Ouch
3 Helpful / 2 Not
Pros: Very, Very, Very tight and technical.
If you are looking for a course to really test your accuracy, this is a good one.
Cons: Very, very, very tight and technical. A few holes are so tight, i think even advanced players could find themselves walking off.
Layout was confusing even with a map,if you can make sure and play with someone who knows the course
Other Thoughts: I played this course and threw two discs on several holes. There were several times on a few of the longer holes where one disc was perfect and the other was very bad, and my second shot from both disc had almost no chance at reaching the basket. Think this course could use a few of the fairways to be opened up so as to make making birdies more likely than winning the powerball.
3 of 5 people found this review helpful.
Nice little course near Seneca
3 Helpful / 0 Not
Pros: Heavily wooded technical course about fifty minutes (in light traffic) from downtown DC. The course is roughly sixteen minutes from Seneca Creek and if you are making a day of folf this is a great chance to shoot another 18!
The course is definitely technical in nature. Heavily wooded areas and elevation change makes it interesting to find the basket. The dog legs in the course are roughly split 6 to the left and 5 to the right. As lefty I didn't feel like there was any huge preference.
It's beautiful little area and an excellent use of space. For a tight course it uses the elevation changes pretty well.
Wood chip tea boxes are decent, and generally easy to find. I highly recommend loading up the map for the course on your phone.
Lastly, going to a course on a nice fall Saturday, we ran into only 3 groups on the course. So definitely a less traveled course.
Cons: The signage is definitely lacking. Plastic PVC tubes sort of give directions and while I found it kinda fun to search for it's worth cautioning about.
Tee boxes are wood chips and that's ok but I could see it not being a benefit to some.
This course is tight! We had one group behind us and had a close encounter of the disc kind between holes 8 and 10. Some of the baskets are around 30 feet apart from each other, so knowing the numbers was critical. However, the numbers on some of the baskets had been rewritten a couple times with markers. It was a little confusing. Load up the map on dgcoursereview.com!
Bugs! The course being in the woods it should be expected but with the dense foliage the spider webs, gnats, and ticks (see below) definitely made my wife want to stop.
Other Thoughts: I'm having a hard time reviewing this course because the first thing that comes to mind is the tick discovered on me later in the evening. That left a sour taste in my mouth about the course.
However, definitely going to try the course again, and really appreciate the tennis club allowing free public access. It looks like they are trying to get some hole sponsors on their website and plan on maintaining the course.
3 of 3 people found this review helpful.
a walk in the woods
6 Helpful / 1 Not
Pros: Peace and quiet - this course is usually almost empty, which is a pleasant change of pace from the often-overcrowded Seneca Creek course.
Free play - even though the course is on private property, you are free to use the parking lot and course. Just be respectful and clean up after yourself
Diversity - Even though all but two holes are in the woods, there is enough variety of layout, length, elevation, and distance to give each hole a unique feel. Overall, elevation is used to better effect here than at Seneca.
Challenge - There are only two or three holes on the course that will forgive bad tee shots. Planning your flight path and focusing on accuracy are essential here.
Cons: Bugs - plenty of gnats, as well as mosquitoes in the vicinty of holes 1-4 and 10.
Heavy leaf litter in the fall and winter can make it hard to find discs, even on the fairway.
The course is too challenging to recommend for beginners, and there is no practice basket.
Other Thoughts: "Tough but fair" is the best way to describe this course. There are very few opportunities to grip-n-rip, but neither are there ridiculously narrow fairways or silly features designed to cause frustration. Hole for hole, this course offers among the best disc golf experiences in Maryland, though overall I still prefer Seneca Creek for its mix of open and wooded holes.
6 of 7 people found this review helpful.
If only.....
2 Helpful / 1 Not
Pros: This is a really cool course with a lot of potential. It is secluded in an area that no one but DGers would want to go. This is what I imagine Seneca Creek to have been like 10 years ago. The course rambles up and down hills. It's mostly in the woods and offers lots of challenging lines to draw off of the tee. 18 tees and discatcher baskets make this a complete course. Bring your own water and don't be shy about playing on private property. There's hardly anyone outside of the fenced in facilities every time I've been there. The first tee starts at the front of the tennis courts and goes into the woods. This is a great course to play when you want to beat the summer heat as it's almost completely in the trees.
