+Wooded and tight. This park on the creek is a nice break from suburban sprawl surrounding DC. This course rewards accuracy and decision making over distance. It is my kind of course as an accurate but fairly noodly armed dude.
+There are aces to be had on many holes from the shorter sets of tees. They would all be fun aces and not too short or too open. Some are blind holes.
+Decent elevation. Nothing too crazy or extreme but not flat either. There are necessary landscaping features to keep erosion from decimating this high use park.
+Great signs that are very detailed. They show all 4 tees and all the basket locations. They are full color and show lines to the hole. Navigation is very easy here.
+For being located in a high density, busy area, the park was very well maintained, clean, and well taken care of. A lot of older metro courses that I have played in other places get beat up a lot with not even maintenance.
+Very solid variety of length although the course is missing a bomber hole. That doesn't bother me at all but might be a con to some.
+Nice concrete tees that are plenty big enough for this course. They look older but are in good shape.

-The biggest complaint is going to be that this course is very crowded. The park is small and there are nice trails along the creek. There aren't too many green spaces in this area of Northern VA and there are a lot of people so this place will get a lot of use when the weather is nice. Thankfully I was able to play on a cool, weekday morning so the traffic was low and my experience was pleasant.
-The crowding and overall size of the park is going to create potential safety issues on busy days. Fairways are tight, baskets are near tees, trails run near the course, etc.
-I played in late spring and it was in good shape as far as undergrowth. I think that it might get a little more out of control in the summer. Early/mid spring is probably the best time to play as it is greening but not crazy.

+Note on my trip here: Was visiting the Capitol with the wife who was on a work trip. I had lots of extra time so I made sure to bring my bike (#1 hobby) and a few discsc (#2 hobby, sorry DGCR). I picked this course due to it's proximity to DC and to local bike infrastructure. I was staying in downtown DC and this course was pretty easy to access. I headed out of downtown into Georgetown then onto the Key Bridge. From there, I followed the Custis Trail to W&OD Trail. W&OD goes right through this park so it was a fairly easy and low vehicle traffic route. It was also nice that I only needed to pack 1 Buzzz to play this course from the shorter tees. If playing from the longer tees, I would have wanted to have more discs with me. I still stopped at all of those tees and looked at, and appreciated, the lines.
+This course was fun and I'd recommend it if you are in the area. You could rent a bike or scooter in DC and make it out here. I'm sure an Uber wouldn't be too costly either.
+Thanks to the City of Arlington and the locals for the upkeep of this older course. It was in great shape.

A tight little 9 that you can play almost 150 different layouts on



~ Incredibly good use of the property (a smallish area in a suburban park). The design incorporates the dominant hillside, a small winding creek, a grove of trees, and some unique natural landmarks like the gnarled tree protecting a basket that's alternately shared by holes #1 and #3. You're throwing uphill, downhill, across a valley, out of a chute, through stands of trees, etc.


~ The massive number of tees and basket positions will accommodate any skill level (but not every shot, as there are no bombers)


~ The practice basket near the first tee is circled by pavers spaced in 1 m increments away from the basket, so you can putt from any distance inside the C1. Warm-up, play horse, make wait time more enjoyable


+ Callout a couple of great design touches: the "C" position basket placement on Hole #4 is just feet from the creek, making the approach require so much touch; the "D" position on Hole #6 is on a long finger of land with dramatic drop offs to the left and behind, creating rollaway risk

- The only real con is how much the designers fit in on this very limited plot of land. Every hole has four tees and four basket positions, some with multiple baskets in place. There are mandos to limit throwing at players on other holes, so now you add drop zones to most holes. Some have multiple drop zones depending on which tee you're playing (and which mando you miss). Bluemont reminded me of playing courses like Sedgley and Morley: there's a lot going on here, and I imagine a busy day would verge on chaos

~ The signage is comically overstuffed with information. Color maps with the four tees and four+ basket positions, topography lines, adjoining holes, etc. Added to that are the mandos, along with explanations of the mandos, rules of OB, and other general information about playing disc golf.
There's enough reading here to kill time while waiting on a busy day


~ And speaking of the signs: Hole #6 sign includes a mysterious drawing of a fellow, and it also includes a small square with the letters "RAG." I noticed this because I had come across that square walking from the basket on #5. It was a concrete rectangle, with those letters. It was almost like a tiny tee…..I was curious and did some research here on DGCR


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d2L9EVrGVcQ


Yeah - this guy made his own tee! What a great game we play.


