Newark clearly has some enthusiastic disc golfers willing to put in the time and effort to upgrading and enhancing their in-town amenities, including adding holes to the former nine-hole track in Flory Park. And the upgrades do present some interesting challenge for the recreational to intermediate player, with the clear addition of several significant risk-reward opportunities where you really have to decide whether to run for that basket or layup safely. The first four holes all have deep and flowing river water in play, either to your right or in the case of hole three, a toss across. Then you play about seven holes in a park-like setting, rejoining the side of the river and crossing back over on hole 14. You finish on your original side with the longest hole being the 365 footer crossing another waterway diagonally left of the skate park, and a couple of relatively unique wooded holes before finishing in a tightly boxed corner on your loop back to the parking lot.

The course infrastructure includes level concrete tees adequately sized for the holes which range from 165' to 365', with the majority in the very reachable 170 to 270 foot range. The older baskets (including a handy practice basket by hole 1) still seem to catch adequately, and there is new signage throughout. I'd have to list the suspension bridge as a 'plus', even if it does impart a little bit of vertigo as you focus on your footing to see the flowing water through the planking gaps below your swaying feet. It's unique!

My biggest concern here is that they really have tried to squeeze in too much disc golf. Now I believe you can never have 'too much' disc golf, but you can, in one course. This upgrade has three holes (5, 7 & 11) which just don't fit in any way into the flow. On 5 & 7, you basically throw or walk a full fairway away from the loop. On 11, I really have no idea how it's supposed to flow, as it's hidden from newcomers, and there are no 'next tee' signs. Even with the map, I overlooked it. With having to wait for path walkers in two or three locations, and other activities possibly intersecting with the course, my top priority (safety) comes into question. Then there are the 'risks' mentioned earlier. With a shorter course, where the short holes might otherwise encourage beginners, there's almost too great a likelihood of disc loss, when that wasn't necessary: there's the obvious water on six holes, but also basket positions within just a few feet of fences on three or four holes, where even an errant newbie putt could have folks deciding whether to make a dangerous, ill advised climb to retrieve their one disc. And hole 10 is a blind toss into a pocket green left, where they initially left a debris pile, but now have constructed a picket fence on the green to challenge your approach or putt. It just felt a little gimmicky. Fun, but gimmicky.

I referred to this as 'landfill park' because you basically park in a soily, gravelly lot with more dumpsters than the course has baskets, and you walk the first (and several subsequent) fairway(s) over old concrete chunks and broken glass. The first fairway sets an awkward tone with its seeming sacrificial altar and crumbling amphitheater terraces on the left. Throughout the course, you'll encounter old slabs of concrete, (most notably within 5 feet of basket #9). A couple of the old baskets are damaged enough to be landfill candidates, as well.

In all, I wasn't sure I felt comfortable playing solo here in this park, especially where you have to throw across the river and leave your disc out of view for quite a while as you backtrack to cross the suspension bridge. With the flow difficulties added in, the noise of garbage trucks doing their dumpster work where you left your car, plus the occasional baskets intentionally placed right up against fences, it just gave off a strange vibe all around.

Racoon Creek DGC is a underrated gem. All concrete tee pads just recently finished make each hole even better. This course has a lot to offer. Hole #1 has a nice sand base around the basket. Hole #2 has room to air it out and is a make- able birdie. Hole #3 and #14 are a blast to play because they cross the creek/river...3 is a slight down hill shot while 14 is an up hill shot. Hole #12 is a tight corridor shot while # 15 is a tree yard with plenty of gaps to poke thru!! The caretaker of the course trys to keep the park looking good and it is always fun to play it! This course plays in just little over an hour and has a lot of shade on the hotter days! I have played this couse in the rain, snow, and in 25mph winds and it hasn't let me down. A great family course if played by the course par and a great disc slinger course if played as all par 3's.

Some of the fairways are tight and zig zag back in forth and can contradict each other. Signage has not been placed yet and can be confusing to a newcomer. No real next tee signs either. This is a shorter course so strong armed throwers won't care for it as much. This course would benefit from more trash cans and benches.

This is an under rated course and shouldn't be over looked if in the area. Plenty of parking off Church St. with a practice tee and a drinking fountain close to tee #1. I enjoy hitting this course on the way home from work!

