Fort Washington, PA

Fort Washington DGC

3.735(based on 15 reviews)
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17 0
Pierparknut
Gold level trusted reviewer
Experience: 11.4 years 90 played 87 reviews
3.50 star(s)

Reviewed: Played on:May 22, 2023 Played the course:once

Pros:

-Fort Washington was established in 2004 as a 9-hole target course, rated a measly 0.85 on DGCR. (DGCR Course ID = 511). Looking at the old photos and reading reviews, it is clear that a tremendous number of man hours have been put into the place over the past six years to transform it into an excellent 18-hole layout. Huge kudos to whoever spearheaded the project.

-This course has an active club which takes great care and pride in the course. Every hole has a large brick tee with a boot scrubber (great feature), two baskets, color tee signs, next tee signs, hand-made benches — the works. There's also a clubhouse near holes 3 and 7 with course maintenance equipment, picnic tables, an extra basket, a lost-and-found bin. I played on a Monday and two guys were mowing and weed whacking the fairways.

-I'm not always a fan of two baskets per hole, but it works here. The short basket is always the older Chainstar and is a par 3, usually 300' or less. The long basket is always the new red Chainstar Pro, and typically adds 100-300 feet to the hole. Several of the long baskets are par 4s, and hole 10 is a par 5. None of these holes are terribly long, but at least four holes have double doglegs and are really hard birdies.

-Well Designed. Especially memorable were hole 6, the only opportunity to open up on a drive, and #7, a beautiful downhill tunnel shot. Most of the holes are tree-lined but not heavily wooded and with grass fairways. For the long baskets, you need to be proficient working the disc both ways to navigate all the twists and turns. The layout makes good use of a moderate amount of elevation change. There are maybe a few too many blind holes but no silly holes on the course.

Cons:

-The fairways are fair, clean, and appropriately sized, but one tree kick can easily send you into the DEEP stuff — thick bushes, sharp rocks, thorns, as well as poison ivy in a few spots (especially hole 11 past the OB stakes). With the number of blind shots, downhill shots, and holes that tempt you to throw a driver when you shouldn't, there is ample opportunity to lose a disc. Although some areas have been cleaned up, plenty is still left to be done. Long pants are highly recommended.

-The course length to the short baskets is very attainable for newer players, and there is also a designated "kid's tee" halfway up the fairway (a small area marked with bricks). Unfortunately, the thick rough makes the course absolutely not suitable for anyone new to the game, as more time will be spent searching than playing.

Other Thoughts:

-On hole 4, a large tree fell and must have smashed the long basket. There's currently a portable DGA basket directly behind the uprooted tree, which makes for a very strange approach to the hole.

-For your first time, I highly recommend playing the short baskets. The shots are much simpler but still challenging, and you can get a look at the shot required for the long basket, which is typically blind from the tee. The tee signs are very colorful and nice to look at, and the distances are accurate, but the diagrams are not to scale.

-The park has a "Pack it in, pack it out" policy, and provides no trash cans of any kind. It seems to work — I did not see a single piece of litter.

-The facilities are top notch, the course is well kept, and the design is excellent, but the heavy rough is the one factor holding Fort Washington back from being a really enjoyable round. With the amount of work that is continually put into the course, however, it could easily be 4-4.5 rated within a few more years.
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8 0
Eraff
Experience: 4 played 4 reviews
4.00 star(s)

Great Walk in the Woods...Nice Course!!! 2+ years drive by

Reviewed: Played on:Nov 8, 2021 Played the course:once

Pros:

Visually and Physically, such a nice walk...filtered light and a good amount of wild Life.

Almost all wooded Holes...all holes offer the opportunity to Play aggressively while hitting a choice of approach lines. The course handles water and weather well

Conditions are good...good signage. Just a few nuisance areas for losing discs.

Cons:

Not many "Oh Wow, Memorable"/Signature Holes.

Some of the places you can lose discs ( such as Right OB on Fairway 6) are just brutal "evergreenish" and thorny brush.

