Water Golf Return to Pennsylvania page
600 Riverside Dr
Harrisburg, PA 17101-1449
(717) 232-8533
Cost: $7
Par: 49
2015 Ratings 2018
Ratings
Difficulty: 7 Difficulty: 7
Creativity: 7 Creativity: 7
Atmosphere: 8 Atmosphere: 7
Water Golf on City Island is
located on a picturesque island in the Susquehanna River in the City of
Harrisburg. The island can be accessed
by car over the Market Street Bridge or by walking along the historic 1890
Walnut Street Bridge. City Island offers
a number of recreational opportunities and is home to the minor league baseball
team, Harrisburg Senators. And of
course, there’s a mini golf course located on the northern tip of the Island.
The Water Golf Course uses slopes,
rocks, and water hazards to challenge the player. The course was well maintained and
landscaped. The mats were in good
shape. There are plenty of shade
trees. The course was challenging, but
not overly difficult. There were some
unique hole designs as well.
When Mandy played the course there
was no running water, however, it was off season (April) so the water might not
have been turned on yet. The putters
were rubber, but they were in good condition.
The Putting Penguin really isn’t a fan of the rubber putting tees, which
are located on this course, but using them did not seem to affect play.
Overall, if you’re in the
Harrisburg area we highly recommend this course. It’s in a great location, it is fun to play,
and it’s very affordable. A family could
make a whole day out of City Island by also riding the train, watching a ball
game, and taking a ferry boat ride.
2018 Update
The course remains a good challenge for a first play through, though after you figure out a couple of the tricks you’ll be likely to lower your score. As Mandy noted in her review, there’s a lot of different style holes and there is a good mix of easier, more aceable ones, and ones that take a little more thought and skill. We did notice on a couple of holes (such as 14 and 15) the harder “top” hole that looked like should be the hole to give you a benefit wasn’t any better than going around for a safer shot.
In the three years since we last played we also noticed some degradation in the maintenance of the course. First, the rubber tee mats were bulgy and bumpy in many places making for a less than idea tee spot. Also we noticed some significant wear on some carpets (especially the 18th hole) and some very noticeable seams on a few of the holes. While the tee mats had a bigger impact on play, the carpet maintenance for the most part did not but certainly will if not taken care of soon. The brick edging was a in good condition and there was plenty of space between the holes with a lot of good shade still. It’s definitely worth the play if you are in the area, or already on the island, and the price is still pretty low for a course in that type of area.
Reviewed by: Mandy, Duffer, Pat and Putt
Reviewed in: 2015 & 2018
See the course’s website for
more pictures include some of the 1996 flood damage.
See our Flickr album for more pictures,
including all 18 holes.
Course Pictures (click to enlarge)
2018 Pictures
Map
Cost: $7.00
Par: 49
Difficulty: 7
Creativity: 8
Atmosphere: 9
A beautiful course in a sports and recreational complex on an island on the Susquehanna River in Harrisburg, PA. The course was in great shape with good landscaping and running water. A mini suspension bridge in the middle of the course connecting two holes was unique. We were there on a crisp, sunny day and the course was very picturesque. The only negative was that the turf around a number of cups was a big ragged which resulted in some lip outs. There were some interesting holes where the ball is allowed to run off the course into the rough for a penalty if the putt is not properly played. Also, on hole 16 you must chip or bump over a small patch of rough to get onto the putting surface - see the pictures. There are some challenging holes with two par 4s, but overall the course is very playable for the average player. There is a snack bar also available at the end of the course.
Reviewed by: Dan Sheridan
Reviewed in: 2018
Visitor
Pictures
More pictures have been included in our album.
Visitor Review #2 (2007)
Cost: $5.50
Par: 49
Difficulty: 7
Creativity: 10
Atmosphere: 10
It is no longer necessary to walk the 1/4 mile
to the Water Golf on
Reviewed by: Robby Vizard
Reviewed in: 2007
Cost: $5.50
Par: 49
Difficulty: 6
Creativity: 7
Atmosphere: 9
This golf course was a very nice golf course. It
was located on the
Reviewed by: Andrew Culbertson
Reviewed in: 2006