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Shillington Park DGC reviews
9
0
It's half finished, but are they still working on it?
Reviewed:
Played on:Jun 13, 2022
Played the course:2-4 times
Pros:
Some fun elevations and woods tunnels
The areas that are maintained are maintained well.
Rarely busy although that's often a con too.
The 3 holes out in the open are kind of fun....
The areas that are maintained are maintained well.
Rarely busy although that's often a con too.
The 3 holes out in the open are kind of fun....
Cons:
....the 6 holes in the woods kind of are not fun.
There are multiple fairways that are directly down walking paths or each other. Not that the place is ever that busy, but if it were, you'd be throwing right at other people's foreheads most of the time.
1, 2 and 9 are good holes for beginners. In fact, I'd just play those 3 holes in a loop and forget the rest because if you're 30 feet off the walking trails, you're going to have a problem finding anything.
After two rounds here I'm not sure I need a third.
There are multiple fairways that are directly down walking paths or each other. Not that the place is ever that busy, but if it were, you'd be throwing right at other people's foreheads most of the time.
1, 2 and 9 are good holes for beginners. In fact, I'd just play those 3 holes in a loop and forget the rest because if you're 30 feet off the walking trails, you're going to have a problem finding anything.
After two rounds here I'm not sure I need a third.
Other Thoughts:
I'm not sure why a municipality would agree to put in a disc golf course, but then never finish it. Someone clearly wanted to jump into the disc golf craze, so they laid out a few holes in the woods in a public park, but after they installed the baskets and put up a few signs...well, that's about it! There are no tees, no real fairways other than the asphalt walking paths, and it's mostly just somewhere to go to throw a bunch of 150-foot shots and beat your putter and midrange up.
The 9 holes here aren't terrible, someone knew they could be pretty decent, but once the tee signs were put up and the baskets installed, nothing else happened. There was no clearing out of any fairways in the woods, no tee pads, no directional signs, although really once you find your way around once it's not overly difficult.
The park doesn't have room for 18 holes, and that's fine, but there definitely is room to make 9 good holes and so far they are choosing not to do it. The Borough of West Reading crammed 9 holes of good disc golf into a busy park around a pool, some courts, a track, a river, and a walking trail, but there's some pride and effort there and some interesting challenges. They even take lost discs to Borough Hall and call people. Here though, you're on your own to wander the woods. And if you don't walk up to the basket first to make sure it's safe to throw, you're eventually going to hit someone. And it'll be your fault if they sue.
The course is somewhere between "passable" and "poor". The other course I gave 1.5 stars actually had cement tee pads, but the rest of the course was usually a swamp. Here the course is a somewhat better design and in better shape, but there are no tee pads and a lot of opportunities to blast pedestrians. Both places can eat discs for lunch. It's not "poor" but neither is it quite "reasonable" so "passable" it is!
The 9 holes here aren't terrible, someone knew they could be pretty decent, but once the tee signs were put up and the baskets installed, nothing else happened. There was no clearing out of any fairways in the woods, no tee pads, no directional signs, although really once you find your way around once it's not overly difficult.
The park doesn't have room for 18 holes, and that's fine, but there definitely is room to make 9 good holes and so far they are choosing not to do it. The Borough of West Reading crammed 9 holes of good disc golf into a busy park around a pool, some courts, a track, a river, and a walking trail, but there's some pride and effort there and some interesting challenges. They even take lost discs to Borough Hall and call people. Here though, you're on your own to wander the woods. And if you don't walk up to the basket first to make sure it's safe to throw, you're eventually going to hit someone. And it'll be your fault if they sue.
The course is somewhere between "passable" and "poor". The other course I gave 1.5 stars actually had cement tee pads, but the rest of the course was usually a swamp. Here the course is a somewhat better design and in better shape, but there are no tee pads and a lot of opportunities to blast pedestrians. Both places can eat discs for lunch. It's not "poor" but neither is it quite "reasonable" so "passable" it is!
12
0
New But Not There Yet 2+ years
Reviewed:
Updated:
Played on:Mar 1, 2020
Played the course:once
Pros:
This new community course is 1/3s open to 2/3s woods holes ratio, with brush playing a role on #3/#8. A respectable amount of elevation is in play especially on #1 and #2. It's passable and definitely playable, but it could end up much better with some fundamental changes.
+Three open holes were good (#1, 2, 9).
