Downingtown, PA

Kerr Park

3.255(based on 14 reviews)
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7 1
In The Rough
Experience: 6 played 6 reviews
3.50 star(s)

FUN (but not a destination) drive by

Reviewed: Played on:May 29, 2023 Played the course:once

Pros:

Easy to find, plenty of parking, signage is excellent and so the navigation from hole to hole is a breeze. Course has a good mix of wood holes and open shots to air it out. Everything was well maintained. In other words, it is a fun course to play.

Cons:

Other reviews have noted cons that I'll leave out (like the walk from 18 back to your car). To me the biggest con is there is nothing "special" here. Everything is good, it is fun to play, but (aside from the signage) there is nothing to rave about. Even holes that try to introduce some novelty (like a throw over the creek) aren't that special to play. (note: I'm an amateur player with "average" distance and nothing here was out of my range for a par 3). The space it big enough that it could have some longer holes with pins tucked behind trees (or hanging from the limb of a tree). Some holes could be reworked so that they dogleg BOTH left and right and present a real challenge.

Other Thoughts:

I'll continue to play this course because it is a short drive and it is fun to play. But, when I picture exciting holes there is nothing here that will stand out.
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14 0
Pierparknut
Gold level trusted reviewer
Experience: 11.4 years 90 played 87 reviews
3.00 star(s)

Reviewed: Played on:May 16, 2023 Played the course:once

Pros:

-Kerr Park is centrally located in Downingtown next to the town hall/municipal buildings. The majority of the layout follows Brandywine Creek from north to south, and under two main roads. The park is generally well-kept and also features basketball, tennis, baseball, and skateboarding.

-The layout is an excellent variety of short wooded shots (3-7), several standard park-style holes, and a few longer (350') open shots. The creek adds a challenge on a couple of holes as well. You'll use most of the discs in your bag here.

-The essentials are done right: concrete tees, Discatcher baskets, color tee signs. There are a few longer walks between holes, but reasonable given the elongated nature of the park.

Cons:

-The property is extremely flat, and except for the creek carry on #14, there are no especially memorable holes. Only one tee and basket location per hole.

-I'm not a fan of the metal sponsor signs hanging from the baskets with carabiners. If you hit the basket cage, the sign will rattle and make an awful noise.

-Most of the course is designed conservatively to minimize conflicts with other park users. However, 13-16 play very close to the pedestrian paths. Hole 13 is especially dangerous, sandwiched in a narrow strip between the creek and a path. On Saturdays, this hole is probably unplayable with the farmer's market.

Other Thoughts:

-Kerr Park is not a spectacular destination, but it's a perfectly adequate, nice community course.
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14 0
HyooMac
Diamond level trusted reviewer
Experience: 7.3 years 447 played 414 reviews
4.00 star(s)

Gem of a Park Course 2+ years

Reviewed: Played on:Sep 20, 2020 Played the course:once

Pros:

:

+ Because of shot variety and difference in challenges presented, this is one of the best "park" courses I've played


+ The initial holes that play through a largely open area of the park, with trees defining your lines. But then #3 through #7 are in deep woods providing a set of short but precise challenges. This section is distinctly different from the rest of the course, and can give a good woods player an early scoring advantage


+ There are a couple of very good water holes, where the teeshot is across a shallow, wide stream (east branch of the Brandywine Creek, according to the signs). The water is just a stream on #10, but the layout favors a RHBH that has to stay low because of trees. #14 tee is elevated above the shore where the creek is wide. It's only 220' with the basket to the left, a bit lower than the tee but close to the steeply sloped opposite shore. A big hyzer is safe because there's plenty of room behind the basket, But the birdie requires that you go straight at it, over water right up to the green - and short is wet


+ Hole #13 is great: water all along the right, a huge tree pinching in the right side of the fairway, and an OB sidewalk all along the left that gradually narrows the safe landing area until becoming very tight at the green. This is a very effective way to use the park features to shape a challenging hole


+ The course finishes with a set of very open holes that aren't terribly long, but allow for bombing. By the time you come off #18, you will have been challenged to use a lot of different aspects of your game



Cons:

- Hole #17 is a bit compromised, and probably the weakest of the 18. It's a short out-of-the-woods left to right shooting at a basket tucked into trees next to a building. The foliage has grown in quite a bit, so it feels like you're just poking your way out of the woods, trying not to throw directly into the side of the big building that dominates your view


