A historically old park that still presents a reasonable, fun 27 holes.

-9 & 9 & 9: The course consists of three clear loops, so you can stop as often as you want or mix and match loops. The last loop was obviously added at a later date.

-Shot Shaping/Gameplay: The original 18 are short and breezy, but still have enough trees, limbs, elevation, and such to be interesting. With virtually nothing over 300' it's a birdie fest and, I imagine, the location of many an ace. The first nine were mostly open, using strategic trees to force shapes, while the middle nine have more consistent, though not thick, tree coverage and also incorporate some steep elevation for errant shots. The newer back 9 ramp up the difficulty by tightening and lengthening the fairways. They have some more exotic tunnels, elevation, low ceilings, and greens, but still basically all par-3 golf.

-Rec-Friendly: I can see why Sedgley is popular--it must be a great course for newer players to have fun. The first 18 especially are easily achievable by any skill level with short length and a good degree of forgiveness.

-Multi-Tees: Three tees throughout the course. I don't think the longer tees would make a particularly big difference for most of the front 18, but on the back 9 they make it a totally different (and much harder) ballgame. I didn't have any difficulty distinguishing which tee was which, which makes me think they must have been color-coded in the cement and I just don't remember.

-Bonus Basket: Just for kicks, it looks like (23) has a second basket down and to the right. On my playthrough, it was a dry but treacherous green, but apparently it's not always dry per a Jan. 2019 review below.

-Central Area: Large area seemed to have a lot going on. When I was there a barbeque was ongoing and it was full, so I didn't poke around too much, but judging from other reviews it's always a hangout.

-Busy: You'll see this as both a pro and a con. The pro is that this place feels alive. On the wet and cold New Year's Day I stopped by, it was humming and full to the brim with golfers of several skill levels. It felt like it would be a great community to be in if I didn't live 800 miles away.

Mainly traffic, but also scope.

-Scope: We'll start with the shorter one. Sedgley is 27 holes and par-81 (82 from the reds). That's a lot of par-3 golf, which equates to cutting out the huge swath of variety offered by multi-shot designs. Furthermore, the front 18 are short and cramped enough that you don't really get to use the arm's potential. It's great to have a feel-good and short round, but it definitely means that Sedgley isn't going near the upper tier of courses.

-Busy: I recognize that there might be higher than usual traffic on a New Year's Day like when I played, but from everything I know about Sedgley it's always busy. As a solo I played through at least three groups. This busyness also leads to a host of other issues.

-Safety: The biggest one to me is the risk of being hit by a flying disc. A lot of the front 18 at Sedgley play very close to each other, with some tee pads practically in the fairways for other holes. I had to take evasive maneuvers twice, without a single "Fore!" ever heard, and a local friend walking the course with me came about two inches away from the ER. I wouldn't mock you if you wore a baseball helmet while playing here.

-Erosion: I have never seen a park with so little grass left. Forty-five years of constant use have left the fairways more dirt than grass, and with just a little bit of rain or snow it turns into gross and sometimes-slippery mud. The drainage is also bad in parts, so when I played after a bit of rain it was muddy, slippery, and occasionally deep enough to flood your shoes.

-Tee Signs: Mostly covered in graffiti and stickers. I called it a win when I could discern the number on the sign and ensure I was at the right tee. Of course, then I had to guess which of multiple visible or invisible baskets I was throwing towards. I don't recall seeing signs on the back nine at all. First timer issues, I suppose, but still a nuisance.

-Navigation: On the front 18, "There are five tees visible--which one is next?" On the back 9, "Which path do I take to the next hole?" and "Are we there yet?" Even with UDisc there was a fair amount of guesswork involved.

It's happenin' at Sedgley (or insert whichever phrase the cool kids use here). My front 18 was quite an experience in between Billy Joel pumped loudly through speakers, barbeque scents wafting throughout, flying discs coming straight for my head, and a continuous wondering if *this* muddy fairway is the right one to go down. It was fun, but surprisingly short and simple. The back 9 were more quiet and difficult, kind of what I expected to find for the whole course. Overall, it's a Good course that lacks the variety and pristine condition to be a top-level destination, but it's also a historical gem and community hub.

My rating will be higher when I play 19-27. Didn't have that much time, so only played 1-18. As noted by all, tight and technical. But has its charm. I like that there is a variety of downhillers, uphillers, some holes that are both, and some flat stuff. I like that 9 and 18 are long(ish) and straight. One wants to finish without a lot of drama, yes? The community that runs this seems to be a passionate bunch, and that is necessary for this park which is in an edgy part of town and needs the real support it gets.

