After playing the very tough Quakers Challenge course on the other side of the park, Boulder Woods is a kinder, gentler experience.

I played from the long tees, but even then the course comes in at under 5000 feet so you're looking at mostly 200' - 300' holes. Good variety of fairway shapes from straight to gently curving to a couple of sharp doglegs. I drove mostly with putters and mid-ranges as accuracy is a much greater asset here than distance.

The course is mostly flat with no water in play, but there are plenty of trees to work around and hit!

Due to the close proximity of some holes mandos exist here and there. They are clearly marked and even explained with a separate sign at the tee. A narrow double-mando on Hole 13 seemed to be added to increase difficulty.

Lots of rock and timber on the ground makes ground action random. Some discs will slide 30' up to the basket, while others will ricochet off in a different direction.

Very nice trapezoidal concrete tees with good texture and adequate tee signs as well. Innova DisCatcher baskets are in good shape and show up well in the forest.

There are 18 short-to-medium length, wooded par 3 holes. Nothing particularly creative or notable about any of them.

This is an active multi-use area of the park, with a busy walking trail winding through the course. On several holes you are driving across or up the walking trail without enough sight distance to see oncoming traffic.

The first three holes play parallel and quite close to each other and can't safely be played at the same time. These three holes play through a section of woods that has not been cleared or modified to create fairways, so kicking into an adjacent holes is common.

Other conflicts exist as well. Players on Hole 4 are throwing directly at the Hole 17 tee pad.

About a third of the holes have short tees shown on the signs, but those teepads are afterthoughts. Generally they consist of a toeboard or scuffed out spot.

This course appeared to be much more popular than the park's other course, Quakers Challenge. It is shorter and much easier, and it is great that the park provides two distinct options.

Nice concrete tee pads with excellent signage with pegs to hold discs. Scorecards with maps provided at the kiosk.

Some baskets has multiple tees. Signs on several of the baskets to guide you to the next tee, so navigation is rarely ever an issue.

Practice basket and 18 Discatchers.
Great course for what it was designed for. Rec and Am players can realistically acheive par.

Nice "fair" fairways, some elevation, and a canopy to provide shade. Hole 11is a good example of a hole that utilizes all 3 of these elements well.

Large wooden benches on some holes to sit on. Bathroom and waterfountain at hole 15, but bathroom was closed and water fountain was not working.

Cluttered. Hole 2 throws over 3's tee or 1's fairway. 1-3 were quite tight. No one can tee off on 17 while you are putting on basket 4. Several tees are with in 30-35 feet of the previous basket. People teeing off on 12 can be distracting while you are putting on 6. Hole 7 throws right over 8's tee pad, ect.

Hole 13's double mando is pointless and gimmicky. It is a simple toss between the trees mando, but the mando sticks stop at 2 feet high with no way of truely knowing if you were tight on the mando line or actually over it.

Lack of distance. 14/18 holes were 300 feet or less. Lack of variety of shots. Seemed like most holes were slight up hill, blind with a subtle right then fade to the left.

ALCOHOL PROHIBITED...
It is a nice place to play a less stressful round, introduce newer players, or go for ace runs. If you need more challenge you can always head over to Quaker's Challenge.

When selecting your discs, leave the mega drivers at home. a straight 425 foot shot is the longest hole on the corse. Half of the holes are under 250 feet.
To succeed at this course you have to convert the birdies because a majority of competative players will be able to par most holes.

If you need a Burger or a drink after the round Forry's Drive-in is right by the enterance.

The course plays through a mix of park style grassy fairways and some tighter woods. There is some rough on the more wooded holes to punish errant shots, but not so much that inaccurate players will lose discs. There are some nice boulders (imagine that!) scattered throughout the course that make for some nice obstacles. The course is fairly short overall, but has a few longer holes mixed in.

Newer players will find a nice variety of hole shapes here to try different shots. There are plenty of tight shots with left or right turning fairways. The tees are concrete and in nice shape. There are good tee signs with hole layout and distance making the course easy to figure out. The course flow is good making navigation easy overall, especially with course maps available at the beginning.