Other Thoughts:

I play here and Sellersville....I have nice choices!!!
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17 0
Ryal
Gold level trusted reviewer
Premium Member
Experience: 7.4 years 240 played 202 reviews
3.50 star(s)

Fort Washington Is Not A Bad Course 2+ years

Reviewed: Played on:Jan 15, 2021 Played the course:2-4 times

Pros:

+ All eighteen tee signs are detailed, colorful and accurate.
+ All eighteen holes have identically constructed tee pads: decently long and wide wood-framed tessellated bricks.
+ Benches everywhere and brooms present every so often.
+ Some gentle elevation throughout.
+ Trees in varying density the whole way through.
+ Plenty of visible next tee signs all over the place.
+ Lost disc box, info board and big practice area by hole 1.

Cons:

- The forested environment is awfully samey and familiar. Repetitive throws among trees start to get tedious.
- Try to keep your throws on the fairway because some rough areas are dense with thorns and/or overly twiggy undergrowth.
- Very little variety among the holes. Just one or two open holes to throw at full power.

Other Thoughts:

This review is based off of the red layout.

My favorite hole here to look at was #5 because the bumps and divots along the wooded path give it a slightly rugged feel. My favorite hole here to play was #10 because it was nice to encounter a technical and satisfying par 5 in the middle of it all. My least favorite was right after it. #11 plays too close to a road to my mind.

Fort Washington is not a bad course. I originally played it way back in March 2019 when it was just a 9-hole course. Back then I remember a regular telling me that the course was destined to be a full 18-hole course in the future. So, I decided to wait until I played its 18-hole layout before publishing a review. The 9-hole course was decent enough, but was the wait worth it? ...Yes...?

Fort Washington is not a bad course. A lot of the courses I've played so far in my limited disc golf career need to take a page from this course's book because many of the things that I normally like to see in courses are found here. The tees and signage are all present and consistent from start to finish. Getting lost is almost impossible here (except for the notable exception of the criss-crossing paths between holes 8 and 9). There is always enough information for the player to use, regardless of their skill level. The baskets are pristine. The info board, lost disc box and practice zone are all in the right spots. It is a perfect example of infrastructure and ease-of-use within a course. However, it's not the tee pads or the next hole signs that attract players. No, it's the holes, how they play and whatever features reach out and grab the player to make the course memorable.

Fort Washington is not a bad course. It does the basics well, and, all other things being equal, I do prefer disc golf in the woods over disc golf in fields. But it has to nail the execution, or else the course runs the risk of being just another garden variety course in the woods. So, to that point, there is no oomph to my taste. There was no moment that made me think, "Ah, now this is more like it!" The elevation here didn't scratch my itch. There were no nice views. Precious little qualified in my mind as memorable. There wasn't much to distract me from the similar throws along similar trees. Certain moments did add a noticeable degree of variety like the wide-open hole6 and the welcomed downhill slope on hole12. But otherwise, it is a very tight and tree-heavy and safe and clean and perfectly playable course with no frills and no gimmicks.

Fort Washington is not a bad course. Warmly recommended.
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13 0
kindableu
Experience: 126 played 16 reviews
4.50 star(s)

True Gem 2+ years drive by

Reviewed: Played on:Oct 31, 2020 Played the course:2-4 times

Pros:

-well designed, two baskets on every hole give a ton of great layout options
-great signage tee pads and a bench on every almost every hole
-beautiful course that nailed that grass fairway through the woods look perfectly
-not having a big arm won't hurt you on the par 4s and 5 where accuracy is rewarded more than distance
-definitely a use every shot you've got type of course
-excellent use of elevation and downed large trees
-even though it can be crowded the design really hides the other players from you despite them
Playing only a few feet away

Cons:

-the rough is rough! It definitely pays to
Be accurate because when you are off the fairway you are in a sticker bush.
-if you are playing the Longs, while the par 4s are gettable for non pros some of the par 3s definitely are only birdie opportunities for the pros. Not a huge con but you need to realize you are playing for par on a few holes if you don't have 400ft power

And that's about it, this course went through a lot of evolutions and in its final form the designers obviously knew what it should be.

