A challenging course but not brutal. Nice mix of wooded and open holes.

Some very interesting holes like U-turn no. 6. After several open or rather-open holes, it is nice to have the short no. 14 tunnel, even though I made a mess of it on my first outing.

Both long and short holes have appropriate pars.

The course is big enough perhaps to keep people from running over you if you are a slow player/short thrower. A traffic jam at no. 1 can happen though on a pretty-weather day, so consider starting on no. 17 (play 17 and 18 and then 1-16). If you park in the Clay East parking lot, you could start at 11 West: play 11-18, then 1-10.

Currently all of the new hole signs are in place and have happily eliminated some of the previous OB (at nos. 6, 7, 8, 13, and 18).

The place is Mud City after rain and snow. Even hiking boots are not enough. Or barely enough. I always walk with a walking stick or cane due to one weak foot, but everybody could use a stick of some sort to safely get through the mud.

You must pay attention to the hole sign to know where the next hole is and the layout of the current hole (latter for those where the basket is not visible from the tee). Some baskets are in positions where you can mistake them. While playing no. 3, I mistook basket 6 for basket 3, until other players putted at the no. 6 basket. I mistook basket 7 for basket 9 while playing no. 9.

There's a whole lot of walking between the holes. The course essentially is on the borders of a large city park. If you don't play all 18 holes in one day, you may discover that one of the other two parking lots makes more sense to park in on your second day.

Wind can make the straightforward no. 12 hole score a high number.

Heritage Park is not far away, so it could be a good cool-down or warm-up course. If you are playing 17 and 18 first, they make for a good drive warm-up. There's a practice basket to the left of the no. 1 pad.

Some reviewers have mentioned losing discs in the rough during the warm months. Though muddy beyond belief in winter/early spring, the rough is largely down, and unless you really yank it (severe griplock or rounding), you should be able to find your disc in the leafless bushes.

Lots of different shot challenges with a good mix of open distance holes and wooded technical holes.

Transition between basket and the next tee could be marked a bit better.

This course has some tight fairways in the summer.

Nice DGA basketsGood tee padsChallenging but fairI got blessed with an incredible 70+ degree morningA fun round of discLocals were very friendly, aren't we alwaysWas recently mowed looks like it is maintained and loved

Hoodlums have destroyed a fair amount of tee signs but DGR has pics of signs when new in photosMud was drying out a little but could present challenges be readyBugs were prevalent bring sprayDifficult to find tee 11... I got lucky and had a local inform me of location at far end of ball field near road

Overall a great round and a fun ,challenging courseSome new tee signs would be great as well as some next tee arrows but not too bad to navigate

There is a great mix of distances, the course was well trimmed and groomed. Park is well used and many people all over.

Signage needs updating. For instance, we played hole 9 to hole 7 basket we never saw the basket until we searched for hole 10. Also,we looked for half an hour for Hole 11 after 10. There is no way to make the connection without signage. At one point we ended up on the 1st hole east course. We actually found hole 14 and walked backwards.

After Hole 10 walk to the parking lot. The tee is along the parking lot on the other side of the ball field.

Good mixture of long throws and strategic throws.
Some really fun, short, holes in the woods.
Whatever you need to work on, you will find it here.

Course goes around several ball fields. There is always the threat of your disc landing in left field...
Typically there are other frolfers here, so if you like to take your time, you might feel rushed.
Stays muddy long after it rains.

I am not gonna lie, I am a huge fan of wooded courses and this is definitely a wooded course. It's a little ways away from a convenience store, so grab a beverage of your choosing before leaving the village. Poison ivy is abound so be careful about where you disc lands... Please wear a pair of shoes that can get muddy, it'll happen.

Wide variety of holes, wooded, open and mixed. Length of holes will provide advanced players a good challenge, but not punish those without long arms. Well maintained fairways. Trashcans and benches at a number of locations.

Tee pads are poorly built, with plastic edging that is very easy to trip on. Certain areas get very wet at times.

Overall a great course that forces players to throw a wide variety of shots.

-Great variety of holes. You have some great holes through the woods along with some open holes you can bomb it. I really get a chance to practice many types of shots during a round.
-The course is well maintained and has improved throughout the year.
-Nice concrete pads with well marked signs with an arrow to the next hole.
-Benches on many holes and a few trash cans scattered about.

-As others have said... the bugs can be bad. This is basically a swamp in some spots.
-If there has been a lot of rain, the course can get VERY soggy.
-The layout is pretty straight forward except for a couple of long walks between holes.
-This is a large town park so there are sports fields, tennis courts, play ground, and even a LARP castle. This isn't a bad thing but it does come into play on some holes.