There are lots of safety issues here. Many holes play right on top of one another. Mandos are in place, but that won't completely prevent errant and inaccurate shots from finding their way onto other tees and fairways. The mandos also get to be a little repetitive, there are too many of them. Several holes play over or near park roads or walking paths.

The course is a really fun beginner and recreational course, but doesn't offer too much challenge. There isn't much elevation, and many holes are fairly similar in length, so it can feel a little repetitive to players with more distance.

This course is definitely a fun shorter course that makes a great companion to the tougher course on the other side of the park. Beginners will find it tight and technical, but not to the extent of frustration. More experienced players won't really be challenged, but can enjoy the putter and mid shots through the woods and the fun shots bringing boulders into play.

Boulder Woods is a relatively easy to navigate and play disc course located in Pinchot Sate park. The course makes good use of what could be described as moderately wooded areas (4-17) and a lightly wooded area (1-3, 18). The fairways are very generous for the most part and will not having you screaming at your disc "Get skinny!". Elevation is used to their max extent in many cases. Tee signs are well placed and easy to understand (PDGA rules on how to play a mandatory are posted on the tees with mandos). Mandos are easy to see from the tee boxes and the Drop Zones are well established. Many park facilities are available (Picnic, Pavilion, Bathrooms). A very active disc club presence is seen and can be seen with the events scheduled here.

Summary:
+ Excellent Club presence
+ Generously fair fairways
+ Many park facilities for use
+ Easy to navigate

Boulder Woods can be considered to some advance and higher level players as being short and not very challenging. Park is also host to many other activities and can be very busy on nice days out. Walking/Bike paths weave in and out of the course and can create some dangerous situations to oblivious walkers/bikers. Lots of mandos which force many players to make a certain type of shot. Mandos in some cases are difficult to determine exactly as they are signs in front of trees (The trees are the mandos not the signs). Course also seems to suffer from having a only one pin position and one well defined tee (Rec tees typically are just stone spots and are not on every hole). Also it seems that at times you are more likely to find your way onto the middle of the course then by the first hole (first hole starts by a shed so look for the shed if you want to start there).

Summary:
- Lack of change in course (pins/tees)
- Can be very busy with both golfers and non-golfers at times
- Mandos can be somewhat confusing
- Advance players may not find a challenge at this course

Overall I personally enjoy the Boulder Woods course and look forward to playing it many times a year. While I personally can understand the frustration some advance players get from playing this course, I enjoy the simplicity and ease of the course. Make the right throw and you get rewarded, make a bad throw and you might regret it. The only thing I have really disliked about this course is the number of places walkers/bikers just seem to appear out of nowhere. On a personal note I have yet to figure out how to throw hole #7, a challenging placement shot with a mando that I always tend to overthrow much to my own frustration.

Summary:
~ An enjoyable and relaxing round of disc golf
~ Number of events take place through the year
~ Close to a monster of a course (Quaker's Challenge) the Yang of the pair

Boulder Woods at Pinchot State Park is a tightly wooded and technically-oriented course that would serve as a great into to wooded disc golf for newer players or provide seasoned players with a chance to work on accuracy and line shaping over just raw distance.

The layout of the course features holes that aren't extremely long (avg. 235' from the short tees and 265' from the long tees), but includes a nice mix and variety of left-to-right, right-to-left, and S-shaped fairways. Hole 13 is a standout. The hole features a 10-12' double-mando through to a hard left-turning dogleg over/around/through an arch created by several fallen trees.

The fairways on their own were fairly tight, very tree-lined, and bordered with a lot of somewhat dense foliage, though not so thick that you're likely to lose a disc or get cut up on briars. Most of the holes require some thought with regard to shot placement and approaches instead of the "grip 'n rip" technique that could be employed at a longer, more open course. That said, there are several birdie opportunities and possible ace runs at Boulder Woods.

The course features dual tees on several holes. The longer tees are concrete and are in great shape. Some baskets were showing signs of wear but were still in good playable condition.

I was impressed by the signage at the course. Once you've parked, the disc golf course is easily located via a giant sign. An information kiosk is present near the first hole and includes scorecards that feature both a map (including mandos) and distances (for both short and long tees). Each tee featured a very detailed map that included distances, mandos, and expected flight path. One of my favorite features (that I wish more courses had) was the next tee arrows that hung from the bottom of each basket. Although there were well-worn paths leading from most baskets to the next tee, the arrows were a big help.

