Fairfax Station, VA

Burke Lake Park

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2.975(based on 54 reviews)
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2 1
hogwild428
Experience: 25.6 years 303 played 25 reviews
3.50 star(s)

Disc Golf at a carnival 2+ years

Reviewed: Played on:Aug 13, 2012 Played the course:2-4 times

Pros:

Great signs and teepads. The holes start off criss-crossing in a small patch of woods, but it soon opens up and you get to a few in the open that give you a chance to throw a little harder. Most holes are pretty short through the woods. Great course to work on your mid-range game and accuracy of your drives.

Cons:

The beginning of the course is right next to a small park with a carousel and a small train. There were a lot of people around and they got in the way a few times.

Other Thoughts:

There isn't much chance to really grip and rip any super long drives like I usually like to do, but overall it was a very nice course to play.I would recommend it to anyone in the area. It says pay to play, but there was nobody in the booth when we got there.
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7 1
ARIK HANZIN
Experience: 13.4 years 9 played 6 reviews
3.50 star(s)

Pretty sweet course 2+ years drive by

Reviewed: Updated: Played on:Aug 11, 2012 Played the course:5+ times

Pros:

Variety of shots - You'll throw all kinds of shots here. You can save yourself many a stroke if you have a good RHFH

Holes are pretty well marked, close together, and naturally flowing. I get lost on the simplest of courses, and I have never that issue here.

Very beginner friendly - Rough is pretty forgiving, pretty hard to lose discs here too.

Great tee signs - Accurate and tell you everything you'd wanna know

Awesome pro tees - Rather than just adding some yardage, the pro tees give you a completely different, and more difficult, look at the hole, that will really spice up the round if this course is a bit too easy for you

The holes start off easy and get harder

Rounds typically take 45 minutes or less, so you can play as many as you want.

Well placed trees - each tree on each hole is a clever obstacle that will make or break your score

Most holes are wooded but the woods are not too thick, making for lots of tricky but very possible shots.

Theres a small additional parking lot for the back 9 if you'd rather start there.

Cons:

You never really get a chance to use any muscle - Some would say you don't even need a driver on this course, I only use it for 1 or 2 holes

Lots of traffic - always very crowded, by disc golfers and pedestrians alike. I've had to explain to many a bewildered mother that the disc golf course was not part of the playground.

Only 3 open field holes and even on these ones the trees will give you trouble

theres no water fountains anywhere. (in the whole park, not just the DG course.)

Pedestrians with small children often wander through the fairways

It's easy to fall off the high tee pads and sprain your ankle during your drives

If you're not a Fairfax resident, it costs $10 to enter the park, but this is rarely enforced.

Other Thoughts:

This is my home course and I play it nearly every other day. While there are quite a few cons, most of them are pretty negligible. This course makes excellent use of a small space, and is a great quick round to get in after school or work.

You can apparently buy Innova discs at the park, but I have never seen anything like that.
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2 5
FrisbeeFrogs
Experience: 19.3 years 12 played 7 reviews
4.00 star(s)

Beautiful course 2+ years drive by

Reviewed: Played on:Jul 15, 2012 Played the course:once

Pros:

Beautiful scenery, tees in good condition, nice signs, enough variation between different holes.

Cons:

People not playing disc golf wandered occasionally to the fairways which caused some delay.

Other Thoughts:

Being a Finnish player the Burke Lake Park was an exotic experience. Lots of beautiful scenery and very different flora and fauna.
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3 3
EdMcMuffin
Experience: 2 played 2 reviews
3.00 star(s)

Fun little course 2+ years drive by

Reviewed: Played on:Jun 26, 2012 Played the course:once

Pros:

I really enjoyed the flow of this course. The signs were very well done (Full color, showed path to next hole, pegs showed which current hole was in use). There were plenty of ace possibilities, as a few holes were very short. Manditories were also well marked.

