Pros:
FUN!!!!!
Challenging
Large variety of shots/angles
Multiple signature/picture holes
Great locals
Cons:
It can be a little hard to navigate the first time or 2 (the map makes this no problem)
The walk between 7 and 8
There can be mud
Other Thoughts:
Sellersville holds about as much fun as you could possibly pack into a disc golf course whether you're playing by yourself, with some friends, or if you show up at their weekly tags (Saturday at 9:45) or dubs (Daylight Savings Time Mondays at 5:30) rounds. And this park has as much disc golf as could be fit into the available park property without having to worry too much about hitting other players or park patrons. What you do have to worry about here, is water. Water OB comes into play on almost every hole and my bad throws are so bad I've managed to find it on holes where it shouldn't have factored in.
There is a huge map on the board by hole 1. Make a note of where hole 8 is and how to get there. If there is little league baseball going on, there is a hot dog stand by hole 7's tee. In warmer months, there is often an honor box and cooler by tee #9, the money raised helps pay for gas for the lawnmowers (This part of the course especially is maintained by the local club and not the parks service.)
The red practice basket is 188'8" and was donated by the local fire company that was established in 1888. Having lost all of the trees in the field over the past couple of years, this is an open straight throw from either tee. There is now an alternate pin position on the right edge of the yellow brick OB circle that plays this hole like an island green. A miss off the tee has you throwing 3 from, "The Pedestal of Shame", a block of concrete (with the front edge painted yellow) to the left across the road.
Hole 1 is a tightly wooded fairway with trees creating a narrow point about half way to the basket after which the wider fairway is dotted with small trees, many lines but much to hit. Both pin positions here have the creek right behind them.
Hole 2 is a narrow wooded fairway that turns gently right through the trees before opening up to a field about â…” of the way to the basket. The basket positions are all guarded by several large, low hanging trees. There is a creek running along the entire right side of this hole. This is the first hole where there is netting in the trees, in this case off to the right of the tee, that eliminates possible lines but mostly saves some of the really bad throws from going in the water. Good luck finding and then hitting a line through the woods if you go off the fairway here.
Hole 3 is a wide open field shot to basket positions protected by trees. Longer throwers will have multiple lines to get to the basket, there's a huge hyzer approach, but for most of us it's a long straight throw setting up an approach from the field into the treed area.
Hole 4 is a longer wide open throw but the water OB comes back into play long or right of the basket along the latter half of the fairway. This is the first of the elevated basket holes with both pin positions up on concrete pillars. There's a sparse wall of trees separating the fairway from the green.
Hole 5 is back into the woods for a fairly tight fairway but an ace run in either the straight or left pin positions. The OB creek comes into play if you go long. There's one horizontal branch/tree that hangs out into the fairway that forces you to keep your throw fairly low.
Hole 6 is an annie or flick for righties. The creek here runs along the entire right side of the fairway and the long pin position is precariously close to it. There are a bunch of large trees guarding the basket in either position.
Hole 7 is a straight throw with a very small doorway to get through the wall of trees about 20' in front of the tee box. There are lots of trees here and several nets strung in them to eliminate some of the throwing lanes. The baskets are well guarded with large trees.
Here's the navigation bummer of the course. Although it's awesome that they got the land to build 9 more holes after the first 9 were so well received by the town, you have to walk across 2 streets and a field (off to the side of 16's fairway) to get to them. There is a sign next to one of the positions for basket 7 but it can be hard to find and I think the first time we played here my friends and I didn't find 8-16.
Hole 8 is a long semi-open fairway. There are a few huge trees in a straight line to the right and a pond and then creek off to the left. The trees make for a low ceiling. The straight pin has OB water right behind it and the left pin is elevated (another concrete pedestal) and has OB water left and long.
Hole 9 is the first time elevation comes into play with a slight uphill on a tightly wooded fairway to a pin set off either to the right or left.
Hole 10 has a sharp uphill right in front of the tee. The first third of this hole has a very tight wooded fairway before getting to a more open area in the middle. The pin to the right makes this hole play annie or flick. The basket is set into a hillside with a bunch of medium sized tree trunks right in front of it. The hill makes a great backstop so you don't have to worry too much about overpowering your upshot or putt (or drive if you have a longer arm than most). The straighter basket plays slightly downhill from the open middle area with a defined fairway and possible water OB if you go really long.
