- Swinney Park has two 18-hole DGC loops straddling a large u-turn in the St. Marys River in downtown Ft. Wayne. A mixed-use bridge spans the river to connect the East and West courses. Along the steep riverbanks is thinly schuled patches of woods. To play both courses in one go 'round, simply take the bridge to cross the river when it appears. On the West course, after finishing hole #3, cross the bridge and jump on at hole #18 of the East course. If playing East first, after finishing hole #17, cross the bridge over the river and jump on the West course's hole #4. The river views from the bridge crossing are well worth it.
- Water spills and thrills here are above average on three points: sheer number, scenic aspect, and challenge. Nine water holes on both the East and West course for a total of 18 out of 36. St. Marys River is a moderate-sized river with a great vibe for discin' despite being in a fairly large city. The challenge here is sneaky. Sometimes the river lurks far in the background, punishing only egregiously wayward clunkers, other times it's front and center such as hole #17 on the East course with one of the fastest greens I've seen. Two of the best holes from a challenge factor are hole #'s 14 & 16 on the West course, which play over a small creek (not the river). Hit the gaps to make it over the water carry to protected pins atop wooded hills. Pure tastiness. West # 6's elevated peninsula green (with a muddy marsh pond surrounding it) is another standout in the H2O department.
- Elevation. Not a ton to speak of, but what is there is used to utmost potential. The drop-off to the river factors into a lot of holes. Hole #17 East has a quick hard drop-off to the river directly behind the basket, making it a real risky green. West #14 & 16 have some of the best elevation on the other course, as noted above.
- Adequate amenities: okay signage, tees, baskets. Flow & navigation makes sense, and the bonus 18-hole loop over the bridge at Swinney East is slickly executed.
- Swinney West has a couple of seams of elevation to work with, unlike the East course. Slightly rolling grassy areas come into play on hole #'s 1-9, 13, 14, & 16 - 18. A good mix of uphill, downhill, around hill, etc.
- West course has a marsh and creek in play as the main water hazards, vs. the river. The marshy pond area around #6 and the water carries over the creek on hole #'s 14 & 16 really stand out as exceptional holes.
- A couple of different places to jump on in case the course is jumping. Hole #'s 1 or 10 are good departure points from the West parking lot, and you can always divert to the East course after hole #3 in case of backups or delays.
- Park is well-maintained with minimal trash.

- The marshy peninsula hole lost a little of its glory due to being mostly muddy glup.
- A bit clustery in places. A few switchbacks to the next tee. A few tee areas a bit too close to previous baskets.
- The Swinney courses seem very popular with local discers (and rightfully so, they're super fun/solid jams); accordingly, don't expect a quick round out here during peak times.

- West Swinney's three big water hazard holes (#'s 6, 14, & 16) have less a chance of eating a disc than the East course, even though the West water comes directly into play with water carries and a fast, narrow, raised peninsula green. The creek that #'s14 & 16 throw over is just small enough that most discs should be retrievable with a little work with a big stick or retriever device.
- Swinney Park has two above-average disc golf courses in one big 36 loop! Scenic river bends, solid discin', what's not to like? Each Swinney Course receives a 0.5 disc bump in my ratings rubric for the 36-hole layout, which was intense, especially after driving a couple of hours and bagging Shaoff and Mastodon.

I've played this course twice now, with those rounds about 5 years apart. My development as a player lead me to appreciate this course. With a few small tweaks, it's a 4 or 4.5 rated course.
-Every hole has an "obstacle." There's something you need to navigate in order to get a birdie. Some are easier than others, but there are no freebies.
-Many holes have late obstacles, within the last 30-70 feet, that keep a good shot good and make a great shot great.
-Requires all shot shapes. Forearm or backhand dependent players will be able to get by with their preference, but you're rewarded for being able to do both.
-Challenging and rewarding par 3's. Par should be achievable for most players with some experience.
-Course is mostly separate from the rest of the park. It's a big area with walking trails and a playground, but you rarely feel like you have to play around/avoid anyone.

