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Darnestown, MD

Darnestown Swim & Racquet Club

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3.25(based on 28 reviews)
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Darnestown Swim & Racquet Club reviews

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6 0
Craig Fisher
Experience: 16.9 years 51 played 12 reviews
2.50 star(s)

If you like wooded courses, this is for you. 2+ years drive by

Reviewed: Played on:Aug 27, 2020 Played the course:once

Pros:

Beautiful scenery, challenging course.

Cons:

Very overgrown foliage during the summer and so many trees to stop your throws. No built tee pads.

Other Thoughts:

I went there in the summer without reviewing the course, so I was disappointed because of that. My skills are not good enough for the course because you really need luck and control of your shots on several of the holes. I love playing disc golf, so I will always applaud anyone who builds a disc golf course in Maryland.
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2 1
ramonstone
Experience: 13.1 years 8 played 5 reviews
2.50 star(s)

Not a must play, but not horrible 2+ years drive by

Reviewed: Updated: Played on:Jan 1, 2016 Played the course:2-4 times

Pros:

This course has 18 holes and an interesting setup and the baskets are pretty good. You can play a round with your group pretty much by yourself with the whole course being yours. It is pretty much all woods, which I like a lot, but may be different for other players. I don't think pros would like this course, but I like that when I play it with players that are a little less talented than me our scores are closer together because anything can happen

Cons:

Parking is not good at all. There are no real tees, it is mulch in a wood box, so they would be muddy in the wet weather, and are terrible to throw from. And they are very small and some tight so you cannot get a run-up really. The holes are so close together that if there were people on the course you could easily blindly hit someone. There is only one tee and one pin on all wholes so it doesn't provide any options. It doesn't loop to the lot so you have to play all 18 before you can get back to the car. Down near the creek the bugs are horrible. I'm lucky they don't bother me, but on certain holes they do because they are so bad. "The Wachutu are BITERS!" There are signs, I don't know if they are better since the last time I've been there, they were very rudimentary, but there are arrows pointing to the next tee. But I got a little confused the first couple times so it's difficult to navigate

Other Thoughts:

Private swim and racquet club in a neighborhood. Must respect that. The parking lot is not for disc golf, it is for members of the club. Golfers are expected to park on the grass next to the first tee. It is not a heavy traffic course. There are rarely other players there when I've been. And full disclosure: I haven't played this course since 2015 or before, but I just started reviewing so I'm excited to review. So I will play this course again soon for update
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3 2
Bd 37
Experience: 13 years 66 played 10 reviews
2.50 star(s)

Ouch 2+ years drive by

Reviewed: Played on:Dec 3, 2014 Played the course:once

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.
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3 0
Montanaman
Experience: 22.9 years 12 played 4 reviews
2.50 star(s)

Nice little course near Seneca 2+ years drive by

Reviewed: Played on:Oct 19, 2013 Played the course:once

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.
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5 0
DWill
Silver level trusted reviewer
Experience: 45.9 years 324 played 45 reviews
2.50 star(s)

Tennis ball graveyard 2+ years

Reviewed: Played on:Mar 27, 2010 Played the course:2-4 times

Pros:

With lots of elevation changes and some water to avoid this mostly wooded course offers a lot of variety and challenge to any level of golfer. There are a few open holes, a few short holes and many holes that make you think on what shot to use.

Tee signs at each hole, with plenty of "next tee" signs through out to help with navigation.

Since its mostly played in the woods, very shady, which helps for hot summer days. Little to no non disc golf traffic.

Located in a nice neighborhood, with well maintained grounds, in a secluded part of the property.

Cons:

Only 9 baskets right now, with nine buckets for the other 9. Buckets will wear and need replacing eventually.

Since it's in the woods, lots and lots of leaves on the ground. This will make losing discs in the fall a problem, and keep the ground on the moist side.

Some of the inclines are very steep. Going to/from tee #7 is the steepest, and may become hazardous in wet conditions.

Crossing the creek at tee #15 is a little difficult, since it is just a tad to wide to jump across safely without getting wet.

Other Thoughts:

There are very few open holes, so accuracy is crucial. Very beautiful and scenic, it reminds me a little of Sceneca, I see a lot of potential here as the course matures and more people play it.

This is a private club, so I do feel like I'm trespassing, since I don't belong to the club or pay dues, but I'm respectful of the course and the club.
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6 0
swatso
Diamond level trusted reviewer
Experience: 15.8 years 755 played 414 reviews
2.50 star(s)

Where Tennis Balls Go To Die 2+ years

Reviewed: Updated: Played on:Mar 20, 2010 Played the course:2-4 times

Pros:

The combination of the: variety of distance (220'-460'), changes in elevation (flat, up, down, up-n-over, across), width of throwing lanes (pretty open to pretty tight, with various shades in-between), and degree of turns (about half rights, some fairly sharp, equal mix of subtle lefts or straight) creates a very challenging and varied course. Signs (PVC pipe) at each tee telling you the tee number, distance, and general standard flight path (important because many shots are blind); signs (again, pipe) at each basket giving you directions to the next tee.

