+ A lost disc box, course map and info board are nearby link1.
+ The practice basket is on a daring peninsula in the huge lake by the parking lot.
+ DiscGolfPark baskets are different colors depending on which layout you are playing. They have the built-in guiding arrow.
+ It's such a pleasant and quiet place to be. There are nice views all over the place with its large lake, calm woods and breezey fields.
+ Insane elevation features.
+ Intimidating water carries.

- As of late June 2023, the tee signs were just laminated paper on stakes.
- No truly dense forested holes to make you stop and think.
-/+ As of late June 2023, the tees were just turf anchored to a wooden frame. They were wide, long and flat, though.

The disc golf course at Faylor Lake has been around for only a couple of years, yet it already has a reputation that precedes it thanks, in no small part, to some high-profile figures singing its praises. This review will mostly echo those praises.

Let's get the obvious stuff out of the way.
This course is astounding to look at. Before you've even finished parking the car, you get smacked in the face with a lovely view of the titular lake right there in front of you and surrounding the practice basket. Then, once you start playing, you are treated to wonderfully crafted fairways with crisp lines, healthy trees and leisurely greenery. I enjoyed the calming optics of link2 the most because of its shady oblong tunnel. It looked like a great place for a picnic.

Little did I suspect that just a few fairways later would be one of the most jaw-dropping downhill tee-offs I have ever encountered in my disc golfing career so far. From the start I decided to play the gold layout, and I'm so glad I did. (You should, too. Forget about skill level.) Link6 has a long tee that puts the player on top of it all. You can see for miles from up there. Snap a picture or two. Where's the basket? Who knows. Probably to the right or something. Disc golfing temporarily takes a back seat while your brain comes to grips with how high off the ground you are. Then, once you gradually gather the courage to tee off, throwing from such an elevation is a thrilling moment that most courses I've played can't match, and I loved it.
If I'm cold and critical about it, the actual disc golfing part of link6 is pretty bland and straight-forward because the fairway after the tee is wide open and basically featureless. That is easily overshadowed by the fact that you have to descend dozens of stairs just to meet up with your drive. Then, once you do, you can't help but look back and feel dwarfed by just how high off the ground you were. Yeah, link6 was my favorite to play in spite of its open fairway.

There are a few stinkers, though. Link9 is a basic gentle upslope through a too-wide tunnel. Link11 plays pretty wide open alongside a wheat field. And link16 was a slog of a fairway because of how long and monotonous the fairway was in contrast to the rest of the course.

That's as bad as it gets, though. The rest of the course is an adventurous and satisfying circuit dealing with sufficient woods, water carries and tricky topography. At link8, we are placed atop a dam and tasked with hitting the fairway without rolling endlessly down and into the water below. A little bit later at link10, the land slopes dramatically down to the right, and the trees threaten to send our throws into the shadow realm. I would say that this course accommodates the power players over the tacticians because of the lack of any meaty tree puzzles, but any disc golfer can find something to love about this place.

This place was not crafted for the sport of disc golf. Rather, the sport of disc golf was invented for this place. It's a new course, yes, but you should definitely add it to your wishlist. Pennsylvania already has some killer courses. Still, Faylor Lake shines bright as an emminent example of the very best that PA and, if I'm honest, the northeast at large can offer. Emphatically recommended!

P.S. What was with all of that caution tape? In late June 2023, on links5 and 8, the long baskets were removed and their circles surrounded by caution tape. Did I miss something?

***Before reading this review, I recommend playing the prelude to the Sound of Music***

-Absolutely beautiful place. Like it'll make a city mouse reconsider being a country mouse kinda pretty.
-Remote setting that while isn't exclusively used for disc golf, it might as well be
-Bright baskets in good repair
-Large level teepads (not Conrad long, but plenty long for the average golfer) for the longs and smaller, also level tee pads for the shorts
-Tee signs have enough information to get you going where you are needed
-Kiosk at the parking lot with a lost disc return box
-Perfectly well kempt throughout. Grassy fairways, well trimmed trees, and very fair fairways
-Rough generally wasn't too bad, but also punishing enough that you didn't want to go in there
-Two of the most epic downhill throws I've ever seen. Both over 1000' of pure fun. Literally the shots that dreams are made of. Bet you didn't know DMT stood for Downhill Mountain Throws. These shots are unique and force you to think how to best attack them.
-Consistently good looking greens
-Very fun water shots that allow you to question how good you are and where you'll need to bail out or go for it. The last hole being 1005 foot water carry 'U' shaped hole where the green is on a peninsula is just insanely cool.
-Makes a good loop where beginning and end are close to the parking lot (which is especially nice because you can see exactly how big the peninsula to 18 is before attacking)
-This is a championship level course that also has a well designed short layout that surprisingly has great paths to cut out walking from the longs
-A free course that is freaking immaculate