Other Thoughts:

This is a great course, there really aren't bad holes. The par 4+ require accuracy and a good game plan for how to attack them. The short baskets are still really great holes mixing in precarious approaches and technical shots
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8 0
In The Rough
Experience: 6 played 6 reviews
3.00 star(s)

A Work in Progress 2+ years drive by

Reviewed: Updated: Played on:Jun 1, 2020 Played the course:2-4 times

Pros:

Even though a majority of the course is wooded, every hole has a "fair" fairway...sometimes more demanding and sometimes more forgiving, but there is always a legitimate path to aim for.

The holes flow nicely from one to the next, and where "next tee" signs are present makes this even easier.

I loved being able to play both the short and the long pins...felt like two different courses at times.

New tee pads (with awesome benches made from logs) are great...and worked exceptionally well even after some of our recent heavy rains.

With the addition of new holes, the course has even more variety (length of holes, forehand vs. backhand, elevation, and even one pin on top of a fallen tree). That variety makes the course much more entertaining to play.

Lot's of paths have been groomed with wood chips, boardwalks, or gravel; so, even after a rain the walking paths are friendly and easy to follow.

Cons:

Lots of new signs greatly improve the play and flow of the course. However, some holes have more than one pin placement (particularly for the short basket) and there is no way to know which one to play to from the tee box. Hopefully an indicator will be added soon.

Other Thoughts:

I feel like I need to revise my review 2-3 times a year because that's how fast the club is making significant improvements. If you haven't been here in a while, you MUST try the course again to check out how good it has become.

Be aware that after hole 12 you MUST follow the "Next Tee" signs...as the walking path crosses over itself and you can accidentally skip some of the new holes. The signs make this obvious, but you do want to follow them.
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7 0
HyooMac
Diamond level trusted reviewer
Experience: 7.3 years 447 played 414 reviews
3.50 star(s)

Lots of Work Went into Expanding and Improving the Course

Reviewed: Updated: Played on:Mar 6, 2023 Played the course:2-4 times

Pros:

+ Expanded to a full 18 since my first play, with two sets of baskets (silver and red); a layout that's added six holes, but integrated them is a way that it still loops back to the parking lot. Beware of photos or reviews older than 2020 - a lot has changed.


+ Very good level paver teepads, great new Chainstar Pro baskets in the "red" positions, older Chainstars in the sliver, excellent signage showing both basket positions, some benches, some brooms at tees, and some mounted shoe brushes to remove mud at some tees that are nearest to low areas of the course


+ Short tee positions are clearly marked on the signs. The tees themselves are dirt marked by lines of bricks in the ground, but they're there to play if you want to bring along a kid or a newbie


+ Although this course is set in a heavily wooded park, the holes have well-defined (if sometimes narrow) fairways. There are some guardian trees, and some of the baskets are tucked away, but this isn't "woods golf" requiring really tight lines


+ Very good balance of straight and turning holes. Some left-to-right and some right-to-left. Not a lot of elevation change to work with, but several of newer holes take full advantage of what's there


+ There's a raised basket, and several holes have additional pin positions ("C") to add variety. Hole #5 has a sneaky additional C position that tucks the basket right between two big trees



Cons:

- Off fairway areas can be thick and thorny. By the end of the round, you'll wince at every treekick

Other Thoughts:

~ Plenty of parking (use lot #2), a practice basket, a lost disc box, and bulletin board. Wooden planks with non-skid are placed at various wet locations around the course. The course uses the bottom sections of a long ridge in the park, and the lowest parts hold water. The layout anticipated this, so it doesn't affect play very much, but the trails between the holes get pretty wet


~ Navigation signage is excellent. This is especially important in several places where the layout crosses itself and you have several paths to choose. It seemed like whenever it could get confusing, there was sign right there, pointing to the correct hole


~ There's even a "clubhouse" - a small park building dedicated to disc golf between holes 2 and 3. It's used as Tournament Central and a remote location for D Town disc shop.


