+ The course plays in a quiet and calm park. Time feels like it stands still here.
+ Numbered baskets have arrows to point the way, even when they aren't necessary.
+ Short distances are good for beginners/training/practice, but...

- ...Those same short distances are pretty boring for experienced players.
- There really aren't any finished tees to speak of.
- The signage is basic and faded plastic where they exist. During links3 - 8, all you get are painted wooden blocks with the distance and par.
- The links are overwhelmingly flat and open with a quick jaunt in the woods between links3 and 8.
- A majority of the fairways cross, border or flat-out overlap the larger park's paths, parking lots and play fields. Luckily, they aren't blind shots, but it's still hazardous design.

The very first fairway throws right past the parking lot and over a walking path with dense tree cover just to the left. So, your very first throw will end with your disc hitting a car, striking a person or getting lost in the woods. Things don't get off to a good start here.
Link2 isn't any better. That one throws right alongside two paths and concerningly close to a children's play area.

The course at New Hopewell Park feels crowbarred into the property. To my mind it seems like one of those courses that was installed simply because a bunch of other courses were popping up nearby. Or maybe there weren't a bunch of courses nearby, and they wanted to be the first? It doesn't matter. What does matter is that this is a brief and cramped course that plays flat and dull. Link12 is an absolutely straight, flat and wide-open example of that.
Only three of the fairways reach or exceed 300ft, and only five or six have noticeable trees to deal with. Link4 is both the longest at 386ft and also plays through the densest tree cover with actual lines to consider. Those two factors made it my favorite.

But the rest of the course is seriously underwhelming and not to mention a little dangerous for other parkgoers. If the disc golfer gets careless or the wind unexpectedly picks up, it could be a bad day for someone during peak hours. The worst part is that I can't think of too much to improve the course. The overall park is aggressively tiny, so I don't think they could relocate it. Proper tee pads, signage and other upgrades would be nice to see but do not address the disc golfing quality. This course is in a tough situation.

All that said, I don't think I can recommend this course to most players who are looking for a serious round. The trees barely make an appearance, so the tacticians won't like it. And even though the fairways are mostly wide open, the power throwers out there probably won't find much enjoyment here, either, because of the fairways' brevity.
But! If you are new to the sport and/or just want a gentle low-pressure place to practice, then New Hopewell is for you. If you are a course bagger, then this place is for you by default. But don't expect much.

Friendly locals and park staff. Bathroom near #1 tee and #18 basket open (only one currently) - it was nice. Course does loop back (but only after 18). Holes #3-#8 are in the woods and are the highlights.

Very soggy. I played Shippensburg (4.4 miles south) and West Pennsboro (15 miles ENE) and did not have problems with moisture at either course. Holes 1 and 2 play right down a walking trail with the tee and basket on opposite sides and with a small wet ditch all along the left hand side (baskets are close to ditch). Hole #3 plays to a basket near a horse area which has a sign warning you to clean up your manure with a horses***-shovel next to it. I could smell manure on my sneakers the entire rest of the round until I cleaned my shoes after 18 (and threw out the rags). There were lots of dog walkers, regular walkers and joggers out - all friendly but I did have to wait numerous times. Had to throw over/near playground equipment on one hole (no kids out). Holes #9 through #18 are wide open - boringly so. Never did find #8's tee so played near where the map said it would be.

Note that on Google Maps, this is called "New Hope DGC". When I left the course I was thinking "1.5" but then I played West Pennsboro and I thought "Well at least this has 18 so you can do field work with targets". So I am bumping to a "2.0". Got off to a bad start as when I was standing at #1's tee, a dog walker came up behind me, looked at me and just started down the path in that direction (the path extended both ways). She dawdled so I waited about 2-3 minutes to even start (and I'm not a patient guy) but I do believe non-disc golfers have the right-of-way. The map and hole lengths here are not terribly accurate. The hole lengths here do not always match the tee signs and in some cases both are wildly wrong. The distance for #7 says 187 feet but it felt like 87; this was true for a few other wooded holes as well. My favorite hole was #4 - wooded and 386 feet long. I could have used about 11 more like that. I also opted to play #14 and #15 after the others (moved the car after #18) as they are kind of disconnected from the rest of the course (but not bad holes). I just found the course to be bland (won't be back).