+#6, #7 forest holes exemplified what the forest portion should have been about.
+They invested in quality baskets, doublechained DGAs, which caught really well.
+Definitely has potential, I hope this is only a start and they're willing to adjust the course as needed.
+Three open holes were good (#1, 2, 9).
+#6, #7 forest holes exemplified what the forest portion should have been about.
+They invested in quality baskets, doublechained DGAs, which caught really well.
+Definitely has potential, I hope this is only a start and they're willing to adjust the course as needed.
Cons:
It's the least polished course in the immediate Reading area. They should have used the forest more in creating unique and varied holes rather than going along established trails for #4 and 5, which were tight for the length. I also hate throwing along well established hiking trails that curve, for fear I will will hit someone simply walking around. There is enough forest to use here, so an unneeded risk.
-No teepads, just posts. Normally this would be okay but many are situated in awfully bumpy or uneven ground. Even standstill drives were challenging.
-Tee signs only display hole# and distance in yards mislabeled as feet. Triple it. Without Udisc, I would have been lost.
-#3/8. They share the same fairway, a single lane road plus a few feet of grass, with wet muddy brushy nastiness on one side. Twice over on a 9er is too much.
-No teepads, just posts. Normally this would be okay but many are situated in awfully bumpy or uneven ground. Even standstill drives were challenging.
-Tee signs only display hole# and distance in yards mislabeled as feet. Triple it. Without Udisc, I would have been lost.
-#3/8. They share the same fairway, a single lane road plus a few feet of grass, with wet muddy brushy nastiness on one side. Twice over on a 9er is too much.
Other Thoughts:
Terrain Potential: XXX - Hilly, open and forest parts.
Actual Execution: Xx - Lazily conceived holes, wasted potential. Hard to tee off.
Upkeep: N/A - Brand new.
Difficulty: XXx - Intermediate. Some forest parts seems like a challenge.
Fun Factor: Xx - Passable. I almost had a good time here but not quite.
Overall: Xx - Passable. Tweaks and some reconfiguration could immensely improve this place.
Amenities: The bathrooms at Pavilion #3 were locked beginning March, as is typical around here.
Starting Point: Parking on E Broad Street Looks like the farthest walk. Branching off from there is a parking lot for the main office and going even further back is 'Ice Skating Pavilion #5' by the lake which is adorned with multiple "No Skating" signs. Yup. Undefined parking spots but close to #1 around 40.295046, -75.959161 on google maps. Also, uphill on one-way Butch Bare Lane, there's an Overflow Parking Lot 40.295658, -75.960352. That one's near Tee#2 and Pavilion Three, that's where I parked and played #1 last.
Course Layout: It loops. #1 is a short uphill, #2 is a long downhill towards where Butch Bare Lane turned left. #3 goes into the forest, using the road as fairway, tight. #4 is on the gravel path to the right, where the yellow gate is. It curves left. #5 heads back. #6 goes deeper into the forest in the same direction #3 was going, but takes a left turn. #7 heads back. #8 is the same fairway as #3. #9 connects to #1.
Actual Execution: Xx - Lazily conceived holes, wasted potential. Hard to tee off.
Upkeep: N/A - Brand new.
Difficulty: XXx - Intermediate. Some forest parts seems like a challenge.
Fun Factor: Xx - Passable. I almost had a good time here but not quite.
Overall: Xx - Passable. Tweaks and some reconfiguration could immensely improve this place.
Amenities: The bathrooms at Pavilion #3 were locked beginning March, as is typical around here.
Starting Point: Parking on E Broad Street Looks like the farthest walk. Branching off from there is a parking lot for the main office and going even further back is 'Ice Skating Pavilion #5' by the lake which is adorned with multiple "No Skating" signs. Yup. Undefined parking spots but close to #1 around 40.295046, -75.959161 on google maps. Also, uphill on one-way Butch Bare Lane, there's an Overflow Parking Lot 40.295658, -75.960352. That one's near Tee#2 and Pavilion Three, that's where I parked and played #1 last.
Course Layout: It loops. #1 is a short uphill, #2 is a long downhill towards where Butch Bare Lane turned left. #3 goes into the forest, using the road as fairway, tight. #4 is on the gravel path to the right, where the yellow gate is. It curves left. #5 heads back. #6 goes deeper into the forest in the same direction #3 was going, but takes a left turn. #7 heads back. #8 is the same fairway as #3. #9 connects to #1.