The passionate bunch that runs this park are also pretty funky people. If you are not funky yourself (totally or somewhat), you might feel a bit uneasy with the crowd. I am slightly funky, so I felt pretty good with the community here. There is a lot of graphic graffiti to be offended by if you are not at all funky. There are a few creepy but artsy masks hung up in trees. Mardi Gras theme? Nailed that, for sure. As noted by all, the tightness of 1-18 requires caution and care on everyone's part. If you have any mobility issues, the rolling hills will be tough on you. I suspect all the walking required of holes 19-27 will be too. I am accustomed to red tees being the short tees (coming from the ball golf world). Was a bit confusing for those to be the long tees. Eventually, I got over that, of course. Every bench was dilapidated; some of us do need to sit down from time to time. The baskets are super-old but still solid. On my next visit, I will park in the newer parking lot across the street which looks to have even and complete asphalt. The close parking lot is largely dirt/mud and has some serious dips (low-riding vehicles, ease across these and the driveway apron).

This is a historic course, and I agree diehard disc golfers need to come to this mecca at least once. I will certainly play it again when next in Philly and try holes 19-27 and pair that with either 1-9 or 10-18. I particularly liked holes 3, 7, 9, 10-11, 18. I'm not sure if no. 5 has two baskets or if the closer one is meant to be a practice basket. Probably the former, but I couldn't tell. As someone else mentioned, a lot of info on the signs is totally obliterated by stickers, drawings, and graffiti. I came on a drizzly Sunday morning. I was on the course with 1 or 2 other single players, one duo or trio, and a large group of guys (6-7). We all got along just dandy.

Sedgley Woods DGC is northern Philadelphia claims to be the oldest course on the east coast. I think Ben Franklin might have installed these baskets. They are getting a little tired looking. Each has been painted about a dozen times, and vandalized countless more times.

The course has the most amazing staging area I've ever seen. Here you'll find two large picnic tables, countless chairs and benches, two practice baskets, a three sided kiosk with all kinds of information, at least two heavy metal locking storage bins like you have in the back of your pick up truck, a barbecue, a small wood burning stove, some kind of a drying rack, I think ?, lots of players just hanging out before or after their round and probably many other items I missed. I also talked to one of their board of directors who had a key to one of the locking containers. Among other duties, he collects money for bag tags, calls and collects $1 for returning discs, sells water, rents discs, collect donations, and who know what else. All profits go back into the club's bank.

The 27 hole course is well designed and frankly, quite amazing in it's complexity. Each separate 9 hole set up begins near the staging area. The first two nines are amazing in how close proximity the holes are to each other. Some tee boxes are just a few feet from the last basket. Fairways are just feet from each other but somehow this all manages to work. There are three separate tees, the longer Reds, the middle Yellows, and the short recreational length, Blues. I played only the Blues and estimated many of them to be less than 200'.

The amenities are old and very worn and covered with graffiti. The tee pads are a combo of patio block and concrete. I think they have just recently replaced some of the oldest pads with new patio block ones. The signs are trashed. A few are still legible but many are covered with paint and stickers.

I found the last nine (holes 19-27) to be a little longer, a more challenging and containing more interesting and creative hole designs and interesting basket placements. # 20's basket was set up with a downed tree in front of it as well as a downed tree. # 24 features a raised basket protected by a group of trees. # 26, I think, was another very cool and fun basket placement with a downed tree and a very cool leaning tree just in front of the basket which obscures part of your puttIng line.

Long walkout (1/5 mile) from 24 to 25.

Graffiti everywhere.

Equipment is old, tired looking and covered with stickers.

The entire course is in such close proximity that there must be some safety concerns.

The staging area, while cool and most interesting, also is fairly junky looking. I'm think the Park Department must be understanding and very tolerant.

Lots of erosion issues. If this course was located in Minnesota, park officials and the environmentalists would would have roped off/closed off many parts of the course.

This must be the most over-loved course in America. The usage it apparently receives seems to be amazing. But like any park type facility that receives so much use, it comes with drawbacks in the form of erosion, overuse, graffiti, large groups, etc. The players I encountered were friendly and courteous allowing me to play through.

