Well marked tee boxes and good signage
Good mix of holes
Easy to navigate
good use of the land available with elevation change and water hazzards

some of the open holes are repetitive
would be difficult for a beginner

despite the length of some of the open holes it was still enjoyable for this 65 year old...keep your tee shots in the fairway and you can grind out pars but birdies are tough to get

(Looking at old photos and reviews this course has been updated dramatically in the last 2 years)

This course is more open than a lot courses in PA, DE & NJ. But having the OB lined with spikes and string made it more fun/challenging (especially when dealing with wind). The course does a great job breaking up the holes, they don't feel repetitive and none of the penalties seem out of place.
The 1st 9 holes are sooo much fun and require more touch shots, the back 9 is definitely asking for some bombs.

- Fairways were spotless
- New pads were great
- Baskets were great
- Disc golf only park
- Free
- Gravel parking lot
- Port A Potty

- Hole 17 and 18 are vanilla, it stinks that those wrap up this cool course.
- Hole 11 (cliff shot) is a little silly. The basket should be placed on top of the cliff IMO for more fun/challenging approach shots and putts.

Enjoyed this course much more than anticipated.

GREAT JOB to the team behind it!!!!

It was clear that in the run up to the 2019 Am Worlds a lot of effort went into new tee pads through-out the property. Though my division played only one layout during the two rounds I played here, it was a thoroughly enjoyable course. The designers made good use of elevation and you will certainly feel you got a workout once you've completed a round.
Hole 1 took a few rounds to learn which disc was going to make the guarded basket at the toe of the slope. Most of my cardmates took 3s while some of the locals who had played the hole a lot more either had birdie runs or birdie looks. Good hole!
Hole 2 is a downhill, hard right hand dogleg that only plays in the 260 is range. A solid RHFH with a pretty stable fairway driver or meaty mid will do the trick.
Hole 3, considering elevation, plays about 325 relative distance straight uphill. You will find trouble to the right if your accidental roller takes off down hill.
I wasn't a huge fan of 4 but it gets you to the top of the hill and presents a little more distance that what had been offered up on the first three holes.

I enjoyed some of the longer, wide open holes not because they were easy, but I actually thought the designers did well pegging the pars just about right for the distance, elevation and challenge. Longer arms will have a distinct advantage over noodle arms on the longer layouts but the distance still allows shorter throwers to e competitive.
.

Skipping to the namesake hole, I wasn't a real big fan of the big cliff drop off shot with the basket 30 feet below on a narrow bank of the creek. Most locals threw something head into a cluster of trees just hard enough to spit out and drop inside the circle for a 2 attempt. Amusing the first time one plays but seems less like a skill shot than a gimmick shot. Just my two cents.

Like most other PA courses in this area, its out of the way but worth the drive. Go throw this course.

Excellent use of elevation changes, making some very interesting holes (#1, #2, #5, #11, #12 in particular). #1 starts off at 700+' downhill with a mando and then a sharp corner before you can even see the basket. #2 is downhill again, and the basket is near the water. #5 has ruins and an elevated basket. Signature hole #11 drops off a cliff to the pin about 50' below, and it's very close to another dropoff into a creek.

Also there are quite a few wide open holes to really let them rip.

#13 and #14 need trees or something..
#15 - 18 were somewhat repetitive.

Some great holes make this a destination course. Some of the long bombers make it only accessible to advanced players.

Some mixture of holes, many longer open holes. Some holes have challenging distance (I'm thinking of you, holes 4, 6, 14) with some OB lines, but there's not especially easy to get the birdie, due to pure distance.

Some drastic elevation, but this makes the course quite interesting at times.

Good mix of sidearm/anhyzers and hyzers.

Noteworthy holes:
Note 5 - Hyzer around an old farm stone structure.
Hole 11- Dastardly fun.
Hole 16 - Huge smash down a hill.

Parking is rather limited.

A good compliment to the more technical holes found elsewhere in the county, but this is 70% a big arm favored course.