I really enjoy this course. Its a fun challenge that requires some creative shots at times. This course will continue to get better and I look forward to seeing what it can become.

18 holes in a town park - split between some wooded areas and open areas near sports fields.
- Ample parking lot near tee 1/basket 18
- Kiosk at course start has an overall course map and provides a good place for postings - forgot to check if scorecards were available
- no practice basket, but basket #18 is right near tee #1, so it's a good spot for warm-up putting
- Concrete tee pads are nice, new, level and marked (drawn into the back of the concrete pad before it dried) - surrounded by wood frame filled with fines - does create a bit of a step up on some holes, but I found the concrete itself to be ample on all holes
- nice, detailed, colorful tee signs with good hole map, par, distance and arrow for next tee
- new, shiny DGA baskets that are easy to spot on all holes (only had to walk up 2 fairways to spot the pin - 4 and 7)
- good, accurate, detailed course map
- I really enjoyed most of the wooded holes - they were challenging, but had fair lines that needed some accuracy to hit - only 1 hole felt like Plinko - holes 1, 2, 5 (probably my favorite), 15, 16 are very fun
- Good variety of left and right holes - 4 has a hard right turn halfway up the fairway (tried a high thumber but the trees caught it), 6 has a hard left turn near the pin
- Water (the "intentional" kind in the form of a creek) comes into play on a few holes for an added challenge - mid-fariway on #3, don't go long on #7 and if you hug the right side on #13 you better have thrown it pretty far to clear

- Mud, muddy and muddier - I realize that I played this course in late winter, so all of the Syracuse snow had melted and soaked into the ground, but I have never played on a course this wet - from start to finish, it was muddy in the woods and soggy on the grass - I could literally hear running water under my feet on the seemingly flat fields - bring extra shoes/socks for your feet and a towel for your discs - I can see the wood chips and gravel that have been laid to attempt to address this, but it didn't seem to do much
- even though the tee signs had "next tee" arrows for the following hole, I got turned around a couple times
- long walks from 10 to 11 and 14 to 15
- a bunch of the middle holes and some others were fairly uninteresting (7, 8, 11, 12, 18) with no real "features" across the fields - other open field holes at least had protected pins (9, 10, 17)
- park was pretty much empty when I played, but a few holes play near sports fields and rec areas, so I could see some interferences or long waits (3, 9, 10)

- The hole map for #3 is definitely accurate, but you can clearly see basket #5 from the tee and it is tempting to erroneously throw at it - basket #3 is pretty much in a direct line down the left sideline of the football field tucked into the woods, on the other side of the tall-ish tree in the fairway
- New benches on maybe half (?) the holes
- A handful of garbage cans near some tees
- The "address" on the course info page is for the park's main entrance and parking lot, so use the "local directions" to get to the lot right at the hole #1
- I'm sure when summer activities are going on, there is a concession stand in there somewhere for mid-round drinks/food

I feel this is a solid course (earlier reviews/ratings are not indicative of the recent improvements on tees, baskets, etc.), but just in a tough spot when it comes to mud, drainage, etc. From reading the other reviews, it's already come a long way with the hard work of the town and the locals, but there's only so much you can do to fix the terrain without breaking the bank. I'd definitely like to play this again, hopefully when things are a bit drier, or even frozen.

Well-made, level tee-pads. The concrete needed to be set in gravel, elevated to avoid sinking unevenly, and walled in with rubber weatherproofed walls that could protect New Orleans. Unfortunately the soft ground in some areas dictated that as necessity. There are plans to level off some of the more elevated and run-up pads in the future.

Good mix of shots. Open bombs, technical wooded holes, up, down, left and right. The course planners are constantly looking for ways to stretch out the course and re-place the pins for a more unique round. Clay is still a work in progress.

Toughest scoring course in CNY. True par is now 58 for AMs and usually seen as 56 for pros. If you want to improve all facets of your game, Clay is the course to do it.

Bugs! There are times in the summer where I will avoid it for months. Deer flies are worse than mosquitos at points.

Swampy areas are not nearly as common as just 6-months ago thanks to the TREMENDOUS efforts of the town. They have added significant drainage and dirt bridges in the worst spots. But in wet weeks, you'll still want to bring extra socks.

A couple of the holes still play very close to heavily used park property. During the football months, we sometimes have to create an alternate fairway for hole #3 because it borders too close to a practice field. Hole #9 has a set of tennis courts pretty much erasing any fairway to the right of the tee until you get 300' out. Hole #11s teebox is right on the back corner of a baseball fence, and believe me, I have had players yell for me to duck.