Cons:

Short, natural, somewhat uneven tees. Between the many blind shots, the large amount of leaves and deadfall, and steep slopes, the chance of losing a disc is high. Some very steep walking in parts - down to and up from #7 comes to mind. Probably not a good play when wet - in addition to the steep slope, some of the holes play near a creek, and/or in the run-off areas of the slope. The creek crossing is a bit of a stretch at #13, and too long for my stride at #15! Half the targets are baskets, half are buckets; most are numbered correctly, although I think the basket for #10 still has a '6' on it. The most visible target may not be the actual target for the hole - scout ahead, and, for the most part, the drawing at the tee is correct. Some tees are way too close to a basket and/or a throwing lane - if someone had been at tee #5, I would have nailed them in the back of the head with my meant-to-turn-but-went-straight-drive on #4.

Other Thoughts:

Course plays into, out of, and mostly through a wooded slope that separates the D'town swim club from a creek that runs along the side and back of the club's property. You can tell someone is trying to make this course as playable as possible (signs at tees, baskets, other directional signs, re-numbering of baskets and objects), despite the overall roughness of the course (many downed trees, branches, dead leaves, steep, somewhat eroded muddy slopes at places). A few very challenging target positions, i.e. near creek, at top of steep slope, etc..

Favourite holes: #10. Choice of two uphill throwing lanes the first ~150'. You then have about 250' across a left-to-right slope, then another 50' down into a dip and the blind basket. Creek holes #12-#15: #12, about 300', slightly downhill, right-to-left slope, basket to left - near creek! #13 has you throwing through a "picture frame" (two vertical trees with the branches of a huge downed tree between them) about 150', with the basket on the other side of the creek, in a little peninsula that juts out; Easiest hole on the course (220' straight, no objects) at #14, then #15 - choose either the narrow throwing lane straight head, steep hill to left, trees on right, or throw down the running creek, trying to turn left at the best place; from there, a hard left approach to the basket up a narrowing gully.

Tee #1 is next to the tennis court fence/near the entrance. Tee #7 is next to the creek. Tee #8 is not immediately adjacent to its tee sign. To find tee #17, after finishing #16, re-trace your steps about 125' down #16's fairway, and look right.

Not recommended for beginners or anyone that has difficulty walking up and down steep slopes. If you're fairly confident in your navigational and disc-finding abilities, give it a go - otherwise, try to play with a guide/spotter your first time there!

This course is, indeed, a diamond in the rough. Rating it just upon the variety and challenge of the holes, I'd probably put it between 3.5-4.0, but the tees, some flow issues, and general rawness of the course lowers it a couple of notches. If you like challenging, technical courses, this course is for you.

Update 1/1/11: Three buckets replaced by baskets, so now 12/6 baskets/buckets. A few, new bright orange arrow mandos added. Bucket #14 moved about 100' further away. Basket #9 moved to the bottom of the ridge. Most fairways have had leaves and branches removed - looking good!
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11 0
craigg
Gold level trusted reviewer
Experience: 42.7 years 186 played 37 reviews
2.50 star(s)

New private course 2+ years drive by

Reviewed: Played on:Dec 10, 2008 Played the course:once

Pros:

A really nice wooded plot. This is a new course, put together by an avid rec advisor and an architect for exclusive use by patrons of the local community rec center. It's a surprisingly good, and challenging little course. After the first 2 holes you think to yourself, ah this is going to be a dinker, then you get to holes 3,4, and 6, and discover some tough, technical, longer wooded holes that make you think these guys knew what they were doing!! Nice use of natural obstacles, and the rolling wooded hillsides. Holes 7 & 8 bring a small stream into play, adding a nice piece of variety. And hole 9 brings you full circle around the back side of the pool area - completing the circuit and returning you to the parking lot.

Cons:

There were no tee signs when I played it, so it takes a little while to find the course. Being new, and being private, it looks like nobody plays this course - as the leaf fall had covered up virtually all the tee areas - and there were no discernable paths from one hole to the next. I couldn't find the 7th tee.
Tees were poorly marked - and no distance info was available.

Other Thoughts:

A few of the tees had boxes built - so it was obvious that someone was doing some course work. I spoke with the designer and offered some help in doing clinics for kids in the summer time - but he seemed uninterested. The quality of the holes were generally better than I expected, with more hard ones than easy ones. And I can see this piece of property as having potential for expansion (both for added tees and pin placements - and for more holes). No events or organized play on this course as of yet - and due to it's private nature, there probably won't be any.

Property is gated/closed during winter. I am unsure of their policy for casual play. Best bet is to call for permission - 301 330-1340.
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