- decent character for a 9-hole
- Discatchers, concrete tees, decent tee signs
- elevation throughout, mostly with sideways slope but with a memorable downhill on hole 2
- easy navigation
- beautiful park environment overlooking the city

- parking lot pretty small
- too many fairways sloping sideways
- significant interaction with park path (could be especially dangerous on that hole 2 downhill), somewhat alleviated by not being too busy

I played this at the end of a long disc golf day, including Deer Lakes, Schenley, and some less impressive 9-hole courses. Phillips Park was a nice breath of fresh air, and I enjoyed both the park atmosphere and the disc golf. Even with a bit of elevation change, it wasn't overly strenuous and felt relaxing even though I broke a sweat.

As far as the golf, know what you're getting into! This is a bit more than you might expect if I you heard "9-hole park course." I ran into a newer pair of players who were slightly overwhelmed by this park's unexpected challenge. The sloping greens are not typical for a 9-hole park course, and there is some decent technically challenging distance from the long tees, especially on holes 3 through 5. Other courses are better if you're looking for relaxed pitch-and-putt round or for open distance shots.

As far as the park, it's a nicely treed and relatively quiet park. The small parking lot was a bit crowded, possibly due to a local group presenting Much Ado About Nothing (possibly another Shakespeare play?). A park path borders the course for most holes, but I didn't have issues with safety and didn't have to wait for walkers to get out of the way.

Rating: I was tempted to give it a 3 (good) simply because its character impressed me and I'm not used to so much elevation and some particularly memorable shots. 2.5 (decent/typical) is about right. I didn't find the holes repetitive, though I started to tire of the lateral slope on holes 3 through 8. I don't regret my round here and wouldn't mind coming back.

Phillips Park is a small city park located across the street from Carrick High School. There is a sign which says "Course created by teachers and students of Carrick High School. The small park is built on a steeply sloping side of a hillside. There doesn't seem to be much other activity in the park. The course starts at the top of the stairs near the recreation center. There is a small parking lot here with space for maybe 10 cars.

The colored tee signs list a distance for both the red (shorts) and longer white tees. The reds are marked with a small pole with the hole number on it. Then each basket has both an A and a B position. The whites generally just seem longer. The white have a smallish concrete pad while the reds are just played from a bare spot on the ground. The baskets are a very pretty blue Discatcher.

The challenge is probably recreational level. The biggest problem for me was the constant walking on this steep hillside and quite a few rollaways. I could be like some rookies and list the trees as a Con since I happened to hit a tree or two on every hole but in actuality, the trees are pretty and wonderfully spaced. I just mostly sucked this morning!

A deer went wandering through the park this morning...In downtown Pittsburgh! Very cool!

A hole by hole description.

1. 243' across the sloping fairway. Some branches force you to keep your shot low off the tee. Watch for rollaways.
2. 243' downhill with the basket just barely visible. You gotta Annie your drive around some big bush. This basket sits probably a foot too low.
3. 291' slightly upward along hillside. Rollaway and the neighbor's backyards are a concern here.
4. 420' along hillside. I could see it being fairly easy to Annie one into someone's backyard here and the ever present threat of rollaways.
5. 285' along hillside. Backyard threat, rollaway threat but a very cool basket placement two large trees.
6. 255' starting back toward the beginning. Also along hillside.
7. 285' on hillside. Rollaway threat. Basket has no pole. It sits on the ground. Gee, I hope no-one thought this was a clever idea, like a raised basket in reverse.
8. 222' on hillside. Rollaway threat. One big tree directly in your line.
9. 249' back to start. Another hole on the hillside, another rollaway threat, uphill with a low ceiling.

How do you design a 9 hole course on a steep, sloping piece of land and only manage to have one hole playing downhill? I would find a way to incorporate at least three fun little downhill Ace runs here.

# 2 basket is set low.
# 7 basket is set on the ground.

Neighbors yards could be in play on 3-4-5.

I should have been liking this course but frankly, I grew weary of navigating the steep hillside. I kind of grew bored with the course in general. I liked # 2, the short, downhill anhyser throw. I liked the cool basket placement on # 5. My favorite hole was an unofficial one. I played # 1 backwards, back to the # 8 basket. Now that was a fun, longish downhill throw along the hillside. I didn't have time to pursue that idea anymore but I think it might be a fun possibility, perhaps playing the entire course backward. I know I would have found ways to create a few more downhill holes.

Nice course in a quiet neighboorhood not far from the city. Course was easy to navigate and had nice signs that show the layout of tee to pin placement. There are two tee pads on every hole. Not much rough on this course being more city park setting.

Most baskets are on hill's so getting discs to lie can be a problem. There are some dead trees/branches that need trimmed for safety purposes. I think the parking lot had only 8-10 spots for parking which could cause a problem if the course was busy.

Overall this is a nice short course for a quick round. We were the only ones on the course and seems like this park don't get as many players as some other nearby courses. This isn't such an amazing course that one should travel for 2 hours to get to but definitely if your in the area its worth playing.

Elevation and sloping greens were a challenge, but a fun one. I enjoyed that there were well-defined fairways, but not a lot of "rough," which is usually not the case in SW PA. Also, a huge plus for one without an automobile: this course is right on the 51 bus line, so is accessible by public transportation

Only nine holes. The short pins placements would be too short to be much fun, but they are in the longer configuration at the time of this review. There aren't any really hard holes on this course, though in extreme wind with the super steep greens, most of the holes could turn ugly.

If this course were 18 holes (presuming that these fictional extra holes were similar in style to the pre-existing 9), it would be better than Schenley Park, in my opinion.