Hole 11 plays downhill to a basket off to the left or a basket more to the left. The early part of this fairway has lots of trees that make for a fairway no more than 6' wide. They are hit so often they have pads and boards nailed to them to protect them. If you get through the trees and down the hill to where the open greens are, all you have to worry about is the OB water RIGHT behind the basket in either position.
Hole 12 is one of those signature/picture holes. The entire fairway here plays over the OB creek the whole way to a basket which is set on either side of a stone tunnel that the creek flows through. The creek bends allowing a couple of trees to be growing dead center in the throwing lane. This is one of those holes where every throw, even a short putt, can go OB. It's not hard to go OB twice on this hole.
Hole 13 is really 2 different holes depending on where the the basket is. If it's to the left, it's the long tee (by the tree) that plays to a basket up a hill behind a plateau. I've seen a few players who can make the ace run here, but for most of us the goal is to get up onto the plateau to have a look at an uphill birdie.
The alternate pin or, "Basket in the Sky" is an elevated basket (built up ground and a concrete pedestal) on the edge of the plateau that throws from the tee on the right (when looking at the basket). The only sage tournament advice I have on this course is for this basket... No matter how close you are, lay up until you can drop it in. If you want to card a 3 or a 4 and not an 8 or worse, LAY UP!
Hole 14 plays from an elevated tee through a tree door (from the lower alt tee here you could barely call it a window) out to an open field. As with hole 5, there's one big branch out in front of the tee that really makes you keep your throw low. There is a line of large trees ¾ of the way to the greens. Going long or fading out left on this hole can put you in OB water. The shortest pin position is an elevated basket in a tree stump. An approach at any position from the left will have a low ceiling.
Hole 15 is a straight throw with 2 rows of early trees making for a very tight throwing lane. I've seen people with power go over or around them but seemingly not with any more or less success than people who try to go low and straight. There's a slope down and left away from the straight pin, the longer pin is down the hill with guardian trees and OB water just to the left of the basket.
Hole 16 is across the street and down the hill. It's an anhyzer or flick with water guarding the entire right side of the fairway and both pin positions are on the edge of small slopes down to the creek. There are some trees and a particular low hanging branch early that makes you either go low or throw out really wide left.
Hole 17 is a bit of a walk across another street and along side 7's fairway. There are 2 pin positions, one on either side of the creek. There's a fairly large straight throwing lane at them between two rows of large trees. There are also several throwing lanes at the short pin through the trees out to the left for flicks or annies. I've seen bad throws at 17 chain out of 6's basket.
18 is another signature hole. From the tee, the creek makes an S in front of you with the basket tucked into the second curve which means you have to cross the creek twice before you get to the basket and if you go long or fade left it's there waiting for you again. Anything wet off the tee and you're throwing from the drop zone on the island (walk across the little dam just left of the tee). From here you're still throwing across the water but regular OB rules apply. Did I mention there are trees everywhere? There are 2 reasonably wide doorways to get through on both edges of the central island and then one large tree looming on the small patch of land the basket is on just waiting to toss what you thought was a pretty good throw backwards into the creek. If you want to take most of the water out of play, there's an alternate tee off to the right of the main tee. You still have water left and long, but you're not throwing over the creek (twice).
Final Thoughts: I once played a course called, "The University of Out of Bounds"... That place ain't got nuthin on The Ville! They used ropes and gimmicks everywhere like Sellersville's practice hole does (The "Fire Hole"), Sellersville just has water Everywhere! I don't care who you are, a clean round here is hard to do. I've laid up from 15' here only to have my disc hit the ground exactly where I wanted it to but grow legs, get up and run down to the creek 2' behind the basket. It's the kind of course where you can throw two rounds, be in the exact same throwing groove all day and still have a double digit difference in your scores. On 13 of the holes here you can chain out and then end up in the water! On several of those, you can do it from multiple pin positions. If you're the kind of person who is frustrated by OB water, this probably isn't the course for you.
I've played club rounds and made friends on courses all across the country and have to say the group of regulars at Sellersville are about as good as it gets. The volunteer maintenance is top notch, especially around the tournaments they run here. They will show you the course, teach you to play (or help you get lots better), show you around other courses and even show you where to get the best cheeseburger known to mankind.
There are a ton of other courses in the area, including several that have hosted Pro Worlds and other big tournaments, there are even a few closer than Sellersville (including Tyler), but this is the course I play the most because of how much flat out fun it is to play here.
Final Final Thought: If you have some sort of retriever for getting your discs out of water, BRING IT!!!