Course has nice tee pads, and is fairly well maintained, with little in the way of litter. Some of the baskets have been upgraded, and more are in the plans as the local club raises funds. Additionally, the park manager is a big fan of Disc Golf, and the ranger store stocks an excellent selection of discs.

Older course, was designed for trash can lids, and not the high end plastic we toss nowadays. There's some speculation that the course may be expanded, which will help!

a technical course. If you don't mind trees, this is the place for you. Some decent hills add to the challenge.

Update: Tee pads are larger, all new Discatchers were installed.

Old Review:Concrete 4x7 tee pads.
Holes 5 and 6 would be the "signature holes" if there were any, they added some challenge to the course.
Great place for beginners.

$8 to get in the park and an additional $2 donation on the honor system at hole #1. For $10 the baskets should be superior not patchwork.Many baskets had a second row of heavy swing set chains added. Hole 1's chains were so heavy they actually push back against the disc.
Hole 3 faces the road, it seems like it needs a mando, but a mando would increase the safety issue. Hole 3 only had half as many chains as holes 1 and 2, so you get used to power putting to get through dense chains, then you can blow through on 3. 14 had a chance of hitting campers on the right.
Course clearly favors right handed throwers, most holes are dog leg left.

Course averages 183 feet per hole, but there are not as many ace runs as you would expect. Course is heavily wooded and there are enough curves to require a second or third shot.

This was my first disc golf course I ever played. I have played several since but this one just has an extra disk since it got me hooked.

There are several technical shots, I have grown to love woods play and this course has plenty of woods. and even some challenging god leg left and rights.

Most of the T signs are faded or missing.
no multiple Pin positions

Fun course, It will give you some challenges and if you miss a fairway you won't have to hike through any thorn bushes or crazy poison ivy to find your disc.

beautiful park some good technical holes

All the holes are short and very tight. the few field holes are the same hole played over and over 200ish feet and straigh ahead.

this is a fun course to play but the tee pads are worn down and super short to go with the short holes. the course does have a few redeming qualitys in the you will have some technical holes but i am in no way a pro and was able to shoot 2's on almost every hole.

Overall park, variety of hole layouts

Short teepads, mostly short holes

Pohick Bay fits in with the older NoVa courses, such as Burke Lake and Bull Run. Like those two parks, Pohick Bay Park has much to offer with camping, boating, a small water park, and nature trails, and the disc golf course is just a small part of the park's overall offering, set in a stand of woods that may have otherwise gone unused. The disc golf course, however, is short by modern standards, has concrete teepads that are also a bit short, sparse but functional signage, and older baskets with only one layer of chains.

On the plus side, Pohick does have some variety, with five holes that are not entirely in the woods, and a wide variety of shots are required in the woods - left and right fades, and even a couple of hard doglegs. One negative, however, is the lack of anything more than very minor elevation change on any hole. Overall, Pohick Bay is short, but not frustratingly so, and most beginning to intermediate players will use their drivers at least half the time, in my view. For beginning players, or players looking to improve their control, Pohick Bay is a potentially useful course, in fact, and an excellent complement to the nearby, much more advanced Giles Run. The course is a quick play that will teach you control and a variety of shots, especially mid-range shots. The course, the park, and really the whole Pohick Bay/Mason Neck region are a very nice rural enclave in the otherwise overcrowded madness of Northern Virginia, and accordingly an outing to Pohick Bay is a relaxed, quiet, easygoing affair. Just settle back, enjoy the course for what it is, and make an escape of it; Pohick Bay disc golf course is not stunning, but may be good for what ails you.

Favorite Hole - #17 - One of the longer holes on this short course fades slightly downhill and to the right, all in the woods

Minimal chance to lose a disc. Signs at teepads. Fairly easy to navigate. Mostly away from other park users.

Single tee (small)/single basket (old, single chain). $7 to enter park. Short-n-flat - a bit muddy in places.

Update 11/19/11: Baskets have been upgraded (Discatchers, yellow-banded, double-chained). Tee pads have been upgraded (5'x10', concrete). Tee signs have been upgraded. Multiple pin-positons per hole. Most holes have multi-tees.
Proximity of neighbouring fairways still an issue on many holes.

Course plays in the mostly-wooded corner of a multi-use park. With only fives holes >200', maxing-out at 250', and most holes having fair throwing lanes defined by moderate-sized trees, this course is good for introducing new players to (and experienced players practicing) shot-shaping. Most holes require some type of turn, with left-turns being about twice as prevalent as right turns, and more extreme in nature. Most of the right-turns are subtle and near to the basket, while most of the left-turns occur early-/mid-flight, and are sharper.

Avoid the fee by coming when the gatehouse isn't manned - visit http://www.nvrpa.org/parks/pohickbay/ for a schedule. This course serves a purpose and you can enjoy yourself here, but nearby Giles will provide much more length, openness, and challenge.