COURSE AMENITIES:
Designer Tim Beron outdid himself with poured concrete tees, great signs and baskets, staircases, retaining walls and paths. There are park bathrooms available. The steep hills make the course not very cart friendly, but it's a short 9 you could play carrying 2-3 discs


RECOMMENDED COMBINATIONS:
A quiet day with light traffic (on the course and on the roads) can open up a combination with Burke Lake or Pohick Bay, but if traffic at Bluemont allows, play a few different layouts right here

+Gorgeous setting for a course. Lots of elevation changes, water in play as OB (although nothing you'll lose your disc in), combination of hyzer shots, tunnel shots, obstacles and mandos to navigate...a small property sure packs in a lot.
+Three tee pads (plus a fourth "junior" pad) and two pins on all holes allow for excellent replayability. On most holes, the different tee pads provide very different looks and challenges. Red tees and pars are earmarked for 850 rating, white for 900, and blue for 1000 (although I'd challenge that blue tees are actually 1000-rated...).
+Signage is really high-quality, including elevation gradients and distances to all pin locations from every tee pad. Tee pads themselves are mostly in good shape, and baskets are in good shape as well (blues are really nice).
+While only nine holes (see cons), I appreciate that they made the effort to take the land and limited space they had and make nine really good holes rather than force 18 ho-hum ones.
+Park is more than just disc golf - it has other sports, hiking trails, a good playground...although some of these lead directly to con #1.

-SAFETY CONCERNS. Blue tee pads on holes #2 and #4 are within 5 ft of the fairway for hole #8. White tee pad for #1 is about 15 ft from the fairway of #9. Blue #2 fires directly across the pins for hole #1 and the white/yellow tees for #4. Hole #3 blue pin is shared with #1 - and the approach from the two holes are at 90 degrees to each other and blocked by many trees, so easy to fire in on the other. On a busy day - which seemingly would be any day, given the location, you have major safety concerns.
-Hoo buddy is this place crowded! Played on a Sunday mid-day, and while we weren't too terribly backed up, I could see it happening for sure. Additionally, while disc golfers generally are on the lookout for flying discs, pedestrians and bikers aren't - and holes #7 and #8 have walking paths either directly in the line of fire or right next to it. An unlucky tree kick on hole #8 could easily drill a hiker (or someone on blue tees #2/4).
-Only nine holes. (See pro for more on this.)

I definitely look forward to coming back here - it's good to bring my young son to and alternate nine holes with playground time. It's not the "disc golf retreat" kind of place, but the quality of the holes makes it worth playing and replaying.

Parking can be tight on the weekends, but I still managed to get a spot within 5 minutes of pulling in on a gorgeous, not-too-hot August Sunday morning.

Proper restrooms on site, always a plus.

-very nice terrain with elevation changes and lots of mature trees
-great variety of shots: uphill, downhill, left, right, straight
-interesting greens that require touch to have an easy putt
-three sets of concrete tees and a dirt junior tee on each hole
-two permanent baskets on each hole (grey and blue)
-three different pin positions for all the original baskets (grey)
-the various tees and baskets offer drastically different shots and will challenge a wide range of skills, including advanced players
-two practice baskets
-benches throughout
-bathrooms on site (closed in the winter)
-tons of other amenities in this huge park

-safety disaster with tons of other park users and walking paths
-crossing fairways, teepads in the line of fire, and a general cramped feeling in the small area dedicated to disc golf
-the blue tees in particular throw through other fairways and are in danger themselves, take your time and keep your eyes peeled if you play the blues
-one of two reasonably close courses to DC so it looks like it's frequently packed, exacerbating the safety concerns

Bluemont Park is an old course that has been kept up really well and still offers a modern challenge. The price for that evolution is a lot of safety concerns and really tight quarters so you need to pay close attention and keep your eyes open here.

