it was great while it lasted

The course has been removed by the YMCA as of march 2012.

It was my favorite course for many years. It wasnt listed on pdga.com and therefore not many people knew about it besides some local regulars. Unfortunately in 2010 the course was added to dgcoursereview.com and it led to huge increase in the number of people playing it. This increase in traffic led to an increase in litter, beer bottles, etc and the Y just got fed up with it and pulled the baskets out on 3/20/12.

Enjoyable course, especially for locals that cannot make it to Sedgley Woods during the work week. Opportunities for some nice long drives and some technical wooded parts and the creek make for some interesting hazard moments. Also, safari opportunities abound. I attached a 13-hole scorecard to the Links/Files page for a route that I enjoy, which follows what appears to be the intended 9 hole path of the course for the most part. It also include pars, which seem to fairly reasonable in my opinion. Note - the distance for the 12th hole is an estimation at this point. A few of the holes offer multiple basket options, which sort of makes up for not having multiple tees.

Trees! Some of the wooded holes are pretty intense/technical for beginners (myself included) and the course is difficult to follow if you have never played it before. Rule of thumb is that it begins at the entrance of the camp and flows clockwise (mostly).

As I alluded to earlier, I am a beginner with not a lot of experience with other courses. My favorite course in the area so far has been Sedgley Woods. I've been going to the Phoenixville course every week for some time now and I always enjoy myself. I even took a buddy of mine there this past weekend for his virgin excursion and he had a blast. I don't typically get there until after 5:30pm during the week, so there have never been any camp activities or campers to contend with and I don't believe they have camp activities on the weekends. Also, I have never seen more than 2 people on the entire course at one time. There is an adjacent soccer field which makes for a nice practice area and the creek has been easy to fish discs out of thus far. Lastly, since this is my first review, I welcome any feedback both positive and constructive. Thanks!

Set behind the Phoenixville YMCA on Pothouse Road (insert joke here) this course meanders around the grounds of a day camp, Camp Phoenix. When camp is not in session, the course provides a good mix of adequate length, open holes #1 & #9, park like tree holes #6 #7 #8, 2 shots over the substantial Pickering Creek #2&#5, a fast dangerous green #3, an elevated tee #4, and endless safari opportunities for a 9 hole course. Tough to lose a disc here as there is little shule and the creek is wide, healthy and formiddable but not real deep or swift. The course distances are marked on the slabs of wood that mark the tees and these give some directional info for fairways. The creek is either played over or brooding nearby for 6 of the 9 holes. I particularly enjoyed the stretch of holes from 2-7:
#2 is a dogleg over the creek
#3 is a right turning tight fairway with the creek ever present to an elevated fast green
#4 is from an elevated tee to one of 2 baskets below with technical lanes to hit #5 another dogleg over the creek
#7 a wall of old hardwoods with plenty of lanes to choose from to reach the basket

There are also countless alternative safari options here that form some wildly imaginative lanes. In particular, driving from 2's pad to 5s basket. A fun rip through a pavillion. One of my dreamed about holes that I have finally discovered played and am happy to say I parked it....awesome. Soccer field to practice drives on before or afterwards. A simple course with a nice stretch of fun holes....good for the ego and fun!

The courses biggest flaw is that it's set on the grounds of a daycamp, so it's not really a true course as much as an activity cramped amongst a soccer field, picnic areas, pavillions, ropes course, etc. I am not sure if the course is really open to the public or not, there were no trespassing signs at the camp entrance but no one bothered us in January and there was a helpful local who showed us the way. Poorly marked and tough to find natural tees as they are simply flat slabs of wood in ground. River plain flat course for 7 holes and some holes are just too short despite their technical fun. Too hard for beginners and too many flaws to really be fun for Rec or Advanced players. It's more of a fun course with some interesting features. Be aware that holes 2,3,4 and 5 play close to one another and share baskets fairways at some points. #2 fairway plays over 3 tee. #4 shoots over #2 basket or shares it.(has long and short positions)

I would suggest playing it only if your a local or playing nearby French Creek State Park, this place is way more open and provides some fun that will restore your confidence and joy of the game after French Creek humbles and degrades you. The bridge over the creek is really cool and made me laugh my ass off as my playing partner doesn't like shaky things.I would imagine it is not playable during summer daytime hours as this is peak day camp time and also a few holes would be compromised if the soccer field is being used. So for 3 months of year during the week I might stay away from this one...check the Phoenixville YMCA website for camp hours. I enjoyed myself here as I had lowered expectations. The holes from 2-6 really surprised me. Phoenixville is an interesting little old steel town with a brewery and a revived main street downtown. Park next to main YMCA building and take short walk to Camp Entrance behind lot..first tee is to the left. Hint: Hole 2 faces pavillion and you will see a basket there but the hole plays L dogleg over creek. Entire course follows a clockwise direction.