I played this course when it was wet outside, and that became a little difficult to manage with the extreme elevation found in holes 2,3,10, and 11. Would recommend high grip shoes in wet/moist conditions.

Ship Rock is a "grip it and rip it" style course for the most part, but don't let that fool you. There's a ton of variety, provided by BIG elevation change, water hazards, some woods holes, big wind at times, and some unique features. Favorite holes include hole 1 (a big downhill smash around a corner, setting up an approach as the entire hole takes a U-turn, separated by a peninsula of large trees), hole 5 (I mean, come on, you're throwing over the ruins of a house that is probably a couple hundred years old, cool stuff), hole 9 (a tricky gap in front of the tee opening to a landing zone, then a big mid-range turnover shot as the hole narrows to the protected basket), hole 11 (signature hole, super short tight hyzer shot, but the basket is a mere 2 or 3 stories straight down a cliff at the end of the fairway...one of the most unique holes I've ever seen), and hole 15 (a big uphill crush to the hilltop, then a downhill crush over OB to try to get birdie 3).

The parking area isn't very big, so when it's crowded or in a tournament setting, cars need to line up aside the driveway and even across the street at times. There is no running water or bathrooms. There is a porta-potty between holes 4, 5, and 6. Holes 3 and 10 piss me off a little, as good shots can go unrewarded, and often punishes. On hole 3, it's a really tight tunnel on a hillside sloping down left to right. You can throw a laser right through it and roll on edge way to the bottom. The good thing is that you can usually still save par. Hole 10 is a turnover shot that is met with an absence of a fairway at the end, as a phalanx of trees protect the basket. There is no skill line through them, only a "hold your breath and hope for the best" situation. But, that's golf, and they're still fun holes.

Ship Rock is a ton of fun and offers great contract to Buchmiller and Akron, the other 2 courses in the immediate surrounding area. I would recommend including it on a road trip golf tour if you're going near the Lancaster area.

After reading previous reviewer Croow's review, I was tempted to just cut and paste his review in it's entirety. His is a extremely well written review and spot on with the information he's conveying.

Upon arriving at Ship Rock's sign on a busy county road and driving back a few hundred yards, I wasn't sure as to what kind of a course I was arriving at? A small private course? A large county park course? Turns out this is a county park set in the middle of farm country. It's a wonderful, large rolling area with hills, wooded parts, creeks, etc. And it seems to be disc golf exclusive!

The pads are great fly pads. Nice new Discatcher baskets and great signs with all the information including little arrows hanging underneath pointing you to the next hole.

The course starts out with a major "WOW' factor in my opinion. # 1 is either a downhill 870' (tee sign distance) or 704' (on-line map listed) Par 4 curving around a grove of trees. Bigger arms than me could throw over the trees and shortcut the hole. Recreational types still get to start their round with a big downhill and then possibly cut through the trees. Either way it was a really fun way to begin a round.

Then # 2 is about a 225' touch shot to a basket sitting just in front of a small creek. The tee area is very neatly carved into the side of the hillside. Another fun, great hole.

Then I really liked # 3. It was another hole carved into the hillside where a lot of work has gone into building and engineering this hole. Players are throwing uphill with danger on the right.

I don't think I've been so wowed by a course after the first three holes as I was after these the first three here.

Later # 11 absolutely makes my All-Time list of Unique, Clever Holes. From the tee it appears to be just another 230' hyser throw through the trees. But what makes this hole so unique is when you walk up to find the basket, the basket is hidden down an almost a straight vertical drop of a hill (maybe 50-60 feet). And just beyond the basket is the creek. So your simple little 230' annie now becomes a most interesting tee shot. Throw it hard enough and you could blindly get it down the hill to the basket. Or you could have a most interesting putt straight downhill. Too hard of a tee off and you could find yourself in the creek. Loved this hole!