Although this course was built in 2013, the short lengths of some holes, the old style DGA baskets with stickers indicating the hole numbers, and the fiberglass signs makes you wonder if it's been around much longer than that. The "tees" are just spots in the dirt marked with ground level wood blocks painted with the hole numbers. With five par 3's of 185' or shorter (and a par 2 of 96'!), it's easy to think you should be throwing lids wearing short gym shorts and long tube socks.


The layout is pleasant enough, it's a beginner course in and out of the woods in a huge flat park. Several holes parallel or cross a paved walking trail, and your teeshot on 14 goes right over the basket on 15 - so park traffic could be an issue. There are a couple of long walks back and forth across the wide park driveway on the back nine. There's little chance of a lost disc, and the only "advanced" element is to play the parking lot as O.B. on hole 18.


The back nine holes are longer (250' - 300') but they're wide open, so there's little reason to miss pars, and a lot of opportunities to make birdies. Some of the baskets in the open fields have circular rubber mats around their base, which I think are there to keep weeds down around the pole and make mowing easier. Beware though: a low ace run that hits one of these mats is going to bounce like it hit a trampoline


Easy play in less than an hour. Nothing broken or "wrong" here. The lack of trouble and the short holes make it a good place for introducing newbies. Baggers should come here to score; otherwise leave it to beginners.

The long wooded hole #4 is challenging. The grass/undergrowth is well maintained and it is hard to lose a disc. The whole course can be played in 45 minutes due to the close layout.

The course is entirely flat. Most of the wooded holes are very short and straight shots. More variety would be appreciated.

It is a good course to play without worrying about losing your discs.

Recently expanded from 9 to 18 holes.

Still under reconstruction or relocation as tees are missing at #2 and #9. Poor drainage, entire course is flat.

This plays like two distinct 9 hole courses. The front 9 is just a set of ace runs with mostly short holes in the woods. The rest of the course seems kind of random, just stick a tee here and a basket there in this great big field. Props to the designers for the effort in creating what variety they could with baskets placed near the creek, trying to add in some trees at #14, and the painted log tee signs on the woods holes.

I would have liked the woods holes more if they were longer and not so cramped together even if this meant having only 2 or 3 woods holes. I sense that variety was hard to come by here which could explain why #17 is a gimmick Par 2 and there are lots of Ace and Black Ace opportunities here. Maybe a basket could be placed on the big dirt mound that you play around on #9, or a tee could be placed on top of it?

Bonus Feature: You can try putting from tee 1 to basket 18 for the shortest black ace ever. Beware of the guys who count a black ace as two off your lifetime total of aces.

Open holes leave room for options in attacking the baskets.

Ace runs throughout the course.

Course is simple to navigate.

Although it is currently a 9-hole course, more baskets have been added.

Wooded holes make some shot shaping necessary.

Use of obstacles.

Lack of signage and distance can make disc choice difficult.

Open field holes are a bit redundant.

Soccer fields and playgrounds limit usage of certain holes.

All in all this is a good course to go out and throw your discs. There is plenty of room to throw everything in your bag, and to get some practice out of your discs. The original 9-holes are simple to follow, but the addition of new baskets is exciting by adding in a few wooden holes. This course will be much different once another 9 holes are put into play.

Ace runs and birdy opportunities.

Signposts marking tee location.

Dead flat and primarily open.

Hole-8 plays across youth soccer fields.

Natural tees marked by signposts that contain information-less signs.

Despite the lack of a map or signs, the course was simple enough to navigate - holes 1-6 clockwise around the edges of an open field, cross the parking lot for #7, diagonally across the soccer fields for #8, and back across drive for short #9, near tee-1.

No distance information, but based upon my typical distances, I'd suggest two (6,9) are 200'-225', five (2-5,7) are 250'-275', and two (1,8) are 400'-425'.

Designers tried to use what few obstacles were available:
#1 left-turn around mid-fairway building, basket in edge of treeline
#2 basket behind very large mound
#3-4 basket next to treeline on left, creek just beyond
#5 a small tree kinda near it
#6 an o.b. basketball court kinda near it
#7 small trees to miss early and late
#8 soccer nets 
#9 nuthin' - ace run city!

Have fun! But expect neither elevation change nor shot-shaping ...