The great thing about Bluemont is that is can accommodate any skill level. There are four tees on every hole: concrete red, white, and blue tees as well as dirt Junior tees. There are three different positions for the original grey baskets and the newer blue baskets are the longest position. Very cool since it gives you permanent access to the longest layout but also gives the locals a constantly changing variety of holes.

The dark side of all these options is that the longer the layout you choose to play, the more careful you have to be if the course is busy. The blue tees are often in the line of fire of other holes and if you hit a tree on the tight wooded lines (likely) you can easily spray into another fairway. The day I played, there were 7 groups on the course and one particularly brilliant group was playing safari.

The holes are a lot of fun and they utilize the elevation and tight woods really well. There is also a creek in play, potentially two if you really blow it on hole 8. The fairways are fair but tough and offer a lot of different shots to throw.

Bluemont is tough to rate because it's fun and can challenge any player but it has a lot of potential for danger. I can see giving it a 3.5 or how others could rate it even higher but the cons are distinctly present. If you're trying to play blue to blue on a busy day, it could take you significantly longer to finish 9 holes. In the end though, it's really close to DC and fun to play so this is the one to hit if you are visiting and looking to throw.


**Like this review? Hate it? Message me and let me know why! I want to make them better!**

Easy to get to and part of a county park with other activities.

the course is off the park walking/biking path, so you can do other things in the same day.

Pretty, wooded park.

Built on tilted, wooded plains basically. Footing is not all over the place.

Alot of variety (tees and baskets) but can be confusing for the first-timer.

For basket location A or B, the No. 1 approach is between branches of a large tree with splayed branches.

No. 9 is a fine slightly uphill, mostly-open closing hole.

Very little, non-obvious parking off Carlin Springs. Jan. 2019, I found the main parking lot (lots of parking available) off Manchester from Rte. 50. Drive to its end and then turn right into the park.

Really tiny track. Tight.

Alot of variety (tees and baskets) but can be confusing for the first-timer.

Wooded and narrow fairways on half the holes. Some very wooded and uphill or wooded and downhill. I do like it better with experience and appreciate the challenges better than I did as a true beginner.

Too many short holes maybe...

A bit busy on a weekend day or holiday. Better players sometimes are trying to throw over you...

It is a tiny space and feels rather cramped. But because it is tiny, it's very navigable. I went around twice on 3/30/19 for a full 18 holes. That felt complete. I think it would be tough to get away with throwing two discs and walking once. It does get crowded here.

Practice baskets (one near no. 9 tee, another near no. 8 tee) have a 9-spot putting game to them. Putting pads are in a circle around the basket. Playing the practice game is pretty good putting practice before or after your round. Some perches are further away than others. Not all are gimmes.

Nice little neighborhood park with baseball and soccer fields, basketball courts picnic facilities and a cool little nine hole course.

There are multiple tees 2/3 on every hole and 2 baskets on almost all of them. The holes are tight but well thought out and the woods and creek, and just a touch of elevation keep this from being a nine hole pitch and putt. Good pads too, short but plenty long for this one.

Sure it's got plenty of ace runs, but the tree cover and tight lines can easily spoil those plans.

Good benches on most holes and pretty good signage(located on the short tees).

An elevated basket on three and some erosion control planks really show me someone is putting work and thought into this corse.

Almost forgot since I didn't use it, there is a good practice basket too.

The course isn't super easy to navigate, easpecially if your not playing the shorts, and there are often a few baskets in view that your not supposed to be throwing to.

The short pins have an arrow, but if your not looking to go to the short pad, it's. It super easy every time.

Also it's not super easy to find the first tee.

This is a fun little course that is well cared for and a lot of fun.