Cons:

The biggest complaint I have with this course are the ultra-high tee pads (There were more than one occasion where I was sure I was going to fall off and twist my ankle). My other big complaints were the foot traffic around the course, how close each hole was to one another, and the amount of other players on the course. Not that a lot of players is a bad thing, but when the holes are that close to each other, you run the risk of hitting someone on another hole and visa versa. As for the foot traffic, the course is situated between a carousel, train, and trail. One hole was so close to the carousel that we got heckeled by the riders. The joggers with thier kids also made the way onto the course as they used it for a short cut to the train or ice cream shop. My last complaint is all the trash. For a public park, there were a ton of empty beer cans and no trash cans.

Other Thoughts:

I know I rambled on with my complaints, and while there were a lot of them, this was still a fun & exciting course to bring a couple newcomers to. They had a great time and so did I !
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5 1
discgolfcrazy
Experience: 12.6 years 14 played 4 reviews
3.50 star(s)

Vacation Disc Golf, loved it! 2+ years drive by

Reviewed: Played on:Apr 14, 2012 Played the course:once

Pros:

I would have never thought there would be a course here.

Uses lots of different shots. i had to use BH, FH, AND OH.

It is situated on a 888 acre lake with a merry go round and a small train.

Then, you step up to hole one and it is right across from the 7 hole, so you step onto the awesome concrete teepads and look at these beautiful tee signs. They have real pictures of the landscape and and the pictures of the different pins for each hole. the pins are marked with a screw that is in the specific hole on the sign. So you see all this and the hole is one of the easiest holes i have ever played, 146ft.I deuced the hole and the baskets were innove discatchers in nice shape.

The first 5 holes were my favorite holes on the course, elevation was good, lots of drops and easy deuces.

However, once you got to get to the back 9, it gets way more difficult. Hole 9 is a hole with 250ft, and lots of elevation and the basket is kind of tucked away in the woods. hole 10 and 11 are the only open holes on the course, and of course i manage to lose my black dyed monarch on hole 10, the most open hole on the course.

Then you cross the street and its back to the very tight, wooded area. On a couple holes i threw a fh and it skimmed past a tree but hit a tree right behind it -_-.

On 18, it shoots back around to the beginning of the course, and then on the way out you can get some ice cream!

Cons:

very crowded!!! On the first 5 holes there is a jogging path with lots of people and children.

There also was lots of dgers and i had to wait for some guys from holes 10-18 and then there were some guys behind me waiting for me.

The fairways were very close together and i had to stop several times because im not the most accurate player and feared i might hit other people.

Also, there were people walking across the fairways on hole 1 and 2.

Costs $10 if your not a fairfax county resident( but when i rented a car with a virginia plate, I just said i had just moved here and didnt have any proof and they let me in for free.)

Other Thoughts:

very beginner friendly and would love to come back. I got a 53, -2 :) next time i go and see my aunt i must come back on a weekday though because it was too crowded. I didnt get to actually see the shop, but i hear that there is a place where you can buy some discs, like 15-16 for champion. they only carry innova and nothing special, like kites and maybe a teebird. also if you have the time, the fishing was also really fun, i caught a bass and a couple catfish. :)
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5 0
tistoude
Gold level trusted reviewer
Experience: 16.3 years 200 played 61 reviews
3.00 star(s)

Train rides and ace runs! 2+ years drive by

Reviewed: Played on:Oct 28, 2011 Played the course:once

Pros:

This was a fun, crazy little course.

First off you walk through a mini carnival to get to hole #1. There is an ice cream parlor, playground, bathrooms, miniature golf, vending machines, a train and a freakin carousel! This could be the easiest course ever to convince your wife and kids to come to so you can get a round in.

Next up you get to hole #1 and look at the tee sign which just happens to be "The Nicest Tee Sign Ever"! And there are 17 more of these little beauties out there. They are full color, accurate overviews of the hole (and surrounding area), with distance for all pin positions and tees and where the next tee is located. There is also peg hole to indicate which pin position it is currently in. These signs should be held up as shining examples of what disc golf tee signs can be. Of course after you look at the sweet tee sign you realize that the hole is like 140 ft long and a super easy deuce/ace run...

Burke Lake has a really nice progression to it. The course starts pretty easy with a lot of deuce opportunities on the front 9 but as you go along the holes become a little more difficult, the distance increases a bit, the elevation changes get a little bigger and the angles to pin are harder.