Sedgley Woods is really an enigma. It is an historical institution being possibly the first course on the east coast. The amount of heavy use it receives is readily apparent and all this use causes problems. The local club seems very active and recent improvements are evident. I only wish idiots would quit painting the signs and plastering them with stickers. I like to be able to read the information on them.

Awesome wooded course nestled among one of America's biggest parks. 27 holes of awesome, challenging disc golf. Always being maintained and updated, and always full of friendly people. Always a pleasant experience.

None

Sedgley Woods Disc Golf is located within Philadelphia's fabulous Fairmount Park. It's been around since the late 70's adding to Philadelphia's rich history. 27 holes snake through a moderately wooded grounds. Baskets seem like they've been around for a while but they're still in good condition. The tees are a mixture of concrete, flypads, and natural tees but all are in good condition. There are three tees on every hole; the short tees make for a nice par three recreational course and the longer ones mostly add a few extra feet and maybe a less forgiving window to the fairway. One can find free parking at the course which is noteworthy for a city where parking is hard to find. Furthermore, if you're from out of town and driving in Philly, the course is pretty easy to get to without having to do too many crazy Philly traffic maneuvers (unless you get lost). There is a nice mixture of shots. The grounds are kept very nicely, fairways are well-defined, very little overgrowth, and very little litter. There are port-a-potties in the parking area and a large bulletin board at the head of the course with information about nearby courses, regular events and tournaments, and an "alien" to feed lost discs to (presumably, there is a system for those lost discs to find their owners too). The front 9 and middle 9 loop around to the head of the course in case anyone needs to scoot out early. I found the locals to be friendly and helpful.

Most holes are very short. Even the long tees have few holes over 300 feet. I rarely threw a driver for the whole round. The course design is just a little too tight. Fairways play really close to one another and I'm sure that an errant shot could interfere with another round on crowded days. The course is so compressed that I actually caught myself throwing at the wrong basket on more than one occasion. On nice weekends I imagine the course can get incredibly crowded. I played at 10am on a Monday morning so I had a pleasant round with only a few other groups playing around me, but I'm sure that a crowded day can make for a long round. While still a challenging course, most holes are rather forgettable and there isn't much of anything that would qualify as a signature hole. The back 9 ends far away from the parking lot and it's a little tough to find one's way back. More signage on the back 9 would be nice and there's a big meadow on the back 9 that would make for some nice longer shots that isn't utilized. Maps on tee signs (when they're present) aren't particularly helpful and some have fallen victim to vandalism making them useless.

This course is a great course for recreational players to work on their control, short game, and get-out-of-trouble shots. There seems to be a really nice community of players here and courses right in the middle of a major city like this one are few and far between. Players used to playing suburban/country courses with more room may find this underwhelming, but it's definitely worth seeking out. If you're visiting Philly, I'd suggest playing your first round here on an off peak time of day, maybe when it's a little overcast or cool even. You'll avoid the crowds and enjoy a wonderful little course with a wonderful city to the east of you. Pick up a few deuces and find a cheese steak after to replenish your caloric deficit (and then some)!

The course is a lot of fun and the people who maintain it are very creative. It is a true disc golf atmosphere here with multiple practice baskets, a campfire at the course entry and places to sit down on ever hole. Even though it is a shorter course, it was indeed a fun layout and the locals were friendly, I am from GA. The park is not tough to get to and has several tee pads per hole. I believe there were 4. Good Rubber Mat teepads throughout.

I can't say a shorter course is a negative thing, but I did only tee off with something other then a Buzzz on one of the 27 holes. Not all the tee pads have tee signs and I found my self walking up a pad from the Gold tees to see where the hole was to be played. Several of the pads are right next to the previous holes basket and that was really odd and dangerous! The walk from 18 to hole 19 was not bad but the walk from 22 to 23 I believe was a random trail and it was muddy and wet as can. Some of the holes were just silly in my opinion, and some of the Gold tees just seemed to be squeezed in there with little regard for throwing lanes or fairness. The Red tees were solid as a played a few of those as well. The baskets of the first 18 holes were older and narrow.

This course was indeed a lot of fun and I did thoroughly enjoy myself. I aced hole 18 Gold and that was fantastic!!! I did like the challenge of the Gold tees but I'd recommend playing Blue or Red instead for your first time out. I'm a 901 rated player and shot a few under from Gold's on the full 27.

- 27 holes makes fro a great round of disc golf.
- The back 9 really makes you feel like you are not in Philly and makes great use of the natural area.
- The front 18 is pretty short and makes for a nice uncomplicated round.
- Multiple tee boxes can really change the way the course is played.
- Love the benches scattered around the course and the marked putting area.
- Great parking for the course.
- Great community for DG in the area.