Cons: The tee boxes are the biggest shortcoming with this course. The are in disrepair and need to be completely redone. At least half of them are crooked, meaning not perpendicular to the ground. They make for uncertain footing. Also, a good number of them are only about 5-6 ft. long with no room behind for a run up. The wood mulch needs to be raked and packed down more and the walls of the boxes are falling apart.
Other Thoughts: I've been to this course two times and played four rounds. I have yet to see anyone else playing out there during the week or on the weekend. There is a lot of trash and there are broken bottles are to be found. It's a shame that more people don't play this course. It really has a lot of potential and is still very fun and challenging. I'm happy to have this as an alternative to Seneca Creek.
2 of 3 people found this review helpful.
A hidden gem
5 Helpful / 0 Not
Pros: Situated almost entirely in the woods surrounding the Swim and Racquet club in an upscale DC suburban neighborhood, this course is what a par 3 woods course should be. Course offers a big variety of looks, hard hyzers and and anhyzers, uphill, downhill and side hill fairways, and some blazing fast greens (especially on the early holes so make sure your approach game is ready at the gitgo). Precision first is the rule, but if you don't make it far enough up the fairway on some of these you'll still have a tough look for your par.
Eighteen Discatchers in perfect shape, only one pin setting each hole that I could find. One boxed and mulched tee per hole. The signage issues noted in earlier reviews have been addressed by large clear Next Tee signs pointing in the appropriate direction. There are PVC pipes at the from of each tee with the distance and a crude drawing of the fairway. Most walks from green to tee are pretty short but far enough away to be clear of approaches to the green.
The middle holes down by the creek (Amen Corner?) are a whole lot of fun and what makes this course excellent over just very good.
Several of the pin settings are on significant downhill grades, with a steep drop off not far behind (which may include a bath in the creek), but I view this as a positive as it adds a requirement for precise distance control on your approaches.
An absolutely beautiful setting for a walk in the park.
Cons: Even though it was early spring, the gnats were out in full force, so bring bug spray and a hat. Lots of walking up, down and along some fairly significant grades, so wear appropriate footwear (particularly if it's recently rained).
No bridges across the creek (which you need to traverse several times), not too difficult during low flow but i imagine this could be a challenge after some rain.
I prefer hardtop tees so mulched tees are not my favorites, but these were pretty well maintained (few divots) and while a few seemed a little cramped, were long enough for the most part.
This is nitpicking, but some of the holes on the front have a deja vu element as they play back and forth along side one another (much like a ball golf layout). There's what looks like an un-needed mando at first glance on 17 but it's there to protect the 16th green. When you get closer you see that you wouldn't want to approach from the wrong side of the mando anyway. I didn't really care for #18 as it had a wall of cypress about 15-20' before the pin. You have to either skip or slide one through low between the trunks or roll it through I guess.
Other Thoughts: I love woods courses and this is just the perfect piece of land for one. The designers did an outstanding job with it, I don't think I'd change a thing. I'm not sure how well the course would handle a crowd but I don't think that will be an issue, we were the only group there on a beautiful afternoon.
I'll echo what others have mentioned, keep in mind that this is basically private property and that we are guests. The course was very clean, I only saw one bottle (removed) during the whole hike. Please bring a trash bag along with you and help keep this place pristine and available to the DG community.
5 of 5 people found this review helpful.
If you like the woods then you're gonna love this course!
4 Helpful / 0 Not
Pros: **Updated Review 2015**
Private course with 18 Boxed Mulch Tees with 18 Discatcher baskets. Secluded and scenic 16 acre disc golf only area around the Swim and Raquet club that is un-useable for anything else. Almost entirely heavy wooded and very hilly elevation terrain along a creek gives you all kind of variety. Lots of tight fairways that seem to favor backhand or forehand on some holes. Very little underbrush, well groomed, and navigation is fairly easy with big next tee signs and the tees are pretty close to baskets.
Cons: Mulch tees are probably my least favorite and they are short to boot. Holes play fairly close to together, so beware if others are playing(seems rare). The terrain is a little rough and rolled ankles a few times, also slipped down some steep areas. Can be muddy around the creek and had to pass over the creek some places. Tee signs are just pvc pipe with distance, but it's not hard to figure out the hole. Gnats and other flying insects can be bad in summer.
Other Thoughts: Wow...this is an interesting course and glad I made the trip. Accuracy is definitely rewarded over distance here as there are no holes to let a driver loose. It will test your skillz on elevated and heavily wooded fairways, and has lots of shots I've never seen before making it both fun and challenging. The creek and landscape give this course its beauty, but the elevation can be extreme and trees can be brutal. Aside from a few people playing on the tennis courts, the tennis balls and some deer, I had the course to myself making it very peaceful.
