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Darnestown Swim & Racquet Club reviews
13
0
I Don't Give A Darnestown 2+ years
Reviewed:
Played on:Aug 11, 2021
Played the course:once
Pros:
+ 18 holes with 18 fairways and 18 baskets physically present on this piece of land.
+ This piece of admittedly pretty secluded land outlines a community pool with tennis and pickleball courts.
+ Healthy hills, wild woods and a crooked creek round out the natural features.
+ This piece of admittedly pretty secluded land outlines a community pool with tennis and pickleball courts.
+ Healthy hills, wild woods and a crooked creek round out the natural features.
Cons:
- Tees are dirt/mulch and weeds bordered by 4x4 segments.
- The tee signs are simple permanent marker on white posterboard. However, I will admit that they are better than nothing at all.
- No practice basket. No lost disc box, either...
- ...which is a shame because almost all of the rough and even several of the fairways are calf-high grasses, ferns, shrubs, thorns and other foresty undergrowth.
- The baskets are admittedly old, and a few are visibly rusty.
- The tee signs are simple permanent marker on white posterboard. However, I will admit that they are better than nothing at all.
- No practice basket. No lost disc box, either...
- ...which is a shame because almost all of the rough and even several of the fairways are calf-high grasses, ferns, shrubs, thorns and other foresty undergrowth.
- The baskets are admittedly old, and a few are visibly rusty.
Other Thoughts:
I don't know what my favorite holes here could be. I guess hole7 had a fun uphill challenge to play, and I can imagine hole13 being nice to look at if the fairway weren't so tall.
So, on that note, let's get right into it from the very start. It would seem that I made the unfortunate choice of playing here in the middle of summer. During this time of year, some of the holes at Darnestown are downright functionally unplayable. Specifically, I am talking about holes13 through 15 and possibly 12 as well. Those fairways were nothing but tall grasses, ferns and spindly scrub brushes. Yes, you can still, strictly speaking, play them as normal. However, keeping both eyes on your throw is no guarantee of finding your disc at those spots. I spent more time searching for my disc than actually playing hole13. That's when I decided to skip holes14 and 15 because those were worse. Even on otherwise clean-ish fairways like 9 or 10, the rough on the sides was comically large and bushy.
Thankfully, it's not all like that. To be fair, there were some nice challenges to be had- especially in the front nine. I liked the combination of slopes and trees in holes 3, 4 and 7. My bias in favor of hilly wooded holes was certainly satiated here.
But the fun quickly evaporated when I saw all of that tall grass in the fairways later. I wasn't liking all of the mulch tee pads. The tee signs looked like a first grader's rushed art project. Many of the holes felt copy-pasted, so very few of them stand out in my mind. By hole 16, I was muttering to myself, "Just get me out of here."
I am wondering if I simply caught this course at the beginning of its rebirth. Upon reading a few of the previous reviews, it sounds as though the course has changed hands recently. So, maybe I'm just seeing the initial stages of a redesign? If so, I hope it succeeds.
As things are right now, though, I would recommend this course only to locals and those course baggers who don't mind a bit of adversity. (Use your beta bag of discs so you don't get upset if you lose one or two!)
So, on that note, let's get right into it from the very start. It would seem that I made the unfortunate choice of playing here in the middle of summer. During this time of year, some of the holes at Darnestown are downright functionally unplayable. Specifically, I am talking about holes13 through 15 and possibly 12 as well. Those fairways were nothing but tall grasses, ferns and spindly scrub brushes. Yes, you can still, strictly speaking, play them as normal. However, keeping both eyes on your throw is no guarantee of finding your disc at those spots. I spent more time searching for my disc than actually playing hole13. That's when I decided to skip holes14 and 15 because those were worse. Even on otherwise clean-ish fairways like 9 or 10, the rough on the sides was comically large and bushy.
Thankfully, it's not all like that. To be fair, there were some nice challenges to be had- especially in the front nine. I liked the combination of slopes and trees in holes 3, 4 and 7. My bias in favor of hilly wooded holes was certainly satiated here.