I played it through twice and would have gladly done it again if given the time.

Course has multiple pin locations (with two pins always placed at each whole) and multiple tee boxes provide for good variation (allow the course to play like a 18 or 27 hole course even though it only has 9 holes. Good well defined fairways provide for clear paths to the pin (as long as you stay on the fairway). Reasonable rough if you get off the fairway "punish" bad shots but the rough is largely void of thorns. Course contains multiple "interesting shots" including one across a small valley and creek. Also provides good variation in distances and difficulty across the 9 holes.

Overly crowded with both disc golfers and park goers. A popular running/bike path travels next to the course and provides concern in throwing on both tee 7 and 8. The course also runs over itself frequently (making the blue tee location almost unplayable when crowded) The second pin location for hole 1 and 3 is the same pin and this pin is placed on a mound and the pin itself is taller than normal making for a difficult upward putt (an aspect that I do not like).

This course is very hard to rate, I have played it on a Sunday in the morning with the course nearly empty, in which case it plays like a 4, however, frequently I try to play on weekdays after work or in the afternoon on weekends and the course becomes almost unplayable with the people and discs flying all over the place.

Multiple tee and pin placements make for a very fun and versatile course. Good use of elevation and trees.

Holy champ groove, it is a head injury waiting to happen. There are so many crossing fairways when throwing from the blue tees.

Fun course with lots of different shots and elevation changes. Glad I played on a Monday morning and had the course to myself

Versatile course. With two to three pin options (and pin placement updates every couple of months) and three tee pads per hole, you've got a lot of options-great stepping stone course for a new player to start short to short, then go mid to short, or short to long and improve their game.

Not only that, but when the course is empty you can try some really fun mix ups. For example: blue 8 to 1 short, or tee 3 to the pins on 7. Or even 1 blue to 7 long if you're up for a challenge

Great course to play on your way from work if you travel west from DC into VA, it's right off route 50, and there's a 7/11 walking distance from tee 7.

When they're not in use, there is a baseball and soccer field in the same park as the course that is great to go out and practice in.

Not a course to play on a Saturday. Most the locals and myself play this course on weekdays to avoid traffic going to better courses that are a bit further away (like Giles, or Seneca). Great course for weekday play, and weeknights when the sun is out.

No practice basket - there isn't really much of a place for one, but I've seen some people using a basket as a practice basket that has disrupted other players going through the course.

Some tee pads have little metal rods poking out of the ground around the edges of the tee pads, specifically 6 white.

Park at hole 7 off Carlin Springs, if that lots full there's another directly across the street on the other side of Carlin Springs. Start at tee 7 and play until you finish 6, if you want to keep playing play to a different basket, or from a different tee, endless possibilities.

Hope I didn't forget anything!

Bluemont has 3 teepads for each hole, and each one provides a significant change, so it really does play like a 27 hole course. There are also 2 pin positions for most holes. The new long pin position on hole 4 is really challenging. Many people don't even know where some of the pro tee pads are, and are surprised at how far back, and challenging they are when they are pointed out. The pins often move around, too, and the variations are nice. There are some elevation changes, not huge, but enough to make it way better than a flat course. The course is very accessible, and the locals know the at least two of the three access points, to avoid the congested parking from other park users.

The accessibility of Bluemont is its downfall. For many newbies it's a gateway course, and these newbs will walk right up to the red tee pad on hole one, not realizing that some gorilla arm is about to blaze a deadly laser right over their heads from the blue tee pad behind them. There are other park users who will jog through the course, completely oblivious that they are on a fairway. I once came across a teacher who had set up a science demonstration on the long teepad for hole 4. He had no idea why there was this convenient concrete pad, and his assistant got mad at me because my disc golfing was distracting the kids from their science demonstration! As others have pointed out, the parallel and overlapping fairways, mainly hole 9 and 1, are problematic.

The locals know to park at hole 7, off of Carlin Springs Rd. Play when the weather is off. If you come on a nice sunny weekend afternoon, Bluemont will be full of newbies throwing plastic into every tree, and it gets crazy.