I am not great at reviewing courses that are in the middle of improvements , because I start looking at potential scenarios before the product is finished . The park has plenty of parking near hole #1 . Follow DGR directions to it . There was a Port O Let on the grounds .
The Equipment - There were cement tees that matched the signs on many of the first 10-12 holes . Then there were some recently poured tee pads with no signs to match yet , and some natural ones at the end . I can't fault the progress that they are trying to make . The shorter tees are natural and marked with a red stake . The tee signs are very nice metal ones , large enough to read clearly . The baskets are nicer on the front 9 , then go to all Chainstars at the end , but all are in good shape except #17 , which was missing . There is a putting basket near the #1 tee pad .
The Landscape . The course was mowed and fairly clean when I was here .The course is very flat . There is a ridge that drops you down to start a hole at around #10 , but that ridge won't come into play . There is a couple of woods holes that will come into play , one in the middle and one at the end . The rest is Park Style . There is a large .creek that comes into play as you throw across it on 14 & 15 . If you land in it , you probably lose your disc . There is also a water hazard on hole #3 that guards the green . Don't throw in there , either .Some overgrowth is in play on #1 , #3 and #4 . and in a woods hole , along with the U shaped fairway #17 and the right side of the fairway on 18 . There is a bridge that will remind you of a more modern version of the swinging one that you see in movies taking place in Africa . Not the most stable , and fitting more than 1 person at a time is tough ..
The Highlights - Fun holes , but not a lot of Highlight holes . #1 is a good starter hole ( 270' ) . Don't pay attention to the scorecard lengths . It is a tight fairway that will sink at the endleft to right to a small flat green sitting behind some rock and cement fairway obstacles . #11 210' is a right to left dogleg that breaks hard into a small green . If you like water holes , 14 & 15 go back and forth across the creek . Some branches stick out and will try to swat your fairway midrange on this 170' throw . If you hit them , it might drop your disc into the drink . #18 is a nice finishing hole , left to right following a brushline directly on your right and open on the left .
Signature Hole - A more open drive starting out , this 370' hole has a deep overgrowth along the left of the fairway , and a hidden line of water you must clear about 4-5' wide and guarding the basket .
The Time . It took me right at 1 hour to complete the course . Part of it lay in traveling this bridge 4 times . A foursome will get through this in a little under 2 hours .
There are plenty of chances for birdies on this course .

#1 Safety - There is a lot going on in this park . people walking their dogs , a nice kids section to the right of hole #3 , which lead to kids wandering the park , and some picnicking here . Skip a hole if you have to . A couple of holes are close to each other .
#2 Navigation - Yikes . You almost need a big sign after #3 to tell you to walk to your right and back ( there actually is a sign near the bridge , but if you miss it ,,, ) to the bridge and over it for holes 4-13 . You will wander a bit looking for holes like #10 , #14 , #15 . It might get better once the signs & cement pads match . FYI - you have to cross the bridge for the final time after completing hole 15 and walk across the park to find the 16 tee at the start of some woods .
#3 Challenge - The course is kind of fun , but the challenge will lack for any seasoned players ( or even me ) . Shooting under par will be a given for holes 4-15 . You will bag more birds than a turkey farm in November .
#4 Basket , Please ! I don't know what happened , but the course will be more complete with the #17 basket in play .
#5 Disc Risk - medium . Catching you midrange in the branches or the brush fronting the creek will cause you to lose your disc to its watery grave .Griplocking your short shot on #4 to the right might also find that creek . Also , the muddy water on #3 can give your driver/approach disc a Burial At Sea . Some of the overgrowth can hide your disc if you overshoot hole #10 or ricochet on #11 ,
And , a par 2 on the 170' hole 14 ? Really ?! If you have to make a hole a par 2 , then the design may be flawed . Change the par .
This course project has pretty much taken over most of the park . I don't know if the designers have more to work with or not , but they might rethink putting in the permanent tees , unless the park told them this part of it is all that Flory Park will give up . Bring bug spray during the summer . They bite extra hard near the creek holes .

Regardless of the tight confinement regarding holes 3-15 , course volunteers and designers are forging ahead , and I respect that . And I almost always say that 18 holes are better than 9 . I am going to reserve judgement and try to give this course another play next summer . The holes are mostly short , but there Is some fun factor and variety here . This is a course to work on your short game with . , while hacking around with your buddies , There was a group behind me at hole #3 where one of them was throwing what looked and sounded like a rubber bomb . It landed right in front of the water , bounced straight up , then jumped across the water ( Speechless ) .
My Recommendation - Not a good intro , date , 1 discer or newbie course . the water holes are short but lethal ( unless you take them out of play ) . This will be a fun play for the locals , and just practice for intermediates and up . Travelers might stop off of rt 16 and not far off of I-70 . Good flat fast leg stretch course . Course Collectors will like to combine this with 20 hole River View and 9 hole Evans parks . . Not a course to go out of your way for , but still Combine with River View &
Try It If In The Area Or Local !!