-Tee pads. Fix these and my review is at least a 4. Some are cracked/broken. Others are noticeably uneven. I practiced run ups multiple times, from different part of the pads, trying to find something that felt comfortable. This is a factor on at least half of the holes. A small misstep can really mess up a drive if you're not careful.
-Directions are just okay. If you don't check a map or UDisc, or catch it while driving in, you'll spend a good chunk of time looking for hole 10. Also, the path to 15 is not obvious. I missed it and walked most of 16's fairway before figuring out my mistake.
-Old baskets. They're in good shape for the most part, but they're still old.
-I think every hole plays a good 20-30 feet longer than the signs say. I've measured on google maps, and that proved true for a handful of the holes.

This course pushed current players and embodies the old school mindset of "everything is a par 3."

Not a pro or con, but you get little to no ground action on these fairways. It's a mix of grass/ivy/clover and more. My discs more or less stopped where they landed.

HOLE BREAKDOWN:
-1 is a perfect starting hole in my opinion. The obstacle is the slightly downhill elevation and the trees surrounding the basket. It's a great warm up hole if you don't have time beforehand. You can park this with a putter or go overstable driver.
-2's basket is straight and left from the tee. You'll probably want to use a disc with a fade of 1 or 2 so you can push forward enough. If you flip your disc up and go straight, you'll leave yourself with a circle two putt. There are also branches you need to throw under.
-3 let's you open up more. This is a mostly straight, slightly downhill shot with a couple trees on each side of the fairway. You could flex something down there if you want.
-4 is a tough birdie. It's uphill, kind of parallel to 3's fairway, but it's a longer shot. You need to throw about 200/250 to get to flat land. From there you have a 100-150 foot upshot into the green. The basket is surrounded by trees, branches force you to keep the upshot low, and it drops off behind the basket. The closer your drive is the better.
-5 is a downhill, mostly open right hand backhand hyzer. There's one tree in your way to throw around. In my experience, you need a more overstable disc than you expect. I tried to flide a putter and midrange down and ended up 35-40 right of the basket both tries.
-6 is one of the signature holes. You need to throw about 270 feet to an opening in the woods. Landing in the opening gives you a 120 foot upshot that goes uphill to peninsula with water surrounding. The closer you get to the basket, the tighter the lane gets.
-7 is a low straight shot. High branches force you to keep the disc down. There's also water behind the basket.
-8's teepad was very dirty (probably from flooding?) You throw slightly uphill through a tunnel to a basket on the left. It drops off behind the basket.
-9 is a downhill shot fading left. You need to push forward far enough to miss a large branch guarding the lane to the basket. The basket is also within 15 feet of water, so you don't want to go long on your drive or your putt.
-10 is across the main parking lot. It's an open field shot. Either a long right hand, backhand turnover or forearm shot.
-11 is a flat, open shot between a couple trees. The fairway is probably 50 feet wide. It's one of the easier holes
-12 is either a straight shot, or you can play a hyzer to the right, fading left. If you do, stay tight to the back side of the one tree to miss. The closer you keep it, the closer your putt will be.
-13 is either a right hand forehand shot over the road/walking path, or there's a tight backhand shot 20 feet off the tee. The backhand fades well into the green if you hit the initial gap. You need to keep the shot a little low to avoid branches.
-14 through 16 is my favorite stretch. 14 requires a good amount of power. It's uphill, through a gap that's over the creek. You need to turn the disc (or fade) right and push high enough up a hill to the basket. Pro-level shot in my opinion.
-15's tee is behind 14 basket, so keep walking east. This is a 400 plus foot tunnel shot that is completely fair. You have between a 30 - 40 foot fairway with one tree to miss in the middle. Land in the fairway, and you can par pretty easily. It needs a great shot to land in the circle. This hole may be on my dream 18.
-16 is the best example of the "late obstacle" I mentioned above. This is a slightly uphill shot, and you need to push straight the last 30-50 feet to make in into the green. The basket is up on a mound, with tree branches all around it. Most good shots will land you on the mound with a tricky putt.
-17 is a tunnel shot. You could flex a disc right and let it fade back in left. The basket is protected by a few, large trees.
-18 ends the course with a tunnel shot option or a shot out left that fades right. The basket is on a hill, sloping down left. The tunnel shot would be a great ace! There's one gap to hit, probably 150-180 from the tee. The baskets about 90 feet beyond the gap.