Another clever, fun hole was the one where the old barn was removed and you're now throwing slightly uphill up over the old foundation works. It's a nice change of pace from the wooded and open holes on this course.

Those players with big arms will love this course.

As previously stated, the last six holes are overly long, sometimes boringly open, sometimes uphill and sometimes brutally hard. By the time I reached this point, I was spent after a long, hot day so I just walked the course with co-founder Travis and his friend. The course is built and designed for a player like Travis, who throws 400' straight drives and is young and strong.

I would love to see a set of Rec/Beginner tee pads built here at Ship Rock. I loved playing the front nine plus a couple more but the final six are probably too much for many recreational players to really enjoy. If you're an advanced/pro player, or a young strong rec player wanting to play some great well designed holes, you gotta come and experience Ship Rock DGC.

Great tee pads (fly pads). Great new DISCatcher baskets. Really interesting holes (but see below). Area is dedicated to disc golf so no interference. Nice mix of hole lengths. Mostly open but some wooded holes as well. All the par 3 holes were fun and not ridiculous. Plenty of opportunities to air out your arm. Pretty easy to find your way around.

Lots of long wide open holes that get boring after a while unless you can accurately throw 450-500 feet (see below). No amenities. Directions here are accurate but the turn-in comes up unexpectedly on a heavily traveled road with fast moving cars.

As I played the opening 12 holes, I was thinking "4.5". When I played the last 6, I was thinking "3.5 or lower" so I settled on 4.0 as a compromise. I got par on all par 3s (actually birdied #5) but I don't have a big arm so I bogeyed most of the longer holes (with at least one double bogey).

It starts out great with a par 4 curve around a wooded area and the basket tucked near the hill side; it wasn't that hard despite being listed as 704 feet. #2 is a short shot from the hillside through some woods to a basket on the other side on a clearing. #3 is a short one up a narrow path with a small landing area (big roll away possibility).

#4 is the first long open hole (par 4, 723 feet, gradual downhill) and was fun to air it out. #5 is a picturesque 244-footer around the remains of a stone building to an elevated basket. #6 is an 853-foot uphill par 5 which was fun for the first one of these.

#7 is a 696-foot par 4 slightly downhill with a mando and a tree line that you need to negotiate. #8 is a fun little 358-footer downgrade with the basket protected by a few trees.#9 is a 486-footer that follows a curving fairway that narrows to a basket in the woods up a small incline.

#10 is a fairly easy straightforward hole with a few trees to get your confidence back. #11 is the shortest hole (204 feet) but perilous as you have a sharp left turn with a cliff and the basket at the base of the cliff. If you overshoot, your disc goes into a large creek where you may lose it. For #12, you throw off a wooden deck through some light woods with the basket out in a clearing.

After this is where I got disappointed. #13 is a flat straight 298-footer in a wide open field. #14 is a flat straight 614-footer farther down that same wide open field. #15 is a 579-footer up a big hill but also wide open. #16 is a 640-footer down the same hill with one tree line to negotiate. Then #17 is a 538-footer up the same hill again (just farther down). Then you finish with #18 which is a 325-footer that starts up the hill and then levels out. It is also wide open and is not bad except that the previous 5 holes had already bored me as just drudgery.

It seems such a shame that the course ends on such a boring but still difficult set of holes. If/when I return I will probably just play 1-13, then 5-13, and then 5-6 back to my car.

- This course was very easy to follow. The signage was simple and never left you guessing. The progression of the holes felt very natural. Somebody obviously put a lot of thought into the design/layout of this course.

- Holes 3, 10, and 11 added some great variety to the course with tight shots and several obstructions.

- Lots of fun elevation changes and some interesting mandos.

- As of 4/9/13 a large pile of debris in the middle of hole 5 (looks like they tore down an old barn) made this hole a little dangerous.

- This may seem a little petty, but a bench or two (and maybe a few trash cans along the way) would be great amenities for this course. Right now there's no place to sit and rest (save for on the ground), and you will notice the occasional litter (which hopefully would be solved by the addition of trash cans).