Ivy is still an issue, but not on the fairways anymore. If you go into the woods on a shot, just be careful. Eventually a bigger effort will be made to clear that stuff out, but it's not top on the list right now.

I've played Clay Park since it was 9 swampy holes. Considering the CNYDGA and the town can only work on it half the year because of Upstate NY weather, it's amazing what this course has become in just a few short years. And it's only going to get better. New tee signs, new pin placements, and more strategic wood-clearing will only add to the growing challenge and beauty of the Clay Park course. Being sandwiched between Rochester, which has enough championship-caliber courses to host the Worlds (twice!), and the Albany area, whose courses define the phrase "signature holes," sometimes Syracuse gets overlooked. But I think Clay has the potential to be a true championship course. Put it this way; Emac played with us for best-shot DOUBLES and posted a 49. If that doesn't suggest a genuine challenge, I don't know what does.

Really nice course. Great variety in terms of scenery, there are wooded holes with hardwood trees, some marshy holes cut into dense underbrush as well as some open holes. The lengths also vary, which is nice. I really like the layout and design overall. The tees and baskets are new; there are signs that show where the next tee boxes are and other than two holes, the walks to the next tee are simple. It's at a park, but the holes don't interfere with the park goers and there is only one place where you may walk past people, it's the walk from hole 10 to 11.

The three or so holes that play near the swamp are filled with flying bugs that dive bomb your hair and face. They don't bite, they just annoy; wear a hat. The cement tee boxes are elevated which can be complicated for those who have long run ups. It's been a dry summer, but if it rains a lot, the course can get a little swampy in some places (nothing too serious). When it rains a lot, mosquitoes will be lingering at certain holes so bring bug spray if it's been wet. There is also poison ivy in some of the denser areas off the fairways, so be careful looking for errant discs.

I believe the current rating of this corse is undersated. This is probably because it was receiving reviews prior to its completion. The more recent reviews have been much higher. Best free course I've played in CNY, hands down.

- variety of hole design; Most of the holes have a unique look which keeps the round interesting including many great basket placements. I never get bored playing this course
- signs for each tee including cement tee pads with the number of the tee on them
- Excellent mix of open and wooded holes
- variety in lengths of holes: There are some longer wide open holes for those who like to blast with mostly medium length holes with 1 or 2 short ones.

- some long walks between holes 10 and 11 and 14 and 15 I think
- Tee 7 can be hard to find even with a map
- no real good way to just play back 9 or front 9. Not a big deal unless your short for time

I live in Rochester and look forward to playing this course every time I go to Syracuse. This course is a lot of fun despite being in a park. Other park users never seem to get in the way of my rounds.I really like the variety in this course. I feel I can see lots of different looks all in one course. Highly reccomended

I really enjoyed "most" of the course. The layout utilized a good portion of the park. The tees were concrete and the baskets weren't vandalized. I liked holes,1,2,10,13,15,16 a lot

Hole #1- a nice little RHBH shot in the woods, this hole makes you think about the trees and other obstacles, a great starting hole.

Hole #2- A short easy straight shot in the woods, a nice easy birdie before the inevitable 4 on the next hole

Hole# 10- From some woods across a plain to other woods, for a birdie you have to hit this little gap in the trees and travel about 30 to the basket. This is my favorite hole on this course.

Hole #13- A wide open power anny for a RHBH thrower. If you cut to early though and go into the thin strip of woods you are in jail another risk reward hole

Hole #15- A cool wooded hole where you throw into the woods and is only 270 ish or so, but has a good chunk of trees in the way to maneuver around

Hole #16- Has multiple fairways and is an easy deuce if you hit the line(s), jsut a little tunnel shot

The course wasn't that crowded when I was there, I only met a few other disc golfers there and we played a round so it was fairly nice

It only looked like a quarter of the course was cared for, it was really marshy in some parts in others there were weeds that were up to my knees and more. I lost two discs because of this. There are some spots were you don't even want to go to retrieve your discs. The grass was mowed on the wide open holes, but that was it. Also no tee signs is kind of a con. I played to the wrong basket on 3 and got lost from 10-11. I didn't like holes 17-18 becasue to end the course with 500+ wide open holes is stupid. 18 is almost an automatic 4 if you can't power house it.

Another thing about the tees is that they are pretty tiny and if you really want to do a big run up you have to step onto the tee that is elevated which creates a very awkward run up.