But the fun quickly evaporated when I saw all of that tall grass in the fairways later. I wasn't liking all of the mulch tee pads. The tee signs looked like a first grader's rushed art project. Many of the holes felt copy-pasted, so very few of them stand out in my mind. By hole 16, I was muttering to myself, "Just get me out of here."
I am wondering if I simply caught this course at the beginning of its rebirth. Upon reading a few of the previous reviews, it sounds as though the course has changed hands recently. So, maybe I'm just seeing the initial stages of a redesign? If so, I hope it succeeds.
As things are right now, though, I would recommend this course only to locals and those course baggers who don't mind a bit of adversity. (Use your beta bag of discs so you don't get upset if you lose one or two!)
6
0
Darn tough to play 2+ years
Reviewed:
Updated:
Played on:Jul 18, 2017
Played the course:once
Pros:
Nice of this private club, in the middle of a nice neighborhood, to let the public come and play their course. Please be courteous.
Most baskets are in good shape.
Good use of the elevation behind the pool, most holes play up, down or along a couple of small creeks.
Good mix of left, right and straight holes. Two open holes, the rest are in the woods.
Most baskets are in good shape.
Good use of the elevation behind the pool, most holes play up, down or along a couple of small creeks.
Good mix of left, right and straight holes. Two open holes, the rest are in the woods.
Cons:
Tees are natural, usually short and rutted.
No tee signs, just pvc pipe to mark the tees.
Most of the course is heavily wooded, there are lines to hit, but you have to be precise.
I was there in July and the undergrowth was overgrown, all over the rough, over the fairways, over your shins. Good place to lose a disc, even if just off the fairway. I didn't play all of the holes down by the creek, it just looked too easy to lose one.
A lot of blind tee shots, playing solo, this made it even more difficult to play.
No tee signs, just pvc pipe to mark the tees.
Most of the course is heavily wooded, there are lines to hit, but you have to be precise.
I was there in July and the undergrowth was overgrown, all over the rough, over the fairways, over your shins. Good place to lose a disc, even if just off the fairway. I didn't play all of the holes down by the creek, it just looked too easy to lose one.
A lot of blind tee shots, playing solo, this made it even more difficult to play.
Other Thoughts:
As I said in the Pros, it was darn nice of the club to open the course to the public. I was shocked to see that it is rated higher than Calvert Road. This is a much tougher course to play, with a lot more problems. Looking back through the early reviews, this course received a lot of 3.5 and 4.0s early on, it is a long way from that now.
I'd love to have this course in my neighborhood, but I'm guessing the people who put the course in probably don't live in the neighborhood any longer, or no longer play.
There are some fun holes here: #9 throws into the woods, bending right and downhill, it was fun once I figured out where the basket was. #12, down by the creek, has a decent enough fairway, but also a bottom area down by the creek for errant drives. #18, finally a drive out of the woods, basket is hidden behind large bushes, plays real tough if the fenceline is OB.
The fairways are not bad on the holes up on the hill, but the overgrown holes just make this the wrong kind of challenge to play.
This course could definitely use some maintenance (bet the colder weather helps with the weeds) or just more rounds played, not sure if either will be happening soon.
I really wanted to play Seneca Creek this day, on my final four march to 100 courses, but I was too early and the gates were still locked. So this was #98.
I'd love to have this course in my neighborhood, but I'm guessing the people who put the course in probably don't live in the neighborhood any longer, or no longer play.
There are some fun holes here: #9 throws into the woods, bending right and downhill, it was fun once I figured out where the basket was. #12, down by the creek, has a decent enough fairway, but also a bottom area down by the creek for errant drives. #18, finally a drive out of the woods, basket is hidden behind large bushes, plays real tough if the fenceline is OB.
The fairways are not bad on the holes up on the hill, but the overgrown holes just make this the wrong kind of challenge to play.
This course could definitely use some maintenance (bet the colder weather helps with the weeds) or just more rounds played, not sure if either will be happening soon.
I really wanted to play Seneca Creek this day, on my final four march to 100 courses, but I was too early and the gates were still locked. So this was #98.
