holes.

Talking about that, by the third straight hole at a similar distance or two uphills in a row, all without obstacles, the charm wears a bit thin.

I checked in person and on google maps, the terrain rather limits the course, and unless they later open a hole or two on the field West/South-West of Basket #4 and subsequently lengthen some others, the course is about as good as it will get, a pitch and putt, although some planted trees could add variety.

After I was done playing the official layout, I did tee off at basket #4 and played the grassy water basin as a long hole, using #6's basket as the goal. It's over 600' throwing distance easily. Then I went the opposite way, using the path as the tee-off, just to try forehand. As unofficial holes, both were the most fun I had on this course.

On the path, after hitting #2 Tee, turn left to get to #1. Course loops more or less.

#1, Hzyer around a tree, 200'. Water is on right for really wild arms, and the overgrowth on the left is a more realistic OB.

#2. Straight shot. 164'.

#3. Straight shot, fairway peaks and then downhills. 173'.

#4. Uphill 240. You're aiming to the left of the chainlink fence. After the first ridge is a depression, a grassy flood/stormwater basin. Basket is up on local high with small drops behind and left of it.

#5. Another smaller uphill 190.

#6. A touch shot down and to the left, with some trees. 160'.

#7. 200' straight shot. Open grass.

#8. 186' straight shot with unmowed sides again.

#9. Unmowed sides beginning 3/4 of hole. Slight uphill. Pine Trees standing guard on right halfway to the end.

You can exit right of last basket to get back to the asphalt path.