- Walking traffic is going to slow play on some parts of the back 9, and the tee for the biggest water hole (#14) is at one end of a main pedestrian bridge - almost guaranteeing that you're going to have a gallery of people who aren;t sure why somebody is trying to throw a frisbee across a river


Other Thoughts:

~ Course Amenities Summary: Poured tees, excellent signage, very good baskets. Bathrooms available. Very cart friendly. Course flow is pretty easy to follow


~ The design cleverly strings together different segments of the park. The overhead map on uDisc makes the course appear more disjointed than the course feels on the ground. Yes, there's a long walk back to the parking lot from #18, and you do go under and across a few roads between holes - but navigation is pretty seamless when you're playing the round


~ We played both Kerr and Camp Sankanac on the same day. If you're coming in from the East, consider Fort Washington, which is not as varied as the other two, but is getting better and better all the time


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4 0
Scott12701
Experience: 34.4 years 63 played 6 reviews
3.00 star(s)

Fun course in a nice park 2+ years drive by

Reviewed: Played on:Mar 22, 2020 Played the course:once

Pros:

Nice mix of open and wooded holes.
Open holes still bring tall, old growth trees into play to make it interesting.
All holes have at least one clear line.
Even short holes require skill shots.
Good use of walking paths as OB.
Concrete tee pads.

Cons:

Long walk between some of the holes and from 18 back to 1.
Most of the open holes aren't overly challenging.
Some tee pads don't have signage (have UDisc ready).

Other Thoughts:

Kerr is a nice community park DGC with a good mix of open and wooded holes. The wooded holes are all short (under 300'), but even the shortest requires an accurate, well executed shot to give any chance of birdie. In addition, there's a good mix of right and left doglegs, which will require a good skill set of shots to play the holes.
The open holes are the longer holes, and most fall in the 325-350+ range, but are not overly difficult. Tall, old growth trees litter the park, and the course designers made good use of them to make the holes more challenging. For the most part, a well thrown drive of 280-300' will leave most with either a long birdie attempt or an easy up and down for par from 125' or less. The big arms will fare much better on these holes than those with average distance.
I did like how the course designers used the paved walking paths as OB, making for some challenging drives when they come into play.
Overall, I think Kerr is a fun course in a very nice, well maintained park. It might not be the most challenging course you will play, but it is a nice place to go for a fun round of disc golf.
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6 0
boomerang_man
Experience: 12.4 years 43 played 2 reviews
2.50 star(s)

Young course in a busy park 2+ years

Reviewed: Played on:Feb 16, 2020 Played the course:once

Pros:

The designers probably made the best out of what they had available. For a beginner, this is a very good course. There were several holes that were within ace territory. My wife basically played par for the course. Great day for her. I worked on my mid/short game.
+ Nice concrete pads on 17 out of 18 holes, 14 plays off the path.
+ Within 5 minutes of Victory Brewing!


Cons:

- previous reviewers mentioned good signs...someone must have stolen them. There were tee signs on less than half the holes. The saving grace was directional signs on the baskets.
- Long (boring) walk back to lot from 18th hole.
- Most holes showed little imagination. You can throw the same shot on most holes. If you have a decent arm, you can play this course with a mid-range and a putter.
- Almost no elevation change

Other Thoughts:

I would have liked to see a little more of an out and back course. There was no 'signature' hole. The wooded area has potential, but needs some major work. I believe that they could reconfigure 14 through 18 to create a good finishing set. 14 over the river, 15 out longer, 16 back around the building, 17 back across the river and finish with 18 coming back towards the pavilion. I expect that I will play this one again.
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6 0
gratefulred
Experience: 25.6 years 1 played 1 reviews
3.50 star(s)

Kerr Park Disc Golf Course, Downingtown, PA 2+ years drive by

Reviewed: Played on:Nov 20, 2019 Played the course:5+ times

Pros:

Great 18 hole layout in a beautiful park located in the heart of Downingtown. All 18 holes have concrete tee pads, signs at each tee, and arrows on the basket pointing you toward the next tee. The course winds along the East Branch of the Brandywine River, and features smaller tributaries that come in direct play on at least 3 holes if you're tight, and potentially many more with erratic throws. 5 short but tight, holes play through the woods, while the majority of holes are relatively open with strategic trees lining the fairways, complimented by a couple wide-open, grassy field shots. This course demands a nice variety of shots, and allows for some creativity in shot selection. While most holes have a fair birdie bid, I've had my share of double and triple bogeys getting off the fairway in the woods, or finding water/OB hazards. It would be totally appropriate for beginners, as it's pretty straight forward with not too much hazard in direct play (with the exception of #14) and relatively short holes, a great course for intermediate players to improve their skills, provides an opportunity for advanced players to score well and have some fun ace runs, but I bet the pros would light it up. I think it's fantastic use of a limited space, and a lovely walk in the park among beautiful old growth trees, the picturesque Brandywine River and bald eagles, blues herons, white tail deer and beaver are common sightings as residents of this lovely town park.

