Wilkes-Barre, PA

Nesbitt Park

2.55(based on 5 reviews)
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15 0
HyooMac
Diamond level trusted reviewer
Experience: 7.3 years 447 played 414 reviews
2.00 star(s)

Playing 9…Down by the River… 2+ years

Reviewed: Played on:Dec 17, 2021 Played the course:once

Pros:

This is a simple, mostly open out and back next to the Susquehanna river


+ The layout is on a flat floodplain between the river and a levee. The first four holes use scattered old growth trees to create obstacles. Although the river never comes into play, the high levee does affect some shot shapes on a few of the return holes


+ Hole #9 has the old ornate bridge over the Susquehanna framing the hole, and it's by far the most picturesque of the nine


Other Thoughts:

~ Nesbitt is a nice little park, better for walking than for disc golf. For the most part, it's just samey samey: five out, three back, and then #9 is across the parking lot. Throw straight or with a little hyzer, and it's a not very memorable 20 minute play


~ Tees are paver blocks at ground level with no frames. Some have become sunken and uneven; a few are cracked. There's no signage; the baskets are decent DGA Mach 5's.


~ Not a bad place for beginners, as there isn't much trouble to find, and they'll get the enjoyment of throwing around trees


~ Hole # 9 is separated from the rest of the layout (in the opposite direction across the parking lot). You could save yourself a long walk during your round by playing it first, and then coming back through the parking lot to play the loop of #1 - #8.



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5 1
seedyjay
Experience: 2 played 2 reviews
3.00 star(s)

2+ years drive by

Reviewed: Played on:Aug 2, 2019 Played the course:5+ times

Pros:

Very beginner friendly, not too many obstacles and hard to lose a disc. One of the better courses I have seen for someone who is mobility challenged.

Cons:

Top pros will not be much challenged by the course (no elevation change, few obstacles, not exceptionally long)

Other Thoughts:

Beautiful view of Wilkes-Barre across the Susquehanna River
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5 0
ruraljuror
Experience: 30 played 9 reviews
1.50 star(s)

Nesbitt Park 2+ years drive by

Reviewed: Played on:Dec 4, 2017 Played the course:5+ times

Pros:

-Scenic views of the river, bridge, and courthouse
-course in the "city"
-the local community is large and growing

Cons:

-Lots of trash everywhere
-Fishermen/locals park where ever they want despite signs prohibiting (not course fault)
-no bathrooms
-1 trash can in the parking lot which is always filled
-lack of variety/challenge. Most holes are about 200' and straight ahead with little to no obstacles
-often very busy
-no tee signs or navigational aid
-only 9 holes
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6 0
DrunkenSailor
Experience: 12.5 years 73 played 7 reviews
3.50 star(s)

2+ years drive by

Reviewed: Updated: Played on:Aug 10, 2017 Played the course:5+ times

Pros:

- Great views of the Susquehanna river
- Course is well maintained, hardly ever tall grass/overgrown rough
-Friendly and active course community
- Fairly easy to navigate course
- Beginner friendly course
- Plenty of parking
- MachV baskets

Cons:

- 9 holes
- Tee boxes arent the greatest, but are being improved upon.
- No signage for tee boxes/ directions to next hole
- Fisherman/locals sometimes park on the hole 1 fairway
- Slight ponding of water on a few holes
- Fairways run VERY close to each other
- Lower difficulty level for seasoned players
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6 1
HoosickTony
Bronze level trusted reviewer
Experience: 30.2 years 120 played 14 reviews
2.50 star(s)

Worth stopping for a throw... 2+ years drive by

Reviewed: Played on:Jul 24, 2017 Played the course:once

Pros:

** Easy to find, good parking
** Nice park atmosphere/ well maintained
** Scenic views of Luzerne County courthouse, Susquehanna River, and Wilkes-Barre city center
** Very hard to lose a disc here
** decent variety of throws needed given the setting
** good baskets
** good tee pads
** friendly active group of local players
** straightforward navigation on 8 out of 9 holes.