-I really didn't care much for hole 17. I think the design is going to really favor the pros, but was meant for the intermediate player. There are a lot of weird cheater gaps through the trees that reward bad tee shots and big arms will just go over the trees anyways.
-Some of the walks are a bit on the sketchy side, but that is mostly because you are walking down those giant tee shots mentioned earlier, so bring your mountain goat shoes... whatever those are. Definitely not a sport mode crocs kind of place
-There were a couple filler holes that were not bad holes, but just not quite up to the rest of the standard of golf here, but the layouts made sense and the land used very well, so I'm not really knocking it here. They can't all be bangers... usually

This place makes my heart flutter, and not just because I'm winded from the hikes or have high cholesterol. It's just stunning golf in a stunning setting. Had I not just played some of the best dimes in disc golf all in one trip, I might have even given this place a 5.0, because really it's probably a 4.75. I truly think it will get there. You can see the teesigns and the kiosk signs are all temporary signs and that they are experimenting with some alternate pin locations to really make the place grandiose. I can't wait to make this place a yearly stop. It's destination worthy. Absolutely. Don't let life pass you by and Faylor to get here.

But all in all, these hills, these shots, they are just a few of my favorite things.

Faylor Lake has two sets of turf tees and nice new baskets. The holes are all very-well designed with a large variety of shapes and distances. A lot of elevation comes into play with two 1000 foot downhill shots that rival some of the most-fun I've played anywhere. Kind of has some Throw Down The Mountain vibes at some points. The holes are all fair with distinct fairways that are difficult but not overwhelming. Birdies can be had on both sets of tees for any advanced level player. The two sets of tees are gold and red, which to me felt more like blue and white, but either way, they allow players of all skill levels to play the course and enjoy themselves. There are some epic holes here that will be forever etched into your brain after playing. Nice mix of grassy areas, woods, water, it's a really nice course design and I had a lot of fun even though it was hailing for some of my round.

The parking lot and no bathroom at the lot stink, but word is that that is being fixed and will be expanded in the coming year. There were 3 holes that were somewhat flooded when I played through. 16 and 17 were by far the worst with the tee pad for the short tee on 16 completely underwater. There is some slightly weird routing between 17-18 I felt also. With the wetness in the fairways I basically just skipped over those two holes. If it's wet out, you could just go from 15-18 and not have to deal with those two holes. A few sketchy downhill walks at the moment also. I'd leave the cart at home. Wasn't a huge fan of the wood borders underneath the turf tee pads but the pads themselves were excellent as long as I stayed away from the edges while releasing. The first big downhill hole could have drives landing near the short tee and fairway of 18, easily avoided if not crowded.

I really liked Faylor Lake. I liked the views, the holes, and I thought the course design was well executed. It's one of the better courses that I have played and that's with it only being in it's infancy. In time, I imagine this course will become better and better as I imagine the locals will take great pride in it. The two downhill holes are completely epic and memorable and among the best downhill holes out there. It's always fun ripping drives downhill. The par 5 with the lake on the left was an amazing hole. I imagine someone who throws 500 feet could actually clear the lake and land on the green for the albatross. I'd love to see it. The rest of us mortals might just play to the short tee from the long tee or try to cut off some of the lake.

Faylor Lake, depending which way you are coming from, is out there in the hills of central PA. It's a beautiful course that I believe most people will enjoy playing. there is some beautiful scenery that abounds while you are throwing your discs on some beautiful, well-thought out disc golf holes. I can't wait to come back and play it again.

I played the long layout here for my round and the review will reflect that. The short layout appears to have a par that significantly too high.
+Turf teepads: was raining heavily during the round but the pads held up nicely.
+DiscGolfPark Pro baskets
+Beautiful views of the lake off of multiple holes
+True gold level course from longs: for the first event held there, even par rated at 1009
+Course challenges accurate placement shots into landing zones: the course allows the big arms to open up but doesn't reward inaccurate distance
+Not a lot of heavy woods but utilizes what woods there is well: hole 16 is a 871 foot par 5 that plays down a wooded corridor the whole way, very similar to hole 6 at Moraine State Park
+Two top of the world shots on holes 6 and 15

-No benches or trashcans at any tees: this course has just opened so these will likely be coming
-Drainage can be an issue on holes 16 and 17: there was places where casual relief had to be designated because of water overflow
-If you aren't prepared, it's a BIG course, 10,155 feet and 50 flights of elevation change (not a con for me but potentially for others)

IMO this course jumps up into the conversation of top mid-Atlantic courses with Iron Hill, Stafford, Muddy Run, AGA Farms, and Jordan Creek. It is picturesque, well designed and maintained, and challenging to boot! If any infrastructure can get put in the surrounding area, A tiers and tour events could follow.
Only reason I'm not giving it a 5 is because it has only been open for a week and I want to see how much farther the course can grow.