There is potential for this course with better tees. I use a fairly compact x-step, but felt cramped on a number of tees. Hole 13 was probably my fav, and the whole middle section was great. I definitely recommend this course(except to rank beginners), and hope to play again soon!
4 of 4 people found this review helpful.
Serenity
4 Helpful / 0 Not
Pros: The woodland setting and the integration of the natural environment into the course is the best element here. All the baskets are in place now. I found the wood chip tees to fit well with
the nature of the course. There are not a drawback as driving distance is not much of an issue on any of the holes here. Instead there is a premium on creativity and accuracy in shot making. The many trees, hilly terrain, and the creek make for challenging but fair obstacles. The relatively short length and general openness of the woods keep it friendly for advanced beginners.
Cons: LOTS of gnats. Even copious amounts of bug spray didn't keep them at bay. I disagree with the reviewer who thought the basket positions were "unfair". A testing layout doesn't mean
it is an unfair layout. Yes your disc can roll away down a hill with a not-good-enough approach shot but given the short distance of the holes this course's defenses are the trees and the terrain. The course can be tricky to navigate as many holes are adjacent and baskets and tees can be in close proximity and there are lots of blind shots. I have never had a problem with traffic from other folfers on this course though.
Other Thoughts: There are no grip-it-and-rip-it holes on this course. There are woodland courses that have relatively open if narrow fairways and impenetrable rough, think Whispering Falls, and those that have open woods with many trees dotting the fairways and rough that is not so difficult to penetrate, like Boulder Woods. This course is among the latter. A spotter would be helpful here to guard against disc loss but is not near mandatory such as at Whispering Falls or Seneca Creek. The holes near the creek with the dense low vegetation are the greatest risk. This is a nice course to play in the heat of summer as your first drive takes you into the woods and you stay completely in tree cover till your last tee shot brings you out. How some people have managed to lose tennis balls so far out into the woods is beyond me. Rotting tennis balls
seem to sprout as if they were woodland fungi.
4 of 4 people found this review helpful.
Maturing nicely
7 Helpful / 0 Not
Pros: (Rating of 4 is based on how it's playing right now, a solid 3.5, with a .5 bump for the steady progress in development.)
I've been playing this course for some time and it just keeps getting better. I agree with other reviewers that one of it's best features is the land itself, but it's also how the designers have used it to create some really great golf. Each hole is unique and the full 18 requires a broad range of shot making from drive to putt: right/left/straight, uphill/downhill/cross slope, low/high ceiling, water hazards, etc. Its laid out well so there's no criss crossing fairways or long walks between holes (there is one slight walk back from 16 to 17) and play begins and ends right at the parking lot.
While most of the holes are in the woods and were frustratingly wooded when all 18 were first put in, they've been cleared out gradually for more open fairways. Now there's more playable area and some fantastic shot lines. The holes which do involve field shots--1,5,8,17,18--are also being opened up, giving more relief from the trees. Some of the baskets/tees/fairways which used to play too close together have been worked out. Another great feature, which helps give the course variety, is a stretch of holes on the back nine--12,13,14,15--which play along and over a really nice creek. These holes have a ways to go in overall maintenance, but each plays the creek a little differently and include some of my favorites on the course.
Recently all remaining baskets and tees were installed. The choice of wood chip for the tees is debateable, but it does fit the character of the course. If they harden over time and are raked and leveled regularly they should be fine. I actually don't mind this variable as part of the challenge and uniqueness of the course.
Another thing I've come to appreciate (especially with the heat this summer) is that because Darnestown is mostly in the woods and plays along water for a long stretch, it's the perfect hot weather course.
Cons: Little short: Overall course distance is on the short side. Looks like there may be a few holes which can be lengthened, but otherwise it will always rely on obstacles and terrain to provide difficulty.
Gnats: Much like Seneca can have a lot of gnats. I've played at all different times and in the late spring and summer months you can expect them, so plan accordingly. In the fall, winter and early spring it's typically not an issue.
Natural wood chip tees: These were definitely unstable when recently installed. Hopefully they'll tighten up. Some tees are shorter then regulation length, but it looks like there is room for these to be lengthened.
Lacks signage: I've played the course enough that I don't need signage, but this would definitely be lacking for the first time player.
