Pros:
+ The practice area is pretty nice with lots of space, a nearby hillside and trees.
+ Friendly and welcoming locals/regulars.
+ The whole course takes place in a popular yet peaceful state park with gentle hills, healthy trees and well-kept grounds.
+ The tee pads are gigantic, wide and long solid slabs of contiguous concrete, but...
Cons:
- ...A few of the tee pads are slanted, damaged or both. Pads 4 and 5 come to mind as examples.
- No next tee signs.
- Nothing really stands out in terms of distance, vista, elevation or obstacles.
- I don't remember seeing a lost disc box, but I didn't look everywhere.
Other Thoughts:
My favorite hole here to play is hole10 because of its slight uphill slope coupled with the trees to contend with at both ends of the fairway. My favorite hole here to look at was hole7 mostly because of that solitary pine tree at the top of the hill neatly framed by all of the other trees as seen from the tee pad. My least favorite hole here is hole12 because of how plain, flat and direct it is.
The disc golf course at White Clay Creek State Park put me in a good mood. Even if I hadn't been invited to join a group of locals at hole11, I still would have had a good time because this course strikes nice balances between open & wooded, hilly & flat, and long & short. I would best describe it as a recreational park-style course where the focus is on neither the moment by moment tactics nor the distances to cover. From the main layout, there is nothing shorter than 200ft or longer than 400ft. This is a good "common ground" course where beginners, serious players, families and curious first-timers alike can go and enjoy themselves.
A player will encounter all of those if they come here on a nice day. March 21, 2021 was unseasonably warm for Newark, DE, and people were out in droves while I played. There were so many cars in the parking lot that I mistakenly thought that there was a tournament happening. This park is definitely a popular place, and it's not hard to see why. It has a relaxing vibe with easy-going hills and a tree cover that is neither dense nor sparse. It's a stress-free place to play. Plus, White Clay is a hop, skip and jump away from the infamous Iron Hill, so this course could be used as a nice warm-up round before or cool-down round after.
On the downside, I should say that I got lost once or twice due to no next tee signage. It would seem that many tees are close enough to the previous basket that it isn't so big an issue. Plus, from holes 11 through 18, I played with a group of friendly locals to guide me. However, there was nothing to point me in the right direction after hole3. The visible nearby tee is for hole17. I had to ask where to find tee4. Also, I found the course-specific challenges to be underwhelming. The trees weren't a big issue, and the sloping elevation was fun but not brilliant.
Still, I can recommend White Clay as an ideal spot to take a few of your friends during a nice spring or summer day and just have fun for a few hours. Precisely because it isn't terribly challenging is what makes it such a great place to enjoy with people who wouldn't ordinarily play disc golf. This place will get them hooked. So bring your favorite cold beverage and have a nice day at White Clay.