~ The course obviously gets a lot of attention, both from the park staff and from a supporting club or volunteers.



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2 5
FTWbushwacker
Experience: 7.4 years 10 played 2 reviews
5.00 star(s)

Grrrrrreat 2+ years drive by

Reviewed: Updated: Played on:Jun 20, 2019 Played the course:5+ times

Pros:

challenging and unforgiving rough. Straight thorns on thorns. You have to hit your fairways unless you want to play army golf amongst the thorns (barbed wire. This is a pro, don't get me wrong. The course is much more strategic than it appears and the course makes you throw intentionally and specifically, rather than hard and low or some other vague aiming.

Cons:

unforgiving, especially during dense foliage

Other Thoughts:

love this course, and the way it makes way your options
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3 0
owvanguard
Experience: 16.4 years 170 played 34 reviews
3.50 star(s)

Great 9 hole course 2+ years drive by

Reviewed: Played on:Feb 16, 2019 Played the course:5+ times

Pros:

Two baskets on every hole
Paver tee pads
Great course flow
Lost and found box at tee of hole 1
Great supporting club

Cons:

The rough as many thorns

Other Thoughts:

I rate this course as a RED level course (850 - 900) and subsequently will be enjoyed by players of this level the most.

This 9 hole course will be an 18 hole course by the end of 2019. The fairway of hole 10 has been cleared.
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3 0
Scott12701
Experience: 34.4 years 63 played 6 reviews
4.00 star(s)

Great course that's expanding 2+ years drive by

Reviewed: Updated: Played on:Feb 10, 2019 Played the course:5+ times

Pros:

Fort Washington DGC is located in beautiful Fort Washington State Park and was originally a boy scout project using object poles. After years of neglect, it was transformed into a top notch, 9 hole course with 2 or 3 (basket) pin placements per hole. Each hole has two permanent baskets - Red (short) & Silver (long). The course is challenging but fair, with most of the course traversing the woods with plenty of trees to navigate. All holes have a clear cut fairway, where good throws are rewarded and bad throws are penalized. Throughout the woods, the rough consists of thick sticker bushes adding difficulty to the scramble, forcing players to use a variety of shots to get up and down.
Tee pads are brick, and there are Tee signs on every hole indicating yardage with a clear picture of the hole. The course is easy to navigate, with clear cut paths between holes leaving little confusion as to where the next tee box is located. A good variety of Par 3s and Par 4s, and even a Par 5 (Hole 10 Red).
Overall this in an excellent course that is beautifully maintained, well designed, and challenging and fun to play. With the multiple pin placements per hole, you can play a full 18 hole round many times over without playing the same layout twice. It is a must play for anyone visiting or passing through the southeast PA / Fort Washington area.
Pros: Beautiful scenery. Highly maintained. Well designed. Clear fairways provide a clear line on every hole. Good shots rewarded. Bad shots penalized.

Cons:

Tee boxes could be a little bigger and can be slippery when wet.
The course gets muddy after heavy rains.
Not an overly "long" course. Only a few holes allow for a true grip it and rip it (if you're looking for that type of course)

Other Thoughts:

Now a FULL 18 Holes!! (as of August 2020)
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7 0
The Valkyrie Kid
Diamond level trusted reviewer
Experience: 46.4 years 1562 played 1507 reviews
3.00 star(s)

Extremely Clean And Most Enjoyable Nine! 2+ years drive by

Reviewed: Played on:Apr 29, 2018 Played the course:once

Pros:

The DGC at Ft. Washington State Park is a super clean, enjoyable little nine hole play. At the beginning is a kiosk with scorecards and other information. The tee pads are brick with a nice clean border. There is even a shoe cleaner at the first pad. The pads each have a house number. The signs are laminated, colored ones. They look great but obliviously won't stand up to any teen vandals. The baskets are Chainstars complete with next tee arrows. Each sign list two distances for the different basket placements but there isn't anyway for you to know which placement-Long or Short, the basket is currently in. There are also quite a few next tee signs here making navigation easy.