- Can be very crowded at times. Watch your throws and throws from surrounding holes.
- Hole signage needs to be updated and in some cases replaced. If this is your first time playing it can be hard to know where the baskets are.
- Some of the tee boxes are in need of repairs

Three nine-hole loops.

Three tee locations (blue, yellow, red; easiest-to-hardest) per hole.

On the front eighteen, tees are often close to prior baskets, and some fairways being quite close to others.

On the back nine, higher chance of disc loss. Bit of a walk after 27 - past 20's tee, down 19's fairway.

The course, playing under and around the scattered trees and bushes of a public park not very far from downtown Philadelphia, definitely breaks into two distinct sections - the front-18, and the newer back-9.

Depending upon which tees you play, the holes on the front-18 will average ~225'-265' in length, while on the last-9, ~220'-300' are the ranges, so this course is definitely about control, not blasting away.

The holes on the front-18 hit you with the full array of control challenges - variable size windows, and their locations in the flightpath, subtle elevation changes, turns of various shape and severity. Numbers 13-14, with the thick amount of trees between the tee and basket, practically force you to go up-n-over the trees to have any chance for a deuce. Experienced player hitting their lines should have a plethora of birdy attempts, and even an initial miss will likely result in a par, as the holes are short, and being off-line means you're probably in a neighbouring fairway.

The back-9 offers a different type of challenge. Flightpaths are, for the most part, fairly straight, but the trees/shule forming the throwing lanes are thicker, so an errant initial throw will often be more difficult to recover from.

A really great course to work on your control game, but I'm not sure I'd want to play it when it was busy, unless I was wearing a helmet!

- There's something to be said for having 27 holes of disc golf in Philly.
- Hard to lose a disc
- Atmosphere, It is always buzzing when the weather is near decent. I started playing alone, and by the 5th hole I had joined up with a couple of people and we played in a 4 some.
- Lots of options, 3 tee pads for each hole. each hole gives you a different line to hit so it tests your ability somewhat.
- If you want you can play the first 18 and not 19-27. I would actually suggest playing 19-27 if you don't want to play the full 18. It was less crowded when I went, a longer walk, but it was more challenging and more scenic at the same time.
- It's easily the best course within 30 miles of Philly... Maybe because it's the only course, but it is still nice regardless.

- Fairly short, I always like my courses to have one or two holes that you can open up and throw one hard, there wasn't that here. Each shot demanded finesse and line shaping (which isn't bad, but gets frustrating having to throw every other shot around a group of trees or over some bushes).
- There are a few challenging holes but for the most part everything should be a pretty routine 3 unless you grip lock one OB or clank and early tree.
- Absolutely packed, I went in February and there was a wait on every hole on the front 18 (but there are benches and seating all over the place). Not really for 19-27 when I went (will probably be different in the summer). One group actually let me play through which was nice.
-Sometimes there were guys just practice putting on the cages I was teeing off to but they just kinda stood there and watched as I threw and continued after I was done? never seen that before. Also I felt like I was going to hit someone with every shot. The holes are so tightly packed that tee boxes are close to each other and also awkwardly close to pins.

- I wouldn't bring your full tourney bag to this one. I did and dropped it off at the car after hole 9 (and played with 5 discs for the rest of it). It could easily be played with a mid or even a putter. I threw nothing faster than a teebird all day.
-A couple of homeless guys there (Not a con for me because I'm fairly used to it and it doesn't really bother me).
- Definitely a must play if your in the are, its a good course, very historic, and has good atmosphere, but I'd take my home course over this any day.

I finally got to play this course all the way through for the first time. Every time I was in the Philly area, it was to cold to play. There are 27 holes of pure Disc Golf pleasure. There is a nice kiosk and a lost and found disc drop box near hole #1. There is also three practice baskets to warm up with before your round. The are three different tee positions to choose from blue, yellow, and red. The front eighteen is mostly wooded and short with very tight fairways and the outback is more open with some nice longer holes and a few dogleg left and right shots. The are a few chances of some Ace shots on a few holes on the front eighteen. The locals seem to be very friendly here and will help direct you around the course, even though there are maps available at the kiosk. There are rubber fly tee pads on most holes which has decent grip and the baskets are in good shape. They have weekly events throughout the year here if you want to get in on the tag leagues.