All but 2-3 holes are in thick woods but the fairways are easy to navigate and the underbrush is minimal. There is a good balance to the holes with maybe a slight edge to a gentle anny off the tee. Some good line shaping is necessary to get a shot at a deuce on most holes and the whole course places a nice emphasis on hitting your lines and touch shots. Even if you do get offline though the rough is pretty forgiving.

The Innova Disc Catchers are in great shape and are good to have since they are so visible in the thick woods. There are two concrete tees every hole with the "Advanced" tee adding some extra distance and usually a shifted starting angle.

Maintenance on the course is very good. The grass (what little there is) was mowed and there was very little debris on the course.

Navigation was very easy even without the tee signs telling you where the next tee is. There is a very good flow to the course that makes it easy to follow.

A very fun course with a lot to offer for all levels of players.

Cons:

Busy. Even without the mini carnival in operation this course gets a good amount of play on it. On a weekday morning there were easily 10 groups playing. With the fairways so close together that means a lot of discs flying close by. There were also lots of joggers and pedestrians near the course (although I didn't see any non dgers on the course itself). You might run into back ups here and you definitely want to keep an eye out for other players.

Some of the tees had some pretty significant drop offs around them. A couple were 6 to 8 inches off the ground which can easily lead to turned ankles or falls.

Short and not terribly challenging. On this course it is unlikely that you will need to break out the drivers. If you can throw a controlled mid you should get a lot of deuce looks here. If you like to air out your plastic then this is not the course for you.

Other Thoughts:

This is a fun course that I can see has a good following with good reason.

There are lots of deuces available with a couple of good ace runs. I would love to take a beginner out on this course since it would be challenging for them without being discouraging.

It is always nice to have to other courses right down the road in Giles Run and Pohick Bay.
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2 3
lancesven
Experience: 15.4 years 3 played 2 reviews
4.00 star(s)

Solid Course 2+ years drive by

Reviewed: Played on:Oct 28, 2011 Played the course:once

Pros:

The signs were great here. The course flowed really well and was easy to follow. There were pro and am tees on nearly every hole which made it more challenging.

Cons:

There weren't many 4 holes and no 5 holes. It would have been nice to air it out on a few but a flick shot was always enough.

Other Thoughts:

Some of the Pro tees were covered over a bit, so it didn't seem like they were played all the time. But always check to see if they are there, they make it a more enjoyable round.
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2 3
VaDGer
Experience: 17.6 years 4 played 4 reviews
2.50 star(s)

Nice Park 2+ years drive by

Reviewed: Played on:Jun 25, 2011 Played the course:2-4 times

Pros:

Great signs. Good mix of open and wooded holes.

Cons:

Busy. A lot of other foot traffic through the course; dog walkers etc. I couldn't find any maps and I am sure I couldn't have navigated this course without help of a local player I joined. Fairly congested, long throws will put you in another fairway

Other Thoughts:

This is a good recreational course. Other enjoyable things to do while in the park.
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4 1
Brent Renken
Experience: 19 played 9 reviews
2.00 star(s)

Obstacles Galore 2+ years drive by

Reviewed: Played on:Mar 10, 2011 Played the course:2-4 times

Pros:

It's a course where you wouldn't think there would be one. It challenges you to make precision shots on 90% of the holes which is good for those with a soft touch and bad for those who like to let her rip with all they have. I like that there are a lot of tree's lined up directly in your path and that the mandatories make it near impossible to cut through the ruff but the short distances leave you in danger of overthrowing the basket if you do happen to get through. This, of course, is a part of the fun. Most of it is in the forest but there are a few holes that cross into open terrain designed to let you air it out. The holes are well marked and you're unlikely to lose your frisbee.

Cons:

$8 fee. Heavily used course means your either waiting or passing through a lot. Errant throws easily wind up on other fairways since the holes are packed in so tight and there are walking paths right next to the baskets. The same reason you respect the tree obstacles leads you to hate them as well once you hit the point of wishing you could just chuck the disc out without the thunk that comes with the effort.