Cons:

** flat as a pancake (well, it's a flood plain, innit?)
** lack of risk/reward, user's choice holes
** no tee signs (yet)
** no course map (yet)
** no benches/trash cans (yet)
** no navigational aides/ next tee signs (yet)
** navigation to hole 9 is not intuitive, not marked

Other Thoughts:

Bag used/needed: carried 11 discs, used 7. I could have gotten away with driver/midrange/putter, but I was glad I had left/right/straight options in both long and mid range discs.

Impression: I am so very happy that the Wyoming Valley is finally starting to become a disc golf location. I have been passing through the area on my way to Mountaintop for years and years and years, and have always had to either stop before Wilkes-Barre/Scranton or afterwards if I wanted to feed my addiction. Bravo!

While this is primarily a beginner/intermediate course, I did have enough room to use my drivers, and just enough obstacles to force me to make accurate throws and to pay attention to my flight paths and landing zones. I had a very enjoyable break from driving, and I will definitely come back to throw here again.

Nesbitt Park is a work in progress. I understand that, and I will gladly raise my rating as the course develops. There is a small but growing group of locals here who understand what this place needs to become a better course (alternate tee locations, tee signs, etc. etc.) and I am firmly confident that this course will only get better over the next few years. They have Dubs here on Fridays, and play tag rounds on Sundays; the locals I ran into were very friendly.

As it stands right now, this is just your average disc golf park, and so I gave it 2.5 rating. There is nothing wrong with a decent, typical rating; Nesbitt is a decent, typical (nothing special, but not horrible) place to throw a disc. For being such a long, thin park, this is a nice place to wedge in a little disc golf. It looks like there is some room for expansion towards Kirby Park (and wouldn't that be a wonderful place to huck long bombs:), and so there might be 9 more holes coming in the wooded area to the north.

This was a stop that I am very glad that I made on my way home to Upstate NY.

On a scale of 0 (horrible) to 5 (heavenly):
Scenery:4
Ease of navigation:3 (I threw off the wrong pad a few times, taking what I thought was the logical path)
Tee pads:4 (pavers, yeah!)
Baskets (catchability):4
Baskets (location):3 (could have been more evil:)
Variety:2
Bomb factor:4
Risk/reward opportunities:1 (none, really, each hole had one main path with no shorter/more dangerous option, and the baskets didn't have any "sphincter pucker" factor)
Fairness:5
Use of terrain: N/A (no terrain really, just trees)
Amenities:2 (no bathroom, etc.)
Beginner friendliness:4 (could be a 5 with short tee option)
Non-disc golfer opportunities for fun:3 (fishing, run/bike/walking path, nearness to Kirby Park)


About the reviewer: I've been playing for over 20 years, and playing seriously since 2007. I throw RHBH predominantly, with a wide arsenal of other shots that I use when I need them; my drives average about 320 feet +/- 30 feet on flat ground. My PDGA rating hovers around 900, which means on good days I shoot a few below par, on bad days a few above.

About my preferences: In my opinion the perfect disc golf course is an interesting walk in a natural space, with a wide variety of challenging but fair opportunities that test ALL of your shot making skills regardless of which hand you favor for throwing discs. I am happiest when I have to think my way from tee to basket hole after hole after hole and have to weigh risks versus rewards. In my opinion the worst disc golf courses have nothing to offer but holes that a) only test of how far you can throw b) only favor one particular type of throw on the majority of holes c) feature "plinko" lines choked with obstacles where luck is more important than skill d) are so short that a putter is all you need e) are so wide open that the only challenge is one of judging distance f) feature lines that discs were never meant to travel (such as a hole with two 90 degree doglegs in opposite directions) g) force you to lose a few discs if you dare to play. I am saddest when I feel bored or cheated by a hole.
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