Private club: During the middle of the day in the summer months the tennis and swim club can be crowded. And while I've played at these times without any issue, it still feels a little uncomfortable. Not sure what the situation is for the parking lot gate exactly and parking along the road seems less than ideal for the neighborhood, but again no problems so far.
Other Thoughts: Not only is Darnestown a nice compliment to other great courses in the area such as Seneca, Patapsco and Rockburn, but if progress continues as it has in its first few years, it could be grouped with these for some of the best disc golf in the DC Metro area.
7 of 7 people found this review helpful.
Beautiful, serene; work in progress
11 Helpful / 0 Not
Pros: This course is a tricky one to rate, because there are so many things to love about it, but also so many things that could be improved.
The best elements of this course is its beauty. The stretch of land has great hills, a nice creek, glorious old trees stretching up into the sky, and lots of wildlife. And from the road, its hard to even guess the course is there -- with the exception of 18s basket, the rest of the course is completely hidden in the woods, though its in the middle of some of the nicest homes/manors in the D.C.-area.
Every hole has trees -- most holes have lots of trees. However, these are old, tall trees with minimal undergrowth (and fallen trees/branches are very well cleared by whoever maintains the course), so finding discs is easy.
Holes range from ~200' to ~450', but many play longer than their distances because of elevation. The 200' hole, for instance, probably plays closer to 350' because of sharp elevation. There is a good mix of throws required, though this is definitely a course that favors backhand shots. Even the shape/gaps in the left-to-right hooking fairways tend to be lines that play better for a backhand anhyzer than for a forehand hyzer. This is not a bad thing -- just an observation. I am a forehand-dominant player, and yet threw backhands off the box on at least 2/3 of the holes.
The elevation is one of the things that really works well for this course. Most holes involve some amount of elevation change or involve throwing over elevation change. I love varying terrain, and this has some of the best land I've ever played on.
I saw one reviewer who was frustrated with the fact that many of the baskets are on hills or have "fast greens" that can cause rollaways. I actually consider this is huge PLUS for this course. Yes, there are a lot of fast greens, but none of them seemed unfair. I've played much faster greens on some of the top courses in the country, like Renaissance Park, and fast greens -- when fair -- make you a better player. It requires you not just to throw your disc, but to think about approach speed, landing angle, and even what kind of plastic to use to minimize skips/bounces/kicks/roll-aways. Fast, fair greens make you a better player. I consider the fast greens one of the best parts about this course -- it helps separate a good approach from a great approach.
I've only played through this course once, but I threw several teeshots on most holes, trying out different lines and approaches, and I consider all the holes to be fair. There are well carved fairways and some interesting lines that you don't see on most courses. Some are particularly memorable and unusual. Hole 12 is a slight downhill, almost straight, ~300', with the stream to the left. The R-to-L hill slope and the shape of the gap off the teebox makes it almost impossible to throw a backhand shot to the pin; most RHBHs will fade left into/across the creek. The best shot is a slight forehand anhyzer or helix -- a touch shot with a neutral fairway driver. This is a shot few players have, but everyone should learn. And on this particular hole, it's the best option off the box. I AM THRILLED at some of the unusual hole designs that make this a very unusual training course.
The other pro I need to mention is that this course (for now) has virtually no traffic. My wife and I were out there on a Sunday, midday, and while the pool was full and their were people on the tennis courts, there were no other players on the disc golf course. It is an undiscovered gem. Right now, this has an immense FUN factor. Great shots, great holes, and no one else out there. I know of no better course in the D.C. area to practice and improve your game.
Cons: Several of the cons right now are due to the newness of the course. I think 6 of the baskets are still missing. Instead, plastic buckets are hung on PVC pipe at roughly basket level. This isn't ideal, but it does simulate putting pretty well. It's a much better solution than I've seen at most in-progress courses. I think this will be taken care of soon.
Signage is minimal -- marker drawings on short pieces of PVC stuck in the ground. This wasn't a big deal -- it kept with the minimalist aesthetic of the course, and playing through the first time, without a map, we had no trouble finding any of the tees or baskets. The PVC marker drawings did what they needed to do. Better signage would be nice, but is not needed. If the course is obvious, even in the growth of early summer to someone who has never played the course, then it is as good as it has to be. My only worry is that the short sticks of PVC may not last, getting vandalized or knocked over. But for now, they work just fine.
It would have been nice to have at least one "field" hole. I don't think this course really has the land for it, but I always want one hole per course to really just rip it. The closest this comes is on the back, ~13/14, there are a couple of holes that have wider fairways and higher ceilings on some really cool shots by the creek. These are awesome holes, but I still miss non having one "rip-it" hole.