Other Thoughts:

It's a great course to practice with a variety of discs and to test out various throws. The overhand throw came in handy more than once. Forehand and backhand throws were needed as well. It's a good course and you'll be happy you played it but it's not the best available in the area.
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1 2
thanxmikey
Experience: 31.5 years 76 played 4 reviews
3.00 star(s)

Winter at Burke Lake 2+ years drive by

Reviewed: Updated: Played on:Dec 18, 2010 Played the course:5+ times

Pros:

Please keep in mind this round was played with 3 inches of snow on the ground. The tees boxes were not slippy at all. They are made of that coarse concrete that has a slight roughness to it. This helped with traction alot and although I could not use as much leg action in my throw it was close considering the conditions.

There were only two other groups of golfers so we had the whole course practically to ourselves.

The snow made it easy to find discs. The last few times we played here the leaves got thick so this was a nice treat.

Course in good shape.

Bathrooms are open in main house before hole # 1.

Cons:

A lot of hikers on trails but not enough to impact throws.

Other Thoughts:

I was elated to be out playing a game of golf on a brisk december day. temp was about 31 but no wind and a very nice day.
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3 1
lxdawg25
Experience: 20.4 years 34 played 21 reviews
4.00 star(s)

Been Awhile. 2+ years drive by

Reviewed: Updated: Played on:Nov 30, 2008 Played the course:5+ times

Pros:

It's been awhile since I played this course so if there is a new layout I haven't seen it. This was always a fun course to play. My wife (fiance) at the time lived close by to this course and it was always a great place to go play a round before I went to work. This course is slightly short but this doesn't mean it is by any means easy. The holes for the most part are densely wooded which forces you to be accurate instead of just having huge throws. Great flowing layout very easy to follow and navigate the course. I tended to play early in the morning and during weekdays and the crowds were rarely a factor. The length of this course made it great to play a quick round if you are in the area.

Cons:

I do remember one weekend when I was trying to play and spent 10 minutes waiting for a family who's child had wandered away from the carousel. I really did not want to shot while the child was there but they were in no hurry to get off the fairway. During the fall months the leaves on the ground can be brutal for finding a disc that you know is sitting in the middle of the fairway

Other Thoughts:

Sometimes they do try to charge you if there is a guard at the guard house and you do not have a local ID. I would usually give them my fiance's (wife now) address and just tell them I had not gotten ID changed they never really questioned me.
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6 1
prerube
Diamond level trusted reviewer
Premium Member
Experience: 17.4 years 275 played 236 reviews
2.50 star(s)

mini amusement park 2+ years drive by

Reviewed: Played on:Nov 21, 2010 Played the course:once

Pros:

the best part is the amenities: vending machines, restrooms, mini golf, ice cream parlor, Carousel, train rides, playground, etc.
Beautiful new tee signs that have a screw to mark basket location.
Concrete tee pads.
excellent place to introduce the sport.
Good Discatcher baskets

Cons:

$8.00to get into the park
Holes are really short, 1/3 of the course is under 200 feet. Average hole is 217 feet. Longest hole is 293, so Drivers are not needed.
Course is crowded, pedestrians are often in dangerous areas and walk very close to baskets.

Other Thoughts:

Course looks like it is a very family friendly place and disc golf is a side attraction. This course would be a place to bring the family and you can sneak away for 45 minutes to play and get back to your family, or introduce them to the sport here.
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1 5
kennykaka
Experience: 15.4 years 6 played 4 reviews
3.50 star(s)

my local spot 2+ years drive by

Reviewed: Played on:Sep 14, 2010 Played the course:5+ times

Pros:

New hole placements! This has made for some significant change in course play. Maps are very nice.

Cons:

soda machines are constantly only take change. people/families strolling threw the course, there is a sign that warns them but they don't care. I just don't pay attention to them either. People get offended I don't understand!
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7 0
Jermy
Experience: 14.4 years 60 played 11 reviews
3.50 star(s)

Pleasantly surprised 2+ years drive by

Reviewed: Played on:Aug 17, 2010 Played the course:once

Pros:

- 2 Concrete t-pads for every hole
- Baskets are in good shape (especially since its such an old course)
- Lots of amenities, great place to take a family for the day.
- Nice mix of shots, very forgiving layout makes for a casual low stress round
- Very difficult to lose a disc
- Holes are easy to find and have VERY nice new signs that show both t-pads and all pin placements
- mostly wooded keeps it cool during hot days, as well as a nice lake breeze

Cons:

- Can be extremely crowded and unsafe, I think i heard "FOUR" yelled 5 or so times today haha.
- Might be too easy / short for some
- Some of the holes cross over other holes, so you have to keep an eye out for other players alot.
- No place to practice putting
- costs 8$ a car to enter the park on weekends / summer

Other Thoughts:

I played 2 rounds today, the first one was really quick with noone in the way. The second round was much the opposite, lots of large groups and discs flying over other fairways and regular park goers walkin dogs down fairways and things about doubled the amount of time it took to play.