One more thing is that on 6 you have to walk over a small marsh and all that is there for you is the bottom of crates. They didn't have a small bridge just the bottoms of crates. It was very disappointing to get some of my sneaker muddy.

It is near my aunts house so I expect to play it next year, hopefully it will be much nicer. Until then it is really the only course that is relatively close. If you are driving by, I'd play it, but I'd bring a map. If you are looking for some better courses come down to spotsylvania VA.

Descently laid out course makes good use of the area. Nice cement tees on every hole. Dry spell has left this usually wet area nice and dry. Based on previous reviews it appears that this course has undergone much improvement in preparation for it's grand opening on 8/14/2011.

No signage anywhere. Baskets and posts are mislabled. Makes the first play through challenging and a bit frustrating.

Long walks between holes 10 & 11 and 14 & 15. Holes 17 and 18 pretty much play out and back on the same open fairway with little challenge or creativity.

The course is only 5 minutes from the NYS Throughway and is worth a stop if you are passing through.

My guess is that whoever put the baskets and posts back in after the last winter didn't realize that they were labled so they are all in the wrong places. If you park in the small lot past the fields on Henry Clay Blvd you should be able to follow the layout, but ignore the posts and only look at the teepads as they are labled correcly.

The course definately has potential so hopefully the upcoming Grand Opening will bring some tee signs which will help quite a bit.

Nice concrete tee pads with hole numbers engraved. All holes are now labeled correctly. Good variety, makes you work a lot of different shots.

Not many anymore, can get buggy on certain days. I'm not a long thrower so i'm not a fan of 3,17 & 18, wide open 500+ foot shots. The 14th hole is tough to find an angle to. Long walk from 10 to 11.

This course is vastly improved from the spring, with new drainage system and walking paths. Lots of stone was put down in the problem areas, so even after all the rain in the last week, the course was almost completely dry. I have become a big fan of this course over the course of the summer

There is a good blend between woods and open holes. This course is a lot of fun and doesn't require any hiking; it's all flat!

The nice new tee-boxes are too high and make it dangerous to get aggressive on the long shots; it is understandable because of the marshy ground. Some woods holes need to have fairways manicured a little better. Some holes have no "good" choice.

Benefits the longer armed players.

nice use of surronding foilage making it technical on most holes. new concrete tee pads make for better footing. almost all hole with pads new pads being put in weekly with hole number stamped in crete.

a little wet and some bugs but very bareable. during local football season need to tee off from different spot on #3. some SCHWAG on some holes still needs to be cleaned up but is in progress.

in believe Clay can and willbe one of the nicer corses in the CNY area. Hopefully will be plenty of tourneys to be played here. course is geeting nicer by the week. looking forward to the new additions

This course is in my childhood hometown, and is located about 5 minutes from my parents house and my brother's house. So now you know my bias. I appreciate having a course I can play while visiting family.

18 new, nice DGA baskets. They are all in good condition. The course has a nice blend of technical versus long open shots. There is something for everyone here. All fairways are well defined, and have an obvious line to hit. Even the tight technical holes. The adjacent park has playground facilities and other activities for other family members. Tennis courts, baseball courts and football fields are all on the complex grounds.

Course is well maintained, and fairways are all well cleared and mowed or trimmed. Undergrowth on the wooded holes is minimal. Gravel and bridges have been added tomplaces where things get especially wet or muddy.

It is the Wetlands, no doubt. I played after a day of rain and there was no way to keep my feet dry. The course is located in some lowlands woods that are always going to hold some water. Probably a good cold-month course. Less bugs and water that way.

Several of the holes play over, around or through some creeks. The locals have put some trees down to walk over, but bridges would be great long term. There are drainage and water issues everywhere so bring waterproof shoes if you have them.

One hole plays over a football field and one plays close to the tennis courts. A little too close if those two places are being used. No one was there when I played so it was OK. But you may have to skip a hole or two if the park is being used by others.

There are a few long walks between baskets. Not a big deal, but it can make finding the next tee a pain. The course could use some navigation signs to help. Overall the navigation is a little tough. Print the map and bring it otherwise you will be doing some extra walking. There are some post with tee numbers on them, but some are missing and some are misplaced. This course really could use some tee signs.

Natural tee pads. There is a framed pads with some gravel, but not many.

This course could be a real sleeper. It looks relatively new, so improvements could be on the way. Tee pads, signs and a couple bridges would make a huge improvement. Hopefully the Town of Clay or the local club will be able to knock out those improvements over time. If so, it could be a nice place to play on a regular basis.

There is a number of long, open holes that would be a great place to practice. This is a nice mix with the other wooded holes.

