With 2 different courses within a mile of each other and in the same park , Delaware State Park DGC and its 9 holes sit next to the entrance to the camp grounds . Plenty of parking to the right of the entrance , walk across the street towards the right of the dog park and you will see the start . There is a bathroom just down the road , and I'm sure you're okay to use it .
THE EQUIPMENT -- There is a concrete tee on hole #1 , then it is all natural tees after that . The tee signs are basic , with hole # and distance . The baskets are numbered yellow banded Discatchers . There are little arrows at the bottom of most of the baskets pointing to the next tee .
THE LANDSCAPE -- This course runs kind of counter clockwise, and is is shaped out of a small parcel of woods going from the road to a creek at the bottom . The overgrowth can go from medium to extreme . If you throw down and into it to the right of hole #1 , there are thorns and vines in it . ( lost my drone on the first throw of the day ) . The fairways are dirt or were mowed when I played , but go from narrow to acceptable . The course slopes down for the first 3 holes , flattens out for 4 holes , then the last 2 slope up towards the road . There are some fairway trees to avoid on most holes , some creating a tunnel shot . A creek might come into play on the right for holes 4 & 5 . You want to avoid landing in it , as the ridge to get to the creek is steep and treacherous .
THE HIGHLIGHTS -- Not much here to highlight , but there are some good putter runs . #2 , the longest hole at 285' , has a narrow fairway with the basket tucked in and hidden on the left . #3 is a down-sloping wooded dogleg left with plenty of trees to hit on your putter/midrange's journey .
#9 finishes off with an up-sloping 160' run with a low ceiling .
THE TIME -- The course is very short at 1700' . If you keep your disc anywhere near the fairway , you will play this in about 20 minutes . A group of 4 will finish up in less than 40 .
It's fast , camper-friendly and just an added option . I never say this , but even though there are no online maps , you won't need any help navigating this course .

#1 Challenge . There is no real challenge here , other than coming back with the same number of discs that you started with .The course seems to favor RHFH and LHBH players . After hole 1 ( 230' and downhill ) and #2 ( 285' ) , the rest of the holes average almost 170' . This is where a lucky camper or newbie can get their first ace . decent players will have ace and deuce runs the whole time . If you shoot over par here , you should have to play Gordon Holton ( down the road ) on a skateboard for your punishment .;
#2 SAFETY -- The holes are short and spaced enough that you shouldn't hit another player , but there are campers that are unaware that there is such a thing as disc golf , and wander down the path with family in tow . One family appeared out of nowhere to go to the creek while I was lining up my first toss on #6 . Be careful .
#3 DISC RISC - Medium , which is surprisingly high for a short course .ricocheting a putter into the overgrowth or into a flooded creek could mean a trip to the disc golf shop for a replacement .
#4 THE ELEMENTS/LANDSCAPE -- Since the course slopes a little down , then up , and much is dirt , this would be bad to play after a rain . Wear sturdy shoes or old ones if attempting . It also might be a good idea to wear sweatpants or long pants and a long sleeve shirt , since poison ivy is present in spots just off the narrow fairways . The course falls below average in appearance , but it does provide an alternative for people staying on the other end of the park .
Make sure you douse with bug spray . insects get more bold the closer you get to the creek

They didn't have to make an easier 9 hole course almost within walking distance of a much more challenging 27 hole course in the same park , but they did for the enjoyment and convenience of the campsite area . There was a couple of players that had finished a short time before me , so I know people are playing it .
Both courses here are free to play , and free to enjoy the rest of the park when done .

MY RECOMMENDATION -- Deep enough into the park , that locals aren't going to be dropping by , and anyone better than an 800 rating isn't making an effort either . This course is intended for families staying in the park , or newbies that are camping and maybe friends that want to see what disc golf is all about . If you are not a camper , or a bagger ( you can collect 2 courses in the same park ) then you need to go to the much more rounded Gordon Holten course .

The fun, campground casual course here in Delaware State Park (a mile and a half up the driveway off state route 23, and past the much more 'serious' Gordon Holton Memorial course) has a surprising amount of shot shaping variety for a short course. It boasts reasonably informative tee signs, DisCatcher baskets, and even a concrete tee on hole 1.

The first hole is shaped right to left and beyond a couple of scenic park trees. Hole 2 is a tight lane, and the longest hole at 285' (from then on, you're throwing 140' to 200ish at most). Holes 3 (runs gradually downhill) and 4 both fade gently left. Hole 5 is a safe left to right line but watch out for the creek to the right. 6 is straightaway, while 7 boasts a 'split' fairway (options!). Both 8 (slightly uphill) and 9 play beautifully into a pine needle green, and complete the loop nicely back by where you began.

In all, an 'accomplished' disc golfer (rated anything higher than recreational level) might enjoy throwing every hole here with a putter for a two, and sharpening up their short game, but it's not designed to challenge them. Step on over to the 'big course for that!

Stopping by in mid to late May, I was surprised to find nearly zero maintenance had been done for the spring. I was 'teased' into playing by having a swath cut to hole 1's green, but that was abandoned thereafter. I later heard folks talk about it being rainy and too wet to mow (…but we have volunteers who are able to hand trim most of a 24 hole course locally…) That meant that, although the wildflowers, weeds and grasses were beautiful, growing up basket high for six of the fairways resulted in more time searching for a bright red disc within 20' of the basket, and spending more time looking for good shots than throwing the course. Clearly, the course plays in a low flood plain near a creek, so there's very little elevation, and it will always be subject to muddiness. Of course it's nice to have a (very small, raised) concrete tee on hole 1, but the consistency of finishing the other eight would be nicer.

Scaled appropriately for the family or for novice players, this might be a wonderful course to play when conditions are good.

-Well designed. A handful of different shot lines and you can tell the designer made the most of the property given.
-Baskets are in great shape.
-Course flows well. No long walks or having to hike a mile to get back to your car after #9.

-Short short short short. If you're looking for more than a pitch-and-putt, you're on the wrong side of the park.
-Cement tee pad only on #1 as of now. Natural tee areas are still in decent shape but I can see them being a problem with traffic or after some rain.
-A lot of thorny rough off the fairways. While the design is beginner friendly, the rough is not!

If you want to get 27 holes in today, I would recommend playing this course before sliding over to Gordon Holton for the original 18. I'm happy this course is here and I definitely plan to pepper it in when I play the main course.