I was considering giving this course a 4, its close, but some of the layout decisions and safety issues are kinda a big deal. The pro t-pads are great even though few people use them. I really appreciated the extra work taken to put them in.

The course is VERY beginner friendly, short holes, not alot of places to lose discs at, very forgiving. The signs are absolutely awesome, very nicely done and informative. I really enjoyd being able to work on my mid range throws alot at this course.

I would definitely play this course again, but I wouldn't pay 8$ to do it.
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3 5
dbertrand
Experience: 1 played 1 reviews
4.00 star(s)

Great for casual player 2+ years drive by

Reviewed: Played on:Jul 31, 2010 Played the course:once

Pros:

As a casual player, this course is perfect for me. Holes are generally short and wooded, so accuracy is more important than length. New signs at every tee box with hole map & length are welcome addition. Also added some new hole placements.

Cons:

Some holes are close to well used trail, so watch your errant throws. Also get the occasional oblivious park user wandering through.
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2 1
TidBitWitIt
Experience: 1 played 1 reviews
4.00 star(s)

First & Favorite (So Far) 2+ years drive by

Reviewed: Played on:Jul 29, 2010 Played the course:5+ times

Pros:

There are all types of holes on this course, open and closed, long and short, blind and obvious. It's a beautiful cluster of fun.

You'll often see pro's out and about because of how fun this course is and how inconsistently difficult it can be.

Cons:

During certain times of the year, some hole locations can get a little peculiar and ridonkulous --- as far as how deep in the woods they are.

Families sometimes obliviously walk through the course - on weekends mainly - that walk aimlessly and slowly, but yet, amazingly, straight down the middle of the fairway, staring at the people in front of them with strange plastic saucers in their hands.

Other Thoughts:

I love this course, it's ace-able at times, it's perplexing at times, and yet it's almost always fair while playing all par 3's (except #15 when they reposition the hole mad deep in the woods). Conclusion, it's tough to just play one round.
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7 1
bcr123psu
Gold level trusted reviewer
Experience: 15.3 years 85 played 64 reviews
2.50 star(s)

Solid Family & Beginner Course 2+ years drive by

Reviewed: Played on:Jul 3, 2010 Played the course:once

Pros:

Burke Lake Park is a large, well-maintained park in Fairfax county. The park is fairly easy to get to, there is good signage directing players to the section of the park where the DG course is located, and the course itself is in decent shape.

The course itself is a short, wooded, and fairly technical. In terms of the course layout, there are a good mix of left-to-right and right-to-left doglegs. Although short, the layout should provide a good challenge and learning experience for new players and a nice place for more well-seasoned players to practice their short-mid range.

Burke Lake Park features two concrete tee pads per hole on most holes. For the most part, both the concrete tee pads and the DISCatcher baskets appear to be in great shape.

Most holes had useful tee signs* that included distance, intended flight path*, and par (* see cons).

Cons:

Safety is something that concerned me during my round at Burke Lake. The course is located in a multi-use park and in close proximity to bike paths, playgrounds, and a miniature train. Bystanders pass through the course frequently and have no idea that they're in the middle of a fairway (which is a great opportunity to educate them about disc golf). Additional safety concerns include some layout issues involving the close proximity of tees to baskets and the location of tees to one another*. This sets up some degree of confusion and danger.

Though wooded, the challenge factor at this course is somewhat diminished due to the short fairways* which average 217 feet (* see other thoughts).

While tee signs are always a nice amenity, on several of the holes some of the tee signs were missing while others had inaccurate pin placements depicted. There are several open holes located across a street in the park that are difficult to locate. I had to have a few locals point me in the right direction.