Park in the NW lot on Henry Clay Blvd. 1st tee is in the woods behind the small Memorial to some unknown local. Look for the flowers and the big rock.

There are 2 gun clubs down the road. Don't panic when you hear the firing. One is a pistol target club, and one offers a little bit of everything. Don't worry, the targets are not anywhere in line with the course. You'll be safe.

May 27 2012 UPDATE:

This course is getting the improvements and work it needs. There has been so e clearing of rough, and some nice walkways and gravel over and through swampy areas. Navigation can still be tough. Soome arrows and signs would help. Tee pads are very nice. Great upgrade. Signs at the pads could use an upgrade still, but overall things look great at this course. Kudos to the locals for good work and progress. It isn't perfect, but it is getting very good. I'd definitely recommend heading out here if you at win the area. It's now a very fun round.

6/23 Update. Course continues to improve, and now should easily be considered the best course in the area. Now I know that isn't saying a lot, but this course has a ton of variety, is well taken care of, and just keeps getting better. Great tee pads, good signs, benches and places to hang or set your bag down are all features that make this course sweet. This June has been one of the wettest in Central New York in years, and Clay was a little wet in spots, but overall very playable, and really good compared to what it was a few short years ago. Go play this course!

I'm happy to say that 2011 will be a much improved year for the Clay Course. With professional tee boxes, water drainage techniques and some minor tweaks to a few holes this course has catapulted into a beautiful 18 for pros and ams all around. There is good variety. Some holes play through the woods with many tree obstacles. Some are very long with open fairways. Some are short with excellent basket placement. This course mixes it up which makes for an exciting round.

There really isn't much elevation change throughout the entire course. Also this course can get quite muddy. Early spring will be the best time to play this course. Come summer time the bugs are in full force and the thick shrubs will block a lot of shots. Also I get poison ivy from this course every year. There are a couple instances where the travel between holes is quite long. From hole 10 to hole 11 is a hike.

If you've never played the course or haven't until it's been changed to 18 holes you may have a little trouble finding the correct path from hole to hole.

Redesigned to a full 18 holes with a much better layout that utilizes woods as well as open fields, and baskets that are properly installed.

-Nice long and challenging holes, there are three to four holes over 500'.
-Some of the new holes have great pin placement with guarding trees, drop offs,under massive trees, or a nestling within the tree line.
-Much improved flow to the full 18 which brings you back where you began (perhaps an understated pro)

- Wet...oh god, so wet, so sloppy; really most of the cons for this course will be caused by this problem.
- Sloppy, desperately in need of Cement. ( a few of the most troublesome holes have gravel boxes now)
- Some of the holes are tough to find the first time through, but this has been minimized, now only 2 or 3 questionable walks from hole to hole.
-Two really long walks to get to the next hole. one over 1000 ft, which isnt really that much but annoying to be sure.
- haphazard wood piles have been constructed in most of the many really wet spots (inches of standing water) these wood piles although offering the chance to keep your socks dry may also trip you up, or just break your ankle.
-Inches of standing water in some spots

Parking has moved from the lot on Wetzel to a lot for Clay Park Central on Henry Clay Blvd just around the corner from the previous lot; the old parking lot will start you off on hole 11.

Really a vast improvement on the old course, of which i think about 70% remains the same.
6-9 holes play around multi use areas like baseball diamonds, football fields, castles etc...


I hear that this course is on track for concrete, which will really add a lot.

The redesign has already made this course worth playing if you are in the area, and CNYDGA members have been working constantly to improve it. Check it out.

Wear waterproof shoes/boots always here (named the wetlands for a reason right?)

Even mix of hole design. You get to air it out on some longer, open holes and test your accuracy on the shorter, wooded holes. Its nice to play a course with 4 par 4s. The course does not favor one particular throwing style over another. Excellent signs. The baskets for most of the shorter holes are well guarded to add significant challenge. Some elevation change. Nothing unfair about any of the holes, the birdies are there if you can make the shots. Tees are fine. Nice use of a swampy area as a hazard on hole 18, BE AWARE!

It would be great if they added alternate pin locations to mix it up once on awhile, but thats being pretty picky. Bring mosquito repellant. Often muddy in places. It is possible to throw your disc onto a tennis court or baseball field or a road with a poor shot on a few holes. Long walk that is difficult to navigate between 10 and 11. No major cons really.

A well kept and well designed course that is a joy to play. Fun for beginners and advanced players alike. Signature hole is 3 in my opinion. Great hole. Definitely worth a visit! I like this course more than Jamesville, but slightly less than the Oxbow if that helps.