Cons:

There's a bit of a walk (just shy of a 1/2 mi.-10 min.+/-) from #18 basket back to #1/parking lot. With it's proximity to the river, it can be pretty muddy after some rain, but the concrete tee pads are a huge improvement regarding this issue. With the exception of hole #14, it's a totally flat course. The course winds along a walking/bike path, and you might need to wait for the occasional wandering pedestrian who doesn't realize they're in the middle of a disc golf course, but most of the time it's a non-issue.

Other Thoughts:

It's a young course with a good club backing it, and I believe it has has no place to go but up, as it gets played in and the "rough" gets thinned out a bit. Not sure if it's in the works, but it would be interesting to see this course develop with some alternate tees and pin placements in the future as is the trend with courses as they age. If you get hungry or thirsty during your round, there's several fine establishments within minutes of the course, many of which are course sponsors. It fills a niche of a high concentration of players, in a relatively low concentration of courses, and is easily accessible from the 30 by-pass.
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5 2
will1442
Experience: 8.4 years 20 played 3 reviews
4.00 star(s)

Great Course 2+ years drive by

Reviewed: Updated: Played on:Aug 10, 2019 Played the course:2-4 times

Pros:

-The course now has 18 permanent cement Tee Pads!!!
-Nice Tee Signs
-Next Hole Signs
-The course will have you throw many different shots with many different discs
-2 very cool shots across water
-Flat course so cart friendly

Cons:

-Does not loop around so you have about a 10min walk back to your car or hole one.
-Hole 17 doesn't really have much of a line to throw in my mind.

Other Thoughts:

Could be considered a lefty dominant course.

This was the second time that I have played this course. The first was this past winter and the course was so muddy that it was hard to tee off. Now that they have fixed this issue with cement tee pads the course is just so fun. I live 25min away and will be back regularly. Great work to everyone involved.
If you are within 45min this is a must play in my book
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7 1
Ryal
Gold level trusted reviewer
Premium Member
Experience: 7.4 years 240 played 202 reviews
2.50 star(s)

Tour Downingtown with Kerr Park 2+ years

Reviewed: Played on:Jun 21, 2019 Played the course:once

Pros:

+ All tee signs are crisp, clean and accurate with detailed diagrams, distances and pars.
+ All baskets have 'next hole' signs hanging off them to point players in the right direction.
+ A few water hazards add some extra drama to the course.
+ The course takes the player on a brief walking tour over bridges, through tunnels and by a small part of the downtown area past some shops and restaurants.

Cons:

- No practice pin or lost disc box.
- There are no permanent tee pads except for holes 1 and 11. (for now)
- Barely any holes longer than 350 feet. This course is brief.
- Some navigation issues present.
- Hole 18 finishes nowhere near the parking lot. Bring your sense of direction with you.
- The majority of holes are wide open with very few trees to consider before throwing.
- The disc golf course feels crammed into the park. It weasels around OB paths, past playgrounds and through public areas. Players can feel like sideshows on display here.

Other Thoughts:

My favorite hole at this course is 14 because it requires the player to somewhat risk a disc by throwing over a wide stream towards a basket protected with trees. It is a pleasantly dramatic hole. My least favorite hole here was 17 because that initial gap in the woods was overgrown and treacherous to walk with deep puddles, fallen limbs and civic debris all over the fairway.

As for the course overall, Kerr Park is a little rough around the edges as it is still a relatively recent establishment. The lack of tee pads on all but two of the holes is an issue that is already in the process of being corrected. And there are still some signage issues that subtract from the course. The most glaring example is the path between holes 2 and 3. The sign from basket 2 seems to point to tee 8, and I did not see the easily missed sign that was meant to direct me into the woods for holes 3 through 7. So, I played the course out of order.