I played Bluemont DGC early one July morning in a constant, steady downpour. The course was saturated making everything a miserable, wet experience. To make matters worse, the nearest gate was locked at 7:15 am forcing me to walk an extra ways through these downpours trying to locate the course and # 1.

With the realization these weather conditions were not the fault of the course or it's designers, I will attempt to write an honest, unbiased review, although what I am trying to remember was only seen through my rain soaked eyeballs.

An amazing amount of work and effort has been put forth to squeeze this course into a fairly small partial of park land. The stairs, steps, tee pads and baskets placements are indeed impressive in their creativity. With multiple sets of concrete pads and multiple baskets placements, players have plenty of options here. Through the showers I was able to occasionally glance upon and sail my disc down some interesting and challenging fairways to some wonderful, creative baskets placements.

Squeezing this many holes into this small area of an area will invariably lead to some conflicting situations with other park users. I hope these are few and far between. Also, on heavy course usage days, I understand the course can get quite backed up. I had no such problems on my miserable ass, rainy morning. Just me and the ducks!

Players with those big arms might not find the chance to unleash those 400 foot drives here. With the terrain basically flat, there's no chance for the big downhills.

This is probably one of those courses where the designers have done the absolute most with the space they have to work with.

"forehandfranz" previous reviewer, from my neck of the woods, Seattle area, compares Bluemont to a north Seattle course called Mineral Springs. His comparison is spot one. Both are small urban courses artfully squeezed into small pieces of land, with creative planning of the holes, and tons of engineering hours having gone into the building of stairs, steps, bridges, pads. etc.

I don't think the effort I put forth on this rainy, wet Virginia morning did justice to the course. I basically wimped out.

good tee pads for both tees. Multiple tees and baskets for most holes. Some tough short shots and some decently long drives that have to go through tight areas.

All the holes are very close together and could be easy to get hit by a disc from another hole. Pars are kinda weird.

Good course if you are close. I suggest it if you are close.

- This course makes very good use of the space they have available.
- There are a couple holes that are relatively memorable. The #1 basket is behind a sprawling tree that has a small window where a drive might get through. One of the tees on hole 3 is close to a large tree that you must throw around to get to the basket.
- There are three concrete tee boxes per hole and many holes have two pins in the ground at any given time. There are several pin positions for each hole.
- For such a small area, there's a good amount of elevation change going on. About half the holes are either up or downhill.

- Only nine holes.
- Because of the small area that this course is laid out on, the holes bunch up. Some tee positions are even in the line of fire for other holes. You may have to wait to throw in order to avoid hitting others.
- Some of the tee boxes are within spitting distance of others for the same hole. They don't all offer a different experience.
- This course is generally very short. You could probably get away with only bringing mids and putters.
- Signage was present, but lacking. You could see the general layout of the hole, but distances were mostly missing.
- The tee boxes were not a consistent size. Some were comically long, while others were too small.
- Parking is limited and shared with other park activities.

- I went on an unusually warm winter day and the park was quite crowded. Waiting wasn't fun, but I did like seeing so many people playing and having fun.
- I would recommend taking your small bag, as there's no real need to have a full assortment of distance drivers.
- One thing that I really like (though I didn't factor into my rating) is the location. It's in Arlington, near a bunch of houses and at least one school. It may be a small course, but it's within walking distance for many people. Kudos to the park authority that decided to put it here and expose more people to the sport. That said, I wouldn't go out of my way to go to this course.
- With the right disc and a big arm, you might be able to drive from one side of the course to the other with two throws.

This course is squeezed onto a tiny, pretty piece of land but milks it for all it's worth. You really get your money's worth here (it's free, actually) as they have three tee pads per hole and varying pin positions. They had dual pins on 4 of nine holes when I played.
You will be challenged to a wide variety of shots, but bring your short game, not much room to unwind (except a couple of shots on 8 and 9). The terrain is hilly and very woodsy

My favorite hole was the blue tee on #1 - you must go around a tree about 50' off the tee, place your drive perfectly, to set up along a thin fairway for another 275' to a pin that's protected by a cool, gnarled tree.