- Don't overshoot the baskets for holes 2 and 16 unless you want to go swimming for your disc. These baskets are backed-up by a large creek.

- This course is very open (not much shade) so bring sunscreen and be prepared to fight the wind on holes 1, 4, 6, 7, 8, 15, 16, 17, and 18.

New Course. New Tees. Well thought out holes. Good Use of Elevation. Excellent signage and navigation. Right off main highway and easy to find. Nice scenery. Great flow and some nice risk/reward with the rough and water coming into play at times. Extremely fun and definitely challenging course.

Ob's are a little unclear sometimes especially on some of the long open holes. No noticeable restroom facilities or trash cans. (picky, i know, but not a whole lot to place as cons)

This is my second run through this new park. I played here in early September and the rough was still pretty unforgiving and the view was totally different due to the cornfields and other foilage being plentiful. As i have mentioned before, I have no real arm and do not drive far at all. However, this was not an issue despite some long holes. I loved the layout and brought a friend who had not played here yet, and he was very impressed with the fun factor of the holes from the get go. Most holes are fairly open but they all add some challenge with obstacles and the ob's. The wooded holes are especially fun and seem placed perfectly to add to the flow. holes 1, 3, 5, 11 and 12 were definitely my personal favorites and each had special touches that made them unique. The first time I played here was early in the morning and the dew made for an extremely wet day due to the open fairways. Today, even though Hurricane Sandy was over a month ago, the holes in the back of the course closer to the creek were just crazy muddy. It made it extremely difficult to walk let alone to tee off, but at the same time does not seem like it will be a regular issue. Overall this course is quickly becoming one of my favorites. It is a good almost two hour drive for me to get to, but it is definitely worth it especially with other courses not too far. It is challenging and could be frustrating for some beginners due to the long holes, but I enjoy a challenge and look forward to playing here again soon.

Beautiful scenery.
Nice layout.
Good mix of distance holes and precision holes.
Wonderful Signs.
Very Nice new rubber tees.

high grass in many places. Long pants recommended.

Once this gets broken in a bit, and perhaps once they plant a few more trees this course could be a 5/5.

Great new course for the area.

-Great tee pads and marking, not difficult no navigate at all.
-Good use of elevation and reasonable fairways, challenging, but not obnoxiously tight.
-Some really creative holes. One plays around an over grown barn, one drops off a 20 foot cliff (with the basket right at the bottom). It provides for some very fun holes.
-Just because my "pros" list is shorter than my "cons" list, don't be fooled. It's a good course.

-New and still rough, not in hole design, but in upkeep. Lots of grass, so unless someone is spending a lot of time keeping it up, it'll likely get fairly over grown.
-A lot of open field rolling terrain, which while sometimes very fun, also gives you practically no reference points to find your disc. As soon as it flies over a slight hill and its landing point is out of view, it'll likely take you a good amount of time to find your disc, even if it's not hidden. I spent a frustratingly large amount of time looking for discs in the wide open. The grass wasn't all that long, but long enough to hide the disc unless you were within 10 or 15 feet.
-Spotters are useful for many holes. Playing solo would be doable, but far from preferable. There's a few blind corner/obstructed view shots

-Make sure you know exactly where you're going. The driveway is very well hidden in the corn fields and marked with a sign that doesn't currently stick out very well.
-If you're from the area, this course is a definite play. If you're just passing through, Buchmiller park offers a shorter, but more well done course. You pick.

This is a great new addition to the area. The course has some long holes (600-800 footers) that might not appeal to all but they make good use of the terrain and avoid being repetitve. There is also a good variety with some shorter wooded and some water. It has great signage for a new course.

It suffers from the normal challenges of courses with lots of open grass. Bring a friend or use a spotter if it hasn't been mowed in a while.

This is a fun course even with the distance. It could be rough on players throwing 250 or less but it is a fun challenging course that deserves some play. props to course designer and the crew that put it in.