*Very mature, well maintained park
*Some signature holes- hole 6 peninsula, neat line on 13, and hole 16. Probably forgetting some good ones.
*Lots of elevation for flat Northern Indiana
*Some updated tee signs

*Several holes with the basket close to other teepads or fairways
*Prone to flooding
*The tee signs that haven't been updated are mostly gone
*I crossed some fairways getting to the next tee
Lots of throwing over walking paths. Not a big deal in the winter though.

Overall, this was my favorite course on my Fort Wayne road trip. It was a lot of fun with several unique holes. While playing it, I couldn't help but think about how big tournaments are held here. There's just too many dangerous areas if you overthrow a basket by only TEN feet or miss your line by a few feet and fly over the next tee. I parked hole 16 on the mound. When I walked up to the basket, my thought was thankfully I parked it cause ten more feet I'd be sitting on 17's teepad!

I'd love to play here again. Just not during a big tournament with 80+ players.

1) Concrete tees
2) Some elevation changes
3) Multiple water hazards
4) Highlight Holes: 6, 7, 14, 15, 16
5) Scenic in parts. Front 9 and 14-17
6) Another 18 hole course right beside it

1) Only 1 set of tees
2) Signs are old. Some are unreadable
3) Baskets are prone to spit outs. The inner chains are too short.
4) Canadian geese sitting/interfering on the holes and pooping everywhere
5) Holes 10-13 are boring, but I don't necessarily hold it against the designer because the land isn't as nice in this area. Still a con though.

This is a good destination for disc golf if you're in the Fort Wayne area. W Swinney has some fun holes to shoot. Holes 6 and 7 are really cool. 6 is on a mound with water on the left and behind and 7 has the water right behind it and a scenic view of the river on the right. 7 is cool because you have to club down. The water is only 25' behind the basket.

Holes 10-13 are flat and boring in comparison. However, it picks back up with 14-17. Elevation changes come back and water is back in play. Hole 15 looked like a monster 400+ hole with the river on the left and trees throughout with a narrow fairway to shoot through, but I couldn't play it because a giant tree fell on the tee and there were numerous ponds that had formed all throughout the hole from the recent onslaught of rain there.

This is not a championship level course, but it's a fun course and it's worth at least 1 play to experience it. I might go back to play it when it dries out and also to hit up the East course which I didn't have time to play.

- Mixture of tight, open, long, and short.
- Fun course to play.
- Many hole in one opportunities.
- Many hazards, but losing a disc is unlikely.

- No trash cans.
- No restrooms.

A very fun course that is good for beginners. Better than West Swinney in my opinion. Needs more updated signs. Beginners may want to skip the 6th hole, as the basket is on a very tight peninsula.

This is in my opinion the better of the two Swinney Park Courses. There is another course across the river.

19 Spiderweb baskets (including 1 red painted practice basket) that are extremely grippy. Minimal bounce outs.

Water hazards: 6-9 and 14-17 all have water hazards of some sort. 6 stands out the most: a peninsula shot where the basket is about 8 feet higher than the fairway. 14 & 16 cross a creek. 7-9 border a pond. 15 and 17 border a creek.

Elevation: With exception of holes 7, 10, 11, and 12 all holes have some sort of elevation change.

Concrete tees.

Carved signs on most holes. Could use a fresh coat of paint.

Variety. Trees, hills, water, and distances vary per hole. Just when I thought this course was easy, I met hole 6.

Signs are carved out of wood and have a map, distance, and hole number.

Course is two 9 hole loops. 9 and 18 both end near parking lot.

Some signs are missing and the ones that are still standing need replaced.

Only one tee per hole. Some holes definitely need an alternate tee pad either longer or shorter depending on the hole.

No trash cans nor benches.

No course map at start of course. It would really help new players.

I really enjoyed this course. It had several elements that courses where I am from (Indy) do not necessarily have (water, peninsula shot, hills).

Several trees look like they were recently cut down which may have made this course easier. Most of those trees were near baskets.

Trash cans, benches, freshly painted signs, and alternate tees would boost this course to a 4.

I'm not in Fort Wayne very often but I would like to play this course again.