Other Thoughts:

This is an older course. Some issues that had been identified with regard to hole length and layout were probably not an issue when the course was first developed as disc technology wasn't as refined as it is now. This had to be taken into consideration when rating and reviewing this course.

The par values shown for each tee appear to be beginner values. While I didn't allow this to impact my rating, each hole should likely be a par 3 across the board regardless of skill level.

All things considered, Burke Lake Park is a quick play and is pretty fun. There aren't too many courses in this area of northern VA so if you have an itch to play some DG, Burke Lake Park isn't a bad option.
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1 1
Gmasterandy
Experience: 7 played 4 reviews
3.00 star(s)

Starter 2+ years drive by

Reviewed: Played on:Jul 2, 2010 Played the course:once

Pros:

its a good starter course nice and wooded loved it that way great area for a family outing lots of stuff to do for families...not very changeling but has a few good holes

Cons:

some of the pro teas are not very well marked but kinda figured it out as we went along...think there is to many people that just walk onto the course without starting from the beginning since the baskets are so close together so not a good idea to hit someone while they play the course when they just randomly walk and play any holes they want

Other Thoughts:

there should be a box for score cards with the map on it at number 1 tea box or as u walk onto the course at 1
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1 1
superphreak169
Experience: 24.4 years 9 played 2 reviews
3.00 star(s)

burke lake 2+ years drive by

Reviewed: Played on:May 13, 2010 Played the course:5+ times

Pros:

good starter course with a few technical holes from the long tee's. The park is well maintained they just mowed the fields again. There are only a few trash cans speckled trough out the course but people seem to be pretty good about keeping the park clean

Cons:

lots and lots of people, you will have to wait on the tees for larger groups. watch out for people picking up discs on some of the longer holes when the park is busy if you shot is not on the fairway people seem to think its ok to just pick up your disc and walk away with it

Other Thoughts:

fun coarse but get there early to avoid the crowds. watch out for people picking up discs if you can throw. some of the baskets are blind from the tee so if you can get you frisbee down near the basket you are right along the trail. I had a disc stolen by a runner on hole 2 last week.
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5 0
jrawk
Experience: 15.3 years 85 played 13 reviews
3.00 star(s)

A is for Atmosphere 2+ years drive by

Reviewed: Played on:Apr 11, 2010 Played the course:2-4 times

Pros:

Beyond friendly atmosphere makes this a down-right fun course. You can't possibly have a bad temper at Burke Lake. Everyone smiles! (See other thoughts section for details).

- Midrange shot-shaping course through woods with defined fairways. While all are short, nearly all holes are Dog Legs and scattered with trees. The straighter holes will benefit from overhand shots and rollers.
- Cement Tee Pads, two per hole, and well marked baskets.
- Easy to follow layout with accurate tee signs.
- Elevation Changes on every hole, however nothing extreme.
- Favorite hole: #16 is Dog Leg Right with a Mando in middle of fairway. The drive is a 200' up and down hill shot, finishing well right of the Mando behind a couple tree-stump obstacles.

Cons:

No need for distance drivers. Even though some are longer, nothing feels beyond 260 even from the hard tees due to elevation changes.

- The holes marked Par 4 are too generous and are easily played in 3.
- The lake itself never comes into play, and there are no water hazards.
- Easy to hit a tree and ricochet on other fairways. On busy days you will need to be aware of other golfers.
- Entrance fee: $8.00 -- although worth it if staying for more than Disc Golf.
- Very busy park during good weather. Many pedestrians wondering fairways thinking they are hiking trails.

Other Thoughts:

Friendly for entire family. $8.00 entrance fee is steep, but it will get you inside a fantastic community park with great features. Plan a day with your friends, family, or special someone and enjoy everything the park has to offer.

A 218-acre lake with fishing, boating, rowboat rental, camping, a miniature train, a carousel, outdoor volleyball courts, open fields, an 18-hole par 3 golf course, clubhouse with snack bar and driving range, horse shoe pits, an ice cream parlor, picnic areas with grills, 3 playgrounds, trails, amphitheater, and miniature golf course.

http://www.fairfaxcounty.gov/parks/burkelake/
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