Despite having a few holes > 400', I felt that most of the fairways were somewhat short (especially given the amount of land in the surrounding park). Just a single long, fully-powered drive-oriented hole would go a long way in making this course stand out a bit more and add some additional variety. Additionally, some of the fairways seemed to be randomly wood-studded to the point that it was difficult to identify clear throwing lanes. Additional layout issues that I had noted involved the flatness of the course and the lack of water. The course itself has very little elevation changes, adding a bit of monotony to the round. Further, with the exception of an overthrow on hole 7 and despite the fact that the course borders a lake, water isn't factored into the course design. Adding water would definitely add a risk/reward aspect to the course.

Although there were several holes that had mandatory obstacles that needed to be cleared, safety concerns troubled me a bit. On several occasions a drive or approach requires a throw across walking/biking paths. Additionally, there are several baskets, tees, and fairways that are in very close proximity to each other, making an errant throw all the more dangerous.

For technically-oriented courses, tight fairways help push players to focus on accuracy. In this case though, I believe that the fairway brush could be trimmed back 5-6' on most holes and still retain the tight feel without overly-punishing any shot that isn't 100% on the mark.

Despite the cons that I noted, Boulder Woods is a fun course that is not overly taxing or strenuous and rewards accuracy and punishes any throw that lacks focus. The course makes a great primer before or a cool down after Quaker's Challenge which is also located at Pinchot State Park. I would definitely go back to Boulder woods, and I'm looking forward to a rematch with this course.

Plays through the woods with a variety of shots needed to succeed. Scorecards are provided and the tees are some of the best I have played on. The tee signs are very helpful and they even have bag holders. After playing here that is a luxury I want on every course.

A few swampy areas on some holes. They did a good job of ways to get around just hope your disc doesnt land in them. Which they are on the middle of fairways so that may happen. There is a nice lake there that is somewhat treacherous if you have a really bad throw.

The swampy areas really isnt much you can do about it, but it does suck. If a hole would have went along with lake and really made the lake an obstacle that would have added an amazing hole and best view of the course.

For a beginner/amateur/recreational course, this place is impressive! It's 18 holes that make you think about your angle, placement, and shot type -- but is far from frustrating or demanding like its sibling course on the other side of the park.

Holes of interest include:

#4 - An slight uphill blind fairway guarded by super thick brush on both sides.
#5 - The longest hole on the course. Follows a slight S-pattern and will punish straight line drives.
#7 - Hole number seven plays close to the lake. Coupled with an anhyzer mando, this great risk/reward hole is the best one at Boulder Woods IMO.
#12 - Sharp anhyzer mando
#15 - A sharp hyzer that goes slightly downhill; the basket is guarded by several boulders. Bring your whippet or wasp for this hole!

While the lengths of the holes aren't too long, they are redeemed by the clever use of mandos throughout the 18 holes. I don't think I've ever seen so many mandos in one course, nor have I ever seen them marked so well! Most of the mandos require anhyzer shots, but one forces you to split an upright of two trees. Very fun!

The concrete teepads are very grippy and give you plenty of space for running-up and x-steps. Signage is good, too. As far as navigation, I've never seen a course marked so well. You couldn't get lost on that course if you tried, and a map - while handy - will probably not be necessary.

There are several blind shots here. Some people would see this as a con, but I think they add some suspense to a relatively simple course.

Aside from a few blind shots, the course lacks elevation. Fortunately Quakers Challenge more than makes up for it!

The slightly old DISCatcher baskets are rusting in parts and many lack numbers. Fortunately the intuitive navigation of the course mitigates this issue. The chains also don't grab the discs too well any more (even with an SSS Wizard).

The biggest issue I have with the course is the close proximity of the pin placement near the major hiking trails of the park, especially on holes 7,8,and 18. I mean, the baskets are basically touching the trails! Since the trails are utilized by many park patrons, there's a great chance of hitting them if you don't watch before you throw. This is one of the only bad examples of planning on this course.