The course plays at a comfortable recreational level. With the baskets set at the Longs, holes can be up to 85' longer, with the longest playing out to 460'.

# 7 is my choice as signature hole here. It's 320' and slightly downhill. The basket is visible down yonder sitting in a pretty little, grassy area. The toughest part here is hitting 30' gap about 200' ahead with deep rough on both sides, with maybe worse on your left. I also liked the next hole, # 8. It plays 165-215', depending on where the basket is set and like # 7, is a very pretty little hole.

Another plus here is I don't think there is the state park fee to get into this park. I didn't see any kind of a ticket booth.

Cons:

Laminated tee signs won't withstand the forces of the dreaded teenagers.

No system of knowing which position the basket is in today.

No terribly challenging for better players.

Muddy/boggy in places.

Other Thoughts:

This is a very nice, 9 hole course. It's currently a bit overrated at 3.60. It's extremely clean, does have a nice design and flow and does have some pretty holes. But in the end, it is only 9 holes and lacks that epic hole or scary water carry. It's also just a touch above a recreational course which is great for a below average rec player such as myself. But I believe, younger better players will want more challenge than this.
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7 0
itsRudy
Gold level trusted reviewer
Experience: 8.3 years 80 played 68 reviews
3.50 star(s)

Excellent Course Near the Conshohocken Ikea 2+ years

Reviewed: Updated: Played on:Aug 13, 2020 Played the course:5+ times

Pros:

Everytime I come here there's something new and positive to the experience. It has a very involved club and that's always spells good things for a course. It was easily the best 9er in the area the first time I came here and now it's growing to be an 18er, which I expect will be done within the year and polished by next summer.

Tees are excellent and well sized, bricks in a frame, about 10'x6'. They mostly give me a good experience. All holes have two baskets, DGA iirc (?) and a more distant Chainstar Pro. More often than not, the chainstars adds to the course. Beginners and Intermediates can feel at home here.

The course is forested with generally generous fairways on each hole with a few exception. The rough gets less rough every year but a bad throw will still land you in rough brush. It's feels mostly flat, 6 and 7 are downhill but I didn't feel much of an uphill on the first five although it has to be there. There is no water on the course, which for me is a plus.

Cons:

I have to update everytime I visit and I feel my review is outdated by the time I type it? Work-in-Progress and lots of progress. Most cons feel transient.

Consider my point rating for the original nine still. It's said there is 17 holes now, I know the original course well enough, with much trouble I found three or four more holes off of #7 basket, going right. The new but transient ad hoc signs were't really all that helpful in pointing me in the right direction of new holes. UDisk had no complete maps after 13 nor did the course itself. There was a lot of chainsawing going on so I wasn't eager to find the rest of the new ones anyway at that moment. I may be stupid but I ain't dumb.

#6 and especially #7 with all that underbrush are where disc loss will occur.

Yesterday (drizzly) the tees were rather slippery like there's a layer of algae growing on them. Most tees are flush but there are a few that look like I can fly off of and prematurely end my promising career in the prestigious noodle arm league.

The distant chainstars have the effect of feeling like the real hole as they take that extra turn or whatever and make the shorter baskets feel like less developed holes unto themselves.

About the only real gripe is that it's busy, especially on weekends! Park crowd is mostly away from the course but there are a lot of players. If you like to play alone, check local club events and do it early on a weekday.

Field Practice space seems limited to the field on neighboring Parking Lot #3, which is also on a similar incline as the course.

There are a few other minor nitpicks, like laminated paper signs on the original nine, well illustrated, but I assume the medium is temporary.

