If only I could travel back 5 -10 years to play at Kennedy Park when it was maintained...

I'm sure this was a fun 12 holer in a town park, combining deep woods, open holes and water along the final hole. There are a couple of alternate tees - even a 19 hole "Doubles Layout" on uDisc. Tee signs showing local business sponsors. DisCatcher baskets. Somebody really wanted this to work. But unfortunately for them, courses don't maintain themselves.


The first 8 holes are in the woods, and the overgrowth has obscured the lines. The leaf covered fairways have become narrow trails. The tees are just the old timber frames around sunken ground. You can bushwhack your way around this part of the course, although hole #8 (playing downhill into a corner bordered by an old stone wall) has become almost impassable.


Things get better on the open holes #9 - #12, because the town mows the park. It's a long walk to the ninth tee, so you have a lot of time to question your judgment about continuing. But #9 is booming 444' par 3 with a wide open shot across a valley. And if you play the back tee on #12, you'll almost have your feet in the water of the lake that runs along the entire right side of the closing hole.


Kennedy Park had everything you could ask for in a relatively short park course. As a bagger driving 3 hours to play the Scranton area I was pretty frustrated by the conditions I found. But as a bagger who drives all over and just expects courses to be playable, I was reminded how thankful I should be for all the volunteer, club and municipal work that goes into maintaining courses.