After playing here, there are few courses I think would be more perfect to take a first-timer to than this one. The entire course was built for people new to the game, but it's definitely not boring! Quite the contrary.

Boulder Woods is arguably the signature mando course in the Commonwealth and serves as a fantastic complement to the other course in he park: Quaker's Challenge.

• Good for beginners/recreational disc golfers
• Concrete tee pads on every hole
• Signage excellent at both tees and pins - no getting lost here
• Clean & well maintained
• Very low percentage for losing a disc
• Technical - guaranteed disc/tree collision!
• Short/birdie chances; par easily attainable even after poor drives/approaches

• Short with little punishment for mistakes
• Lack of significant elevation change & without variety (all wooded - no chance to 'air it out')
• Neither physically or mentally demanding
• Walking paths/pedestrians near tees, fairways, baskets
• Holes too close to one another/intertwine
• Water not really in play although nearby
• For the casual not the masochists

PA State Parks do disc golf well for the land they're given and most importantly, the purpose of the course - which in this case appears to be casual and introductory. At the time, I regretted playing this course before 'Quaker's Challenge' (which is also located in the park). However if I had played the two courses in reverse, the likelihood of not finishing 'Boulder Woods' would have been highly probable (take into account the temp. in the low 90's with high humidity, the physically/mentally demanding nature of 'Quaker's Challenge' and the lack of such qualities in this course).

My personal course preferences aside, this course does what it was intended to do and it does it well. A solid three discs.

This course is a great beginners or pros course. The holes are not overly long and at most times you can have a decent shot at par. The course is easy to follow and the course is maintained very well. Some of the holes are creative as in there are mandatory shots and a couple of neat doglegs. The course can be easy yet really challenging at the same time. Holes like number 4 are always fun and give great chances for people of all skills to get a possible ace. The more I play this course, the more I want to conquer it. There are always new challenges when playing this course, which is one of the things that makes it so nice. The course is taken care of by a local group who has taken great pride in their courses.

People can get in the way if the park is really busy. Make sure you keep an eye on your disc during the summer months.

This is a fun course to play. I had 3 brand new people to disc golf playing with me and they had an enjoyable time. The more I play this course, the more I enjoy it. There are always different shots that you get into at this course, and you can always try and beat your score on this course as it's not predictable. Tournaments at this course are fun to play.

The best tee pads I have ever played that are in a wooded setting. Usually wooded courses have smallish concrete pads or uneven natural tees....not here. The pads are enormous, grippy, level and tapered well. These tees would be great in an open field course but to have such footing in a densely wooded course was a treat. After beating up my feet across the lake at Quakers Challenge I found these tees particularly welcome. The pads make this course play so much more pleasurable. The course itself is wooded but does not have any horrendous underbrush to ruin your mood. 2 holes #5 and #8 play over 400 feet and are fair. The rest play under 200-300+ range. None of the holes stand out as gems but none of them are bad holes either. Several mandos to promote safety, including a ten foot wide double mando that I thought was interesting on hole 13. The mandos can be viewed as a negative to some but it added a n interesting challenge and forced me to make specific throws which I thought to be a nice challenge. Good variety of shot making needed to play here.

No open holes for those who want to recklessly crush drives. No elevation, it is mostly flat. No water in play, it is close to lake however.. Often criss crossed by walking trails and a big pavillion runs to the left of hole #5. Could be a problem on a nice busy summer day.

Basically this is a pleasant low stress technical course. A great place to introduce people to the game. Perfect remedy for your bruised ego after playing Quaker's Challenge across the park. I think it's optimal to have a specific expert course and a specific recreational/beginner course in the same park. I really can't get over how nice the tees were. I never played a woods course with such big ample tees. This really made the course for me. It's fun and challenging enough to keep you interested. The course are much further apart than 3/5 of a mile. This got me confused. They may be 3/5 of a mile as the discs flies over the lake, but as a car drives it's a few miles AROUND the lake!

I immediately fell in love with this course the very first day I played it. It is great for working on accuracy and is kind of hard to lose a disc with the layout and terrain. Great for us Ams! In a beautiful setting near the lake.

In a busy part of the park.

Can't think of any.