Relatively short course is pretty good for beginners. Great use of the space available to them.

Entire course is played on the side of a hill. Easy to get punished for a decent shot because of the hill.

+Nice baskets, concrete tees (whites), nice tee signs
+Multiple Pin Positions/Multiple Tee Pads
+Good Variety of shots even though it lacks distance
+Generally well maintained
+Football field nearby if you do want to air out your drivers. Although even that is limited to almost exactly 360 ft by a fence.

-Holes 2-5 are affected by a trail and properties near the fairways. Can't do much about this, but there is some risk of hitting a bystander or tossing a disc into someones yard.
-Most holes are similar distance and somewhat short.
-Roll-a-ways can get pretty ugly.

I consider Phillips Park my practice facility. The course itself requires just about every shot you could ask for and utilizes the trees to create just enough of a challenge that it won't get boring. Add to that that the baskets get moved around occasionally and there is more variety. The only thing the course lacks is more distance. While the holes aren't chip shots, I have only ever felt like pulling a driver on hole 4 and only when it is in the long position.

My favorite hole is probably 5 when it's in B position. I usually play it with a touch of anhyzer (to get around trees) and try to land where I can get a good view of the basket which is tucked neatly between two trees.

Overall, Phillips is a nice course to get in a couple quick rounds after work or to get a mid/putter workout. I wouldn't say it's completely passable, but it's definitely not a must play. It's just a solid 9-holer. If you live close by, like me, you'll probably play it regularly. If you have to travel a bit, play it once or twice before heading to Schenley sometime.

Maximizes the space for the nine hole layout.
Excellent use of the trees and slope to increase shot difficulty.
Level concrete tee pads and good singage.
Holes #3-5 play against my RHFH delivery.

Othan than the 400'+ #4, all the holes are between 222-288' so the distance except for the downhill #2 felt too similar.
Rollers tend to keep going, even my floppiest putter rolled away a good 15' from an errant putt.

The course was in good shape considering the trees are dropping leaves and the oaks have all dropped their acorns. I never felt like I was going to lose my footing even in the rain.
This is a decent walking course for those with little ones and there's a playground onsite.

Great signs and an easy walk through. Good for beginners.

The baskets struggle a little bit. The holes are all very very short because there is not much land. The pars seem kind of weird for the distence of the holes

Since it is on the side of a hill some holes give you a great chance for your disc to roll allllll the way down the hil and add 3 strokes to your hole.

Small course, you can play it in about a half an hour. Not too many trees to contend with, there are definite lines to the baskets unlike some of the bigger courses. Brand new baskets and great new signs

The problem used to be the pars were too high (there were 2 5's and a number of 4's). Now it may be too low on the 420' par 3 hole #4.

I played this course last year and I hated it. They addressed all of the problems, and it's much better now. Fun course to play if you're in the area, or if you just want to check it off your list.

Very solid layout for the size of the land. Seriously, find the course on Google maps and tell me how there are nine disc golf holes on this hillside.

Every hole was fun, something just a little different about each one. Lots of tree-dodging but you also have to worry about rollaways and factor in that all of your shots are landing on a slope.

Quiet patch of land, at least when I played.

Two tees for each hole but I played from the concrete. The other tees are like Knob's red tees from what I gather.

Good place to work with your mids and putters.

Would definitely be a fun place to come for ace runs.

I didn't really like how close some of the first few holes were right alongside fenced-in yards. It would be pretty easy to lose your disc over there and have to jump a fence or knock on someone's door, especially if you're a LHBH or RHFH thrower.

Not a great location, but I guess that's a preference thing. Why is a course in the middle of nowhere inherently better than one in the middle of a city? Part of the problem here though is the lack of parking. I played early on a Saturday morning and sort of had to fish around for a spot. I imagine it would be hard to park/play when school is in or the park or surrounding area is busy.

Some of the baskets are subpar.

Speaking of which, I remember a few pars being too high. I eagled a hole and didn't really do anything out of the ordinary.

The acorns here will kill you. It seemed like you couldn't take a step without slipping on a little acorn roller skate. Not great for a course which is made up entirely of a hillside. I imagine it can also get pretty sloppy after a rain.

They won't be holding the world championships here any time soon, but you can still have a plenty good time. It's a quick play but there weren't any amenities to speak of so bring your own water if you want it.

This the only 9 hole course I've played where 9 felt like the perfect amount. A nice, concise round. Any more of the same would probably get boring. As it is, it's a solid place to start your multi-round day. I played here, then went to Schenley, then finished off at Monroeville and had a nice little DG day.

Recommend checking this place out if you've already played Knob, Schenley, Deer Lakes, Moraine, Two Mile Run, etc. It won't change your life, but I bet you have a good time anyway.

Phillips is probably my favorite 9-hole course in the Pittsburgh area. It has some of the best hole designs for the 9-hole courses in our area. If you can find the long tees, they are fun to play, but if not, the concrete is decent. The course makes good use of some horrible land. It's just 1 big hill. From the long tees, a decent player may find it kind of hard to shoot a 27 on the 9-holes. It may be short, but the hill makes for some bad rolls and tough landings.

It's kinda in the ghetto. Nuclear Meltdown baskets....well maybe they are a Pro since it's better than no baskets.

If you are in the area and you have already played Schenley, Knob Hill and Deer Lakes, give Phillips a try. Other 9-hole courses in the area include Monroeville and Economy. Both Economy and Monroeville are in much nicer parks, but Phillips truly is unique.

And besides, it was designed by J Gary Dropcho.