Flory Park, also known as Raccoon Creek, is a recently expanded 18 hole course that attempts to incorporate the river and surrounding woodlands for a fun round.

However, this may have been one of the worst 18 hole courses I've played to date. I'll start off with a few of the pros before I go on my mini rant.

+ There is a large parking lot right next to the first tee, as well as a practice basket and welcome sign.

+ The front 9 is much more developed than the newly installed back 9. Concrete tees, colored signs, and much nicer baskets are in place.

+ The design utilizes the creek very well. There are multiple water carries, as well as a few drives and approach shots where the water can sneak into play.

- For most of the round, I was wondering what on Earth the designers were thinking. There simply isn't enough room here for a quality 18 hole course.

- A good portion of the front side and a few holes on the back nearly inter-lap over each other. #9's tee pad sits literally 5 feet from #8's basket.

- The course just doesn't flow well. When you force 18 holes on a piece of land that can't hold it, that will tend to happen. This was especially noticeable on 4-6 and 10-12.

- The bridge is pretty sweet at a distance, but walking across it is a nightmare. If you're motion sensitive, you might want to take a less-drowsy motion sickness medication.

- The back 9 isn't finished. Adequate clearing still needs to be done. It is also missing tee pads and signs, so make sure you have UDisc handy in order to navigate.

The plan for this course in 2020 is to install concrete tees and signs like there are on the front 9. My suggestion? Don't do it.

Flory Park would be the perfect place for a high end 9-hole course. Adding a back side isn't necessary, especially when there's a newly redesigned 18 hole course down the road.

Course is Challenging enough for an advanced player, but is meant towards an Intermediate player and one that is learning to play.

Tee pads we're huge (aprox. 11' x4.5') considering the length of the course.

I loved hole # 3. It was a shorter hole measuring @ 174' and it played adjacent to Raccoon Creek, but was really challenging with all the trees one has to maneuver to get to the basket.

I also loved # 8. Plays 348' and has a man made ditch that held a couple feet full of water the day I played close enough to the basket that it came into play.

# 9 was the hole one got to really rip it measuring out at 515' playing towards hole # 1

Nice tee signs, I found a couple plastic floral arrangements next to tee tee pad of hole # 6 on the ground. so just because I had this good vibe going on in Flory Park, I put the floral arrangements on the tee signs of holes # 6 and 7 to make the pictures I took of the tee sign looks nicer.

The James T. Young (narrow) Foot Suspension Bridge takes the player across Raccoon Creek to holes # 3-7 and back to play hole # 8

The club used orange colored duck tape in the basket well pointing towards the next tee.

Shady course in a good way!! I played the course 2x on a very Hot and humid day and every hole except some of hole # 7 and some of hole # 8 and most of hole # 9 we're shaded holes!

Clean park after I left after my 2nd round, As i cleaned the few pieces of trash up as the Recycling center is in the main parking lot off of Church St.

Some of the baskets we're very close to other fairways (especially on holes # 4,5, and 7)

Practice basket needs to be moved IMO (perhaps towards the other side of the "BIG Thank You" exit sign and the park office. giving one warming up practicing their putts more room to do so.

# 7's fairway crossed a walking/bike trail and the tee pad didn't really line up with the main fairway, unless one played the right side of the walk/bike trail and that was really narrow and bordered raccoon creek.

Tee pads weren't flush with the ground

# 4's tee sign and tee pad was very close to an overgrown bush. I felt needed trimmed up. (The tee pads are plenty BIG enough for hole # 4, some people like long run ups on their drives)

I loved # 8, but it could interfere with the bike track if the Disc Golfer doesn't use common sense and gives the right of way to the biker.

The park despite it's narrow size has a plethora of activities to do for many.

# 1 thing other than the Disc Golf course is the awesome Bike trail (Newark has a lot of paved Bike/ Walking trails), Bike Jump and Track. Man, I wish I had a park like this to play in when I was a kid. I'd be here everyday!!

James T. Young Suspension Foot Bridge, I wanted to walk across the bridge like the family of 3 was doing over and over. Very cool and scenic!!

On the other side of the park, which one would enter through another road than how I entered it via Suspension Foot Bridge was the city Pool. The pool had slides. The YMCA center is also on the park property.

Recycling center is in the Disc Golf course/ Bike Jump Track's parking lot.