Other things that subtract from the course are not as easily corrected. Not much can be done about the basically flat topography. As a result of this course playing near a river, some of the fairways are easily saturated after any amount of rain. And the mostly open course could benefit from a few additional challenging holes like what holes 3 through 7 try to offer.

It's not all bad, though. For its short duration, Kerr has a respectable amount of variety. The wooded holes within the front nine are a nice break from the norm, even if they are rather swampy. I do like the river and stream hazards all throughout the course. They give the player a reason to stop and think. The venue is pleasant and jovial. I liked the medium level of difficulty here.

In closing, Kerr Park is a decent course to get players accustomed to water hazards. Some parts do feel shoe-horned into the larger park, and more than a few holes feel like filler because of how flat and open it is. Any player can enjoy this park, though, because of how inoffensive and approachable it is. Gently recommended because of its solid basics.
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2 0
Skookkid
Experience: 66 played 6 reviews
3.50 star(s)

Kerr is the word... 2+ years drive by

Reviewed: Played on:Jun 22, 2019 Played the course:2-4 times

Pros:

Love the layout of open to wooded holes. Challenges you to use everything you have. Which in my eyes, makes you a better disc golfer. Love the toss over the small stream on 14 next to the bridge. I totally dig the tight lines in the wooded area.

Cons:

Hole 10 has a very narrow hole, almost impossible to hit. The mud and water on hole 17 right after the tee can be a pain in the butt. Course in the woods from holes 3-7 could use some maintenance. The killer is if you parked at the library by hole 1. You have a LONG walk back to your car. Signage is tough to follow. There is arrows on the baskets but not always helpful.

Other Thoughts:

I am glad I played this course twice in a row, I am one for a challenge and this course delivered. I highly recommend a grabber if you go in the water. You also have Victory brewing 4 minutes away. To grab grub and a drink. I will be back again in the winter months to play it again when the foliage isn't in full bloom.
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7 0
ClockRoach
Experience: 16 played 5 reviews
3.50 star(s)

A Gorgeous Local Course 2+ years drive by

Reviewed: Updated: Played on:Apr 9, 2019 Played the course:once

Pros:

The course is gorgeous. Most of it runs alongside a very scenic river, and you get to cross over and under a number of bridges as you play.
Signage is excellent, and seems upgraded since previous reviews. Every tee has a sign, every basket has a next tee directional arrow, and there's a number of extra signs to keep you going between holes.
Conditions are very good. The grass is thick and well mowed and the fairways in the woods are clear. Some parts of the wooded areas could use a little thinning, and 17 seems like it can get muddy, but it's very comfortable to play.

Cons:

All of the tee pads are just dirt, without a clear indication of the edge of the tee. Concrete tee pads would be a great upgrade, worth at least half a star.
Holes 12-16 play along a paved multi-use path that sees a reasonable amount of traffic, so you may need to wait for other park users to clear out before you can take your shot.
The walk from 18 back to the start is a long one, but at least it's pretty.

Other Thoughts:

The course is flat and doesn't have any especially long holes. There's definitely some fun holes, particularly in the thicker woods and throwing over the river, but don't expect anything too challenging.
If you're local or in the area for a few days for work (like I was), it's definitely a good evening. It's just not exactly a destination course.
On a Tuesday evening after work, I saw the course start to fill up with small groups, including three dogs (two of them on leash). There's also a lot of other park users, so beware of crowds.
Many of the holes play right along the river, but there's always a line you can take that doesn't risk your disc. 14 is the only one that plays across it, and you can definitely lose a nice Valkyrie if you get too creative, like a certain reviewer.

Update 07/11/19: Played again a couple of days ago and they've added gorgeous concrete pads to 1 and 11. 2 has a form and a pallet of concrete, and every other hole has the future tee pad marked out in paint. I don't know how long it'll take them to finish, but they're clearly working on it.
This time of year, the mosquitoes on 3-7 and 17 are really, really bad, so bring bug spray. Also, watch out for the guy I saw setting up a badminton net in the middle of 11 even though there was plenty of open space not part of the course available.
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2 1
owvanguard
Experience: 16.4 years 170 played 34 reviews
2.50 star(s)

Muddy Christmas Eve 2+ years drive by

Reviewed: Played on:Dec 24, 2018 Played the course:once

Pros:

Hole 5 is awesome and in my opinion the signature hole. Its a straight tunnel shot that is fair.
Overall I had fun.

Cons:

Some tee post markers are not present (7,8,9,12)
I did not play the intended tee on 17 because since it is so wet right now any shot that does not make it out of the gap would be in several inches of bog.
The walk back to the car is far.