I heard it can get really packed throughout the week so it is best to play early if you can because it can get really crowded. The navigation of the course can be a little tricky, so watch your signs as they will direct you to the next tee. The outback does not have any tee signs so watch for the hole numbers that are placed on some trees. Some holes don't have flypads and are just regular dirt tees. There should be some more trash cans throughout the course. I only seen a few at the beginning of the course.

Some of the holes on the front eighteen are really short because the course was designed for the regular frisbees. this is supposed to be one of the first disc golf courses ever installed on the Eastcoast and has a unique feeling when playing here, If you are in the Philly area, you should try to make some time to stop by and check it out. You should not be dissapointed.

Having a course (the only course) so close to Center City is a big plus. Philly traffic is usually a CF, but getting to Sedgley Woods is actually very easy and straight-forward. Despite the urban location, the course is tucked into Fairmount Park and is a green gem in a concrete jungle. Although there are plenty of trees and other vegetation, there is little to no undergrowth on the course itself. This makes an already small course seem much bigger.

Without a doubt, the local players keep this course relevant. Examples include the fact that the course was very clean with little litter, a lost disc drop box, a well-maintained course, and baskets that are in great shape. I believe that none of which would be possible without the folks that play Sedgley Woods frequently. Further, each group I encountered was extremely chill and friendly. This includes Kwick, one of the Sedgley Woods course guides, who did a great job of providing a background on the course and the local DG scene.

Three different tee pads (most of which are also in great shape, BTW) allow for a variety of different course layouts and levels of difficulty. Surprisingly, there are several different holes that have interesting elevation changes.

Overall, the signs were complete and helpful. For those that were visible, each tee was clearly indicated as was the distance, basket, and next tee.

Oh, and did I mention 27 holes? Yeah, a 27-hole course in a city setting. Holes 19-27 are newer, have a slightly different feel, and are a bit longer than the original 18.

Throughout the entire course there were several technically challenging holes that pushed drive/approach placement.

Despite a 27-hole layout, the course plays very very quickly. If I recall correctly, the first 27-hole round took around 75 minutes with two players.

Two practice baskets make warming up easy by allowing players to putt between the two.

This course was originally designed and installed well over 30 years ago. When you read most of my cons take into consideration the fact that there has been a lot of change in the past 3 decades.

Most of the holes (at least in the shortest position) were very short and birdie-worthy. But before I can completely slam the hole lengths, I remind myself that certain discs that were considered to be distance drivers 5-10 years ago have scaled down to fairway drivers and numerous are now considered to be mid-ranges. The short layout of the holes isn't a function of poor design, but of the technology that was available at the time the course was originally installed.

Although much criticism for the course length can be discounted, I do have some concerns with the way in which some holes are laid out on top of other holes. I frequently found myself on my toes looking around to see whether discs were flying in my direction or to make sure that I don't drill someone else on a nearby hole. I can see some potential safety issues with how the holes bleed into each other.

Without a guide, and despite the signs at most tees, it might be easy to get turned around. It could be easy to drive or putt toward the wrong basket.

While being the one and only course in Philly is a bonus for the Philly folks, in good weather I can see this course getting fairly crowded.

I've dinged other courses for short holes and layout issues, but, in general, Sedgley Woods gets a pass on these issues because of the pioneering spirit that went into the original course creation over 30 years ago.

I enjoyed the course because it focuses on the shorter portions of the game (as opposed to just uncorking discs) and forces you to fine tune the approach aspects that are crucial to all courses.

I will play this course again. If you're in the Philly area, I'd recommend giving Sedgley Woods a try and get a taste of early disc golf history.

Short lengths perfect for beginners. Many elevation changes, obstacles, left & right doglegs. Hardy locals are always a good time.

Poor teebox conditions. Crowded. Signage is rarely accurate, and there is no signage for the 3rd 9 (play with a guide).

27 holels...lots of league play on Thurs, Sat & Sunday...discs for sale usually during these times...friendly local golfers...historic old course..plenty of league competition can be found here...mostly shaded in the hot summer times...being the 1st course on the east course it is historic like the rest of Philadelphia...scorecards with a map generally available at the kiosk

crowded course since it is the only one in the Philly proper...short course...lots of trees...outback 19-27 has no tee signs yet, but directional arrows pointing you along the right way.

just minutes from the Philly Art Museum...if just visiting, drop the family off and come play disc golf.

http://sedgleywoods.com