Well, several of the blue (long) tees interfere with other fairways- I can only imagine what it would be like during a tourney or a crowded day. It could impose danger, but I guess that people just need to be very alert. The Blue tee on #7 is very vulnerable to a stray drive from #6 (one of my drives landed very close to this tee). Also, a pedestrian walkway along 7-9 would also fall under the same category - just be careful and considerate.

The day I played there were 6 possible layouts to play which kept things interesting. Also, it was Memorial Day weekend and there were many families having picnics right next to the course, but nobody wandered onto the course, as they seemed to be well aware that it was the disc golf area. What a great symbiotic relationship with Discers and park goers! That OB path was like a force field!

Hole # 5 has a it's long pin protected behind a thick 50'-long group of thin trees. Where's the route? I enjoyed how it forces you to improvise a "route", but I also think it could be only slightly thinned and would still make for a nail biter.

A few have spoken about how this is the best 9-holer they've played. I would suggest you try Mineral Springs (Northpark) out in my neck 'o the woods in Seattle, as it has a very similar feel as this one, and would yield the same rating as I've given it here.

Challenging with multiple tee pads and pin locations.

Muddy...

Nice 9 hole course with the multiple tee/pin locations, this course plays like a 27 hole course. Lots of fun, highly suggested if in the local area.

9-hole, 4-basket positions, 3-tee positions mean this course can play very differently each time.

At each red tee, good signage listing the distances from each tee to each basket. Post with multi-hooks to hang bags. Benches at most holes. (Mostly long) concrete teepads, with coloured number painted upon, at each hole.

Good blend of right/left/straight, fully/partially/minimally wooded holes.

Favourite hole #4C from the whites: About 250', slightly uphill, slightly right-turning, basket not visible because it is in the woods and below the slope of the hill, guarded by a OB creek behind and to the left.

Because the course is set-up on a small, wooded hillside of a large public park:
- Many holes play quite near to walking paths and other public general-use areas
- Some tee positions will play across other holes' fairways (e.g. blue and white #1 tees play across #9's fairway; blue tees #2 and #4 across #8's fairway)
- Some tee positions are in danger of being hit by throws from other tees (e.g. throwing from red/white #2, you may have an errant throw buzzing at your head from #3, if the mando is missed)

Most visible basket may not be the one for your tee! The day we played, the most visible basket from tee #1 was basket #3; from #3's tee, the most visible basket was #7.

From the parking lot, take the paved path at the end of it to find the 9th tee (and sign for 1st tee) just past the basketball court.

If you are first-time visitor, you may want to walk the course (its not very long), to see which baskets go with which tees (as mentioned earlier, the most easily visible basket may not be the basket you are supposed to be playing!)

The maps available on this site, or at http://www.geocities.com/blue...oursemap.html (which as further links for details on each hole) are quite useful.

Link at http://md-discgolf.com/phpbb3...25&t=1890 may contain useful current-position information.

With the recent addition of two new baskets, #5 and #9 D both have permanent baskets.

Because you have so many combinations of tees and basket positions, the distances can vary wildly. All red to all A? Nothing over 200'. All blue to all D? Average about 375', with one over 500'.

Good use of making the most of the space available!

Very cool 9 hole course tucked away in a corner of a neighborhood park. It almost makes you forget that you are in such a densely populated area. Excellent use of elevation especially on hole 5 -- straight up a "big" hill. Hole 2 is also a bit of a climb. It is not long, but you need control. I played 3 rounds using the local's "red, white, and blue" pattern (there is a red, white, and blue tee for each hole). It is surprising how differently each hole plays based upon which teepad you use, they are aligned to place different obstacles between you and the hole.

Very friendly locals, and I got to see the park's resident bird of prey, a beautiful hawk, perched right above us on the teepad of hole 4