Other Thoughts:

Starting Point: First tee is located 40.116208, -75.228925 (Google Maps), near the end of Parking Lot 2. Tees 2 and 4 can be accessed through parking lot 3 with a little bushwacking.

Amenities: Has the nicest restrooms ever seen in a State Park, on parking lots 1 and 3. All the original nine holes now have generous benches. Surprisingly, on this course or section of park, there wasn't a trash can to be found although the distant bathrooms have them.
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3 0
Gliz
Experience: 7.5 years 10 played 2 reviews
3.50 star(s)

First Timer!! 2+ years drive by

Reviewed: Played on:Jul 25, 2017 Played the course:once

Pros:

-Varying Types of Shots
-Lots of Elevation Play
-Very Clear and Maintained Fairways
-Great Parking
-Signage to Lead to Pads Everywhere
-I Saw Some Deer!

Cons:

-Very, very bad roughs. Losing a disc on a nuffle is a good possibility.
-Narrow Fairways in Many Places
-Pads were mucky and not so great

Other Thoughts:

I really did have a blast at this course. I wish I lived closer. The elevation play was fantastic and not overbearing as some elevation play could be. Some of the holes were just very cleverly laid out and fun. Hole seven and hole eight were both a blast I thought. On a couple less than spectacular throws, I clipped a tree and almost lost a disc to the extremely high grass. I will certainly be coming back however when I get back up this way. Thanks a bunch for the great time!
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4 0
matthew215fisher
Experience: 4.4 years 2 played 1 reviews
4.50 star(s)

Love this course 2+ years drive by

Reviewed: Updated: Played on:Apr 7, 2017 Played the course:5+ times

Pros:

Great 18 hole course with tremendous upside:

- New baskets (2 baskets on each hole now)
- Impressive new course design (2 new holes already in 2019 - 10 and 11)
- Plenty different types of throws
- Different elevation and shots
- Defined fairways
- Nice signage for next tees
- Willing group of locals to improve further

Cons:

- LESS thorns off the fairways are rough, though they have be thinned (much less thorns now)
- TEES HAVE BEEN UPGRADED
- Now 18holes (2 baskets on each hole now)
- Yield to non golfers, so of the local walkers are clueless

Other Thoughts:

I'm a bit of a homer since this course is 5 minutes from my house and I've helped a bit with the club heading up the revitalization. In other words, this course has a special place in my heart, so my rating might be a half a star too much BUT this course really is the best 13 hole offering in the area. Located between other busy courses, this is a great alternative or perfect warm up course to the bigger, more crowed 18 hole courses nearby. Come check it out and I'm sure you won't be disappointed. My favorite hole is #7 and the signature hole is #8. **Obviously this review has been updated over time!
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3 0
RuthlessDiscGolf
Experience: 8 played 1 reviews
3.50 star(s)

Nice 9 2+ years drive by

Reviewed: Played on:Apr 9, 2017 Played the course:5+ times

Pros:

Played this course years ago when it was just posts and I thought how great it would be to have baskets. Low and behold they are here now! Nice layout with elevation and a mix of a couple long holes and a couple that you can get a possible Ace. I live close by so this will be my new "home course" I hope that this draws more players to the park. I would love to see another 9 put in. Facilities are well kept and bathrooms are clean. Very nice State Park.

Cons:

Still under construction so tee pads need a little work.

Stay on the fairways, a lot of Thorns!

Other Thoughts:

Plays fairly quick, good for that quick game on the way home from work.
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4 3
will1442
Experience: 8.4 years 20 played 3 reviews
3.50 star(s)

Fun little course 2+ years drive by

Reviewed: Updated: Played on:Mar 21, 2017 Played the course:5+ times

Pros:

Played this course for the first time last night and I have to say I am impressed with what they have done with it.
-Good variety of short and long holes
-Some very cool and unique holes
-Nice new Tee Pads
-Works in many different shots

Cons:

-only 9 holes
-Lots of Thorns
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