The bugs are bad here. Yes, it is early summer and we've been having rain, but it was so bad that my wife had to quit playing a few holes in, covered in bites (yes, we had bug spray). I wasn't particularly bothered, but if you're someone who attracts bugs, be careful. Lots of mosquitoes and ants, in particular.
A lack of par-4 holes. I am someone who loves a mix of holes, and this course didn't have any true par-4 holes. There appeared to be enough land in places for some of the holes to be stretched out to make this possible. I'm not sure if this will eventually be in the plans, but if there were some longer, PRO pin positions (maybe they can use the PVC/bucket combo for this after they get the other six baskets?!?!?) it would add a whole extra dimension to the course. Half a dozen pro placements (buckets) for some longer holes would take this course up another notch.
Other Thoughts: One thing that should be noted: teepads are dirt, and aren't always level. This isn't a big deal to me -- I don't mind rough teepads as long as they aren't mudpits. But I know this will matter to some people -- I included it here, because it is neither a pro, nor a con in my book. These tees were fine to play on and did not detract from the course. If anything, I like them better here because it helped the course feel very natural. Concrete teeboxes would actually detract from the course, making it feel too intrusive on the land. I also think this course has potential to be refined and improved over time, so I encourage the designers to keep the teeboxes very simple and easy to change, if needed, in the future.
Overall, I found this one of the most enjoyable courses -- one of the most FUN courses -- that I've played in a long time. The enjoyment value is definitely higher than my more objective rating of this course. I would expect that with some work, this could move up to being a 4-star course. But in the meantime, I would highly, highly recommend it.
If you're coming in from out of town, I think the best outdoorsy day you could plan in the D.C. area would be: hike the Billy Goat Trails on the MD side of Great Falls Park (only a few miles from this course), then come to Darnestown to get in a fun warm-up 18, then grab lunch (head straight up Germantown Road a few miles and you'll have a shopping center with dozens of quick-food options, e.g. Elevation Burger, Chick-Fil-A, Five Guys, Moby Dick's Kabobs, ), and then head to Seneca, just a few miles away, for 27 holes of the best disc golf in the country.
Darnestown fills a missing niche in the D.C.-area disc golf scene. It's a course I'll be returning to as often as possible. Hope to see you there.
11 of 11 people found this review helpful.
There Will Be Punishment
7 Helpful / 0 Not
Pros: Good technical course has a nice combination of length and obstacles to avoid. Good variety of hole layouts that will force you to use all your throws. Guys who maintain it do a very nice job and are friendly to visitors. Shady with nice baskets (now on all 18 holes). The holes along the creek are particularly fun. This is a course that punishes mistakes and forces you to really think about where you want that first shot to land.
Cons: Natural tee pads outlines by 3x3s can be very uneven but now have wood chips that help greatly. No run up potential. Insects can be bad; ground growth can be bad. The biggest con for me is that many of the baskets are located on slopes (or near slopes) that punish good shots. Number #3 is a good example where you can think you parked your throw only to find that it has rolled down a big hill into a creek so that your next shot is longer than the previous one. Navigation is a bit tough on your first trip (more so finding the baskets than the tee areas).
Other Thoughts: My opinion on this course changes every time I play it. Sometimes I think I will never come back even though it is the course closest to my house. Other times I think "what a great challenging course this is". The "unfairness" of the basket placement has been somewhat improved since the baskets were installed. Number 3 has has a 4 foot diameter circle around it that is flatter so parking your drive or approach shot, it will actually stay there. It is still sometimes better to intentionally miss the fairway and stick your disc in a bush rather than risking roll away. It worked to my advantage yesterday on 18 where I put my shot into the cedars where it dropped out for a 15-foot putt. Many of the teepads are right next to the previous basket which makes navigation easy but has the obvious problem. On your first trip, make sure you scout out the first basket (it is near the largest tree that you can see from the pad) and you will see that a RHBH flight path goes right over #2's tee pad. Not a problem in general as this is lightly played but you should be aware. I have aced #2 here even though it isn't my favorite hole. Hole #10 is the hardest (and best hole) in my opinion. My latest round was typical: a 2, twelve 3s, two 4s, and three 5s.
7 of 7 people found this review helpful.
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2-4 
5/26/2012 
5/26/2012
Review By: PanamaJacks 
This review was updated on 6/11/2012
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