Other Thoughts:

Tee posts need to be redone/darkened.
For the wooded hole the loose sticks should be organized so as to better define the fairways.
Since the tee post for 7 is gone and the arrow from basket 6 points straight into a bog something needs to be done hear to better guide players.
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9 0
itsRudy
Gold level trusted reviewer
Experience: 8.3 years 80 played 68 reviews
2.50 star(s)

New Course That Needs Some Time 2+ years

Reviewed: Updated: Played on:May 3, 2018 Played the course:once

Pros:

-A mix of woods, treed fields, and open play on flat terrain.
-Reasonable distances and some memorable holes.
-Overall Park was nice, but was fairly crowded even on a rainier day.
-The DG course now makes up an impressively prominent portion of the park.

Cons:

-Posts or wooden stakes mark tees and few signs to be seen, I suppose this will change.
-A good number of holes run alongside river, mostly on the right hand side, for those uncomfortable with that. Also, there was a lot of fishing going during my trip (April/May) which meant a lot of people close or crossing the course throughout. Could just be seasonal.
-Course doesn't loop back around, expect a trek back to the car.
-#13, 15, 16, and 18 is mundane and fairly repetitive of previous holes here, not sure the extra walking after #14 is worth it.
-Disc loss potential at #14.

Other Thoughts:

tldr; All in all, a very respectable hometown course I'd go to again, if I'm in close vicinty, but lacks the wow factor to make me want to travel out of the way for it though. It just opened, I'm sure a lot of positive changes and improvements will come in time.

Kerr Park Parking was behind the Downington Library. Right now, the first tee is located at 40.010807, -75.705438 (on google maps), just turn right before the "Sky's the Limit" Playground starts and it's at it's back edge marked with a stake.

#1-2 were both in that treed field going north and fairly decent. As a RHBH, one was a regular backhand, two required forehand curve.

Go towards the river and take the trail into the forest, then take the first (or second?) branching trail that goes right and tee#3 should be near the start.

#3-7 are short, forested holes with curves, some crossed small streams that were more or less dry when I was there. The forest vegetation looks like it could be a major pain in the summer but Idk for sure, everything was heavily blanketed already. After #7, exit the woods where you entered.

#8-16 follows the river southwards, in the direction the water is going, crossing the river mid-way through 14. Tee#8 is close by the river, same general vicinity as basket#2. Around 325' and light trees. Tee#9 is near the bend in the park trail as it passes the playground and a similiar distance, trees thinned out.

#10 starts near the river but shoots across a small, mostly dry, tributary to the basket near the big tree. Cross the small bridge. Tee#11 is closer to walking trail and shoots across an empty field, basket is very close to river. #12 is overall blocked by columns of small trees along its entire distance straight past the tee and I had to shoot a forehander around it.

Follow the park trail underpass of the street road. #13 is another river-hugger. Take the second park trail underpass of the next road.

tee#14 is just besides the bridge before crossing. Basket is on the other side. There's a fairly decent sized tree on the other bank waiting to swat discs right into the river. Cross bridge. #15 is alongside river. #16 is fairly long for this course, but is more into the field.

#17 starts backtracking. Tee is at edge of woods, basket is a short shot right next to the nearby building. #18 is another open field shot. Done.
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2 4
Redzo
Experience: 8.1 years 13 played 11 reviews
3.50 star(s)

Great new course! 2+ years drive by

Reviewed: Played on:May 23, 2018 Played the course:once

Pros:

Great layout.
Mixed variety.
Plenty of chances to use all your throws.
In town close to food and drink.
Along a creek and quite scenic.

Cons:

Lack of signage and teepads. That's it. And the course is only about a month old or so. Expect great things to come!
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2 2
Jrgenter
Experience: 1 played 1 reviews
4.00 star(s)

Very nice city park course 2+ years drive by

Reviewed: Played on:May 11, 2018 Played the course:5+ times

Pros:

Very nicely put together course. Used space given to create an enjoyable course. Great course for beginners or pros. Nice mix of wooded and open holes with water possibly coming into play 5 different holes. Flows nicely through a city park with little interaction with other park users. Although on the course is a little on the shorter side the short holes have been designed to still make them challenging.

Cons:

Currently dirt tee pads. Cement tees will be put in later this summer. Needs a little trimming, nothing a work day or two won't clean up.
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