Anson B. Nixon's (ABN) rating has been dogged by issues' long past. It's also not an ideal course for DG newcomers and others who could be easily be overwhelmed by the sheer number of tees/baskets/players, but also those traveling who want an easy one and done before moving on.

Because of the rating, I avoided driving out of the way to get to this (currently) 3-star course but now that I tried it, it was well worth the trip. In fact, it makes me question the 4-star ratings I gave to a number of 18 hole community parks that also have fairly regular terrain. Will have to revisit that issue.

That, combined with seeing at least three volunteers work on this course on a Sunday, convinced me it has the secret sauce to every great course. Not just a one and done design but an active community that wants to continually make it better. This is a course built by and for regulars.

The striking thing about ABN is just how many tee pads it has, up to 3 each hole, and a consistent 2 baskets every time. Red Tees are the easiest, Blue are intermediate, Gold are the longest and hardest. Half the time, there are 3 tees, other times Red/Blue gets combined. A Baskets are short and B baskets are long. I counted 92 combinations in total. I don't think a dozen trips here could uncover all the variations.

Sometimes the tees and baskets just add distance but often they change the angle of trajectory, or make a simple hyzer into an 'S' curve, and switch a left turning hole to the right. #2 and #12 Reds vs other colors on the map are extreme examples of teeing off from completely different places.

Anyway, I'm not ordinarily a fan of multiple tees or baskets for that matter, it often comes off as a superfluous way to add thirty feet in other courses, but it goes in such extreme here it's parody. I definitely would not want every course I visit to be like this, yet at ABN it circles back to good and works surprisingly very well for the most part. Played Gold Tees to B baskets.

The course can be split up into three zones. (A) Holes 1-6 and 16-18 are ordinary and flat forest holes and Gold-B combination distances seemed reasonable. (B) Holes 7, 8, 10 all make use of the elevation of the higher ridge slope leading to the plateau of the soccer fields to start at and shoot down into the forest. Increased distances. #9 starts in forest and shoots up same slope. (C) And finally, there is an open section 11-15, where you can have some truly long distance bombs. 11/12/13 making maximum use of the slope.

Using the tee pads and baskets, I think most players could easily craft a course to their liking here using either tees/basket color/letter system or selecting tees and baskets hole-by-hole a la carte or even sticking to one zone. For example, doing the front 9 twice over, with a virtually different course on each pass.

Lastly, there is this mysterious small unnumbered fairway between 9 and 10 on the map with its own 2 tees and a single basket separate from #10 proper. The other, scorecard map, calls it 10x? I didn't notice it while playing. Is it an unofficial 19th hole? A sacred initiation point to become a 32nd Degree in the mysterious Disc Golf Lodge? A halfway point to sacrifice Virgin Plastic to the Disc Golf gods if you're playing a bad round so far? Idk. The answer, of course, is probably Aliens.

+Name of the game here is variety, variety, variety!
+Navigation is good with basket signs but Udisc or a map is still recommended
+No brush in the forest
+Excellent tees and signs.

I can see ABN as being simply overwhelming. Baskets are sometimes close together and not particularly well-differentiated to the non-eagle-eyed. Here, it's not unusual to have four baskets in close proximity to each other and a newcomer just guessing what they're throwing at. On #12, for instance, I threw into 14B. This was a course I was ready for but not everyone will be.

Especially in the forest, baskets and tees can just be too close for comfort. Or #18 ending baskets to the children's playground. The layout is very aggressively positioned, too much so at times.

I played on a drizzly Sunday afternoon and the player groups were numerous although I didn't bump into too many people. With the variety of lengths, it's just going to be reality that you'll bump into player groups going forward and have to pass or allow passers.

The long bombs of 11, 12, and 14 felt redundant to me. I couldn't even see the goal until past halfway point throwing from gold 11 to B basket. Or gold 12 to B for that matter. Getting to shorter 15 was a relief. I guess that's a matter of playing style and taste though. I'm not a distance thrower by any measure and would probably throw Blue-As on these next time.

It takes backtracking to reach 12. A lot if shooting Golds to B baskets. #14 Gold is out of the way as well.

#13 and 14 completely play into each other. If a group is ahead of you, especially look out here.

Previous reviews say it gets muddy, and I can see it especially on the open, ridged section being problematic. It's just one steep slope to slip on.

-No benches?
-Amenities weren't open besides one portapotty lacking TP. Strange for such a heavily visited park.

Out of XXXXX:

Terrain: XXXx - Very good. There is precious little here that is unique or special, aside the soccer ridge, but it's very spacious and accommodating to the game. No brush as far as I could tell, either.
Execution: XXXXx - Phenomenal. Many years of club activity honed this into a course surpassing the terrain. Signs/tees excellent. Could use some niceties like benches every so often.
Upkeep: XXXXX - Saw 3 people clearing fallen debris while I was here. How much more active can it be?
Difficulty: Oo / OOOo - Variable. It can be anywhere from beginner to firmly in intermediate territory.
Fun Factor: XXXXx - Aside 11/12/14, I loved the Gold-Bs. Will play the blues on the open next time and change up the forest as well.
Crowded: OOOo. Crowded. Came here once before in summer, seemed like everyone and their mother was playing. Even now, end winter, drizzle, still had enough people.
Overall: XXXXx - 4.25 would be my score but rounds up to 4.5.

An excellent worthwhile course if your ready for it. It puts previous 18ers on average terrain in perspective for me and I might have to revisit their scores.

Fantastic variety of holes in a beautiful chester county park. Wide open downhills, tight wooded straight aways, tight technical turns...Anson has it all. Multiple layouts to provide great options for all skill levels. Well maintained by the club and the township. They are constantly adding to the course to make it more interesting and challenging.Many holes have multiple tee pads and almost every single hole has multiple basket positions. Great tee signs with good visuals, yardage and positions.

Nit picking since I play there frequently...only one trash can except for at the start, but it is about halfway through your round. Only bathrooms are at the start as well. If you are not familiar with the course, hole 2 might be hard to find but that is it.

Sometimes during the winter they close the main gates. You can access the course by parking up top nearest the soccer fields, walk down the hill and start on hole 7. Thats what I do anyway. Many layouts are advertised at the board on hole 1. My friends and I generally play a 21 hole format just to get more golf in. A lot has been done since many of the reviews on here were posted. My wife doesn't even play but she will still come to the park and jog since it is such a great park. Go throw at Anson B. Nixon park!

Great mix of turning shots in the woods and up and down hills shots in the fields. This course can also be played numerous different way with the many alternate tee locations and the ability to play from one box to a basket it is not intended for.

Poorly marked boxes and tees.

Could use a few trash cans throughout the course.
Temporary hole #13 basket is very old and in poor condition.