-Great OLD but updated course!!
-Good use of available terrain - Mostly flat & wooded.
-solid concrete tee pads / most holes have 2 tees
-New DisCather Pros / multiple pin placements.
-Great new tee signs.
-Easy to navigate.
-Great opportunity to practice a variety of shots & accuracy.
-little opportunity for lost discs or super frustration.
-Restrooms (Not near course - you will have to travel to another area of the park)
-Many trash cans / Pretty clean course
-Course plays quick - great for a round at lunch or the quick DG fix.
-Park has camping, water park & boat launch
-Opportunity for wildlife spotting - Park is on Pohick Bay & Mason Neck is just down the road.
-Dedicated locals / Course is being well maintained (Donations accepted)

-No big boomer holes / Leave your cannon at home.
-Some OB (an errant drive may put park road & putt putt course into play)
-Park is not near much civilization such as shops or restaurants. (Perhaps not a con?)
-Restrooms are not near the course and are sometimes locked depending on time of year.
-May have to pay to enter park depending on the time of the year.

If Virginia had a museum for old DG courses, Pohick Bay would be a prime exhibit. To the Newbie, it may seem to be a rinky dink little course but to the old time local, we have fond memories from times when this was one of the few courses around. If you take a moment, you will notice the tress have Gak Scars from decades of misguided drives. The course has introduced thousands of new players to the game during that time as well.
The new baskets have given the place a much needed face lift and instantly bumped my rating for this course up a point. The park manager is putting in the time and money to give the place a fresh look. and the locals have responded as well. The new tee signs plus the renovated and new teepads gave it another .5. The majority of play is in the woods and the fairways are well defined. It is still the tricky, little course in the trees that it has been for 30+ years, but an errant drive isn't going to kill your scorecard too often. Most holes are deuceable and many make for great ace runs. In contrast, the alternate tees make you play a few hole for a 3.
It's nostalgic, a novelty and one of the great old ladies of Northern VA. Sometimes it's nice to hang out in a museum.

- Well laid out for the small space it's located in.
- Good variety of shots between holes if you want to use your whole arsenal.
- Can play multiple rounds in a short amount of time.
- Great course for beginners or rec players.
- Tight fairways on most holes let you practice accurate approach shots.
- Amazing practice for an advanced players short game.
- Multiple ace runs.
- About 15 of the holes are relatively easy deuce runs if you're on, and all 18 are possible deuces.
- Seemed most locals including beginners realize when to let someone play through without any problems.

- As already stated in other reviews, many baskets are in horrible condition.
- Putts and anything hitting the chains fast has a higher chance of bouncing out.
- In a couple places, errant throws from other holes are a danger.
- Signs on a couple holes (as of 7/25/09) were missing, but even the rest of them are only so-so.
- The listed pars on the course, even though they're meant for rec players are a tad ridiculous. (Hole #18 :: Par 5 :: 261 ft. and it's one of the more open holes on the course)
- Teepads are a bit short, but because of the length of the holes, a big walk-up generally isn't necessary.
- One hole runs parallel to the access road and the basket is located right next to it, so an overshoot could easily end up in the road.

:: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jSTurGcJj6w :: Video of Course

- It's in a great park, there's a huge bay that you can go canoeing and kayaking, a small waterpark for the kids, and plenty of camping (including rentable cabins).
- Really is a short course, I lapped a group of 4 players when playing by myself.
- The park does have a mini-golf course, but it's not well maintained and isn't very large either.
- Definitely a course where you could just bring one disc, I use my putter to drive on most of the holes, but could easily use it on all.

Beautiful setting
Great use of small wooded area
Pitch and putt course with a great twist--very tight fairways on most holes but each wooded hole has at least one very distinct path to the basket
Very easy to navigate
Adequate cement tees
Good signage (when not missing due to vandals)
Forces you to use good strategy and a wide variety of shots
Fast playing course
No danger of losing a disc or needing a spotter

Given what the course is, not many cons...the baskets are a little in need of some repair, but since it's such a short course, you are not putting over 10-15 feet
Could be a little hazardous if a lot of people were playing since many of the fairways run next to each other
I think the wooded holes could be pretty frustrating for total newbies...I would introduce friends/family to DG at some other courses and let them fall in love with the game before bringing them here.

This course is a great way to work on your technical shots if you are not use to playing intensely wooded courses because you won't lose a disc as you hone your skills.
I bumped this course up to a 3 because it is not just "thrown" into the woods, it has been thought out and well designed considering it's such a flat, small space

If you like really launching a drive, this course may frustrate you, but it's worth seeking out

Some of the holes are so unique...I even made up a couple of throws to navigate a couple of radical doglegs...they were almost switchbacks

This short course is a great place to get in a quick game, or enjoy a few rounds without taking the whole day. The course has some variety, but most holes are wooded (only 4 are open). The teepads are cement, which is nice. Most tees have a sign with par, distance, and a diagram of the hole. They also often show the location of the next tee, which makes the course really easy to navigate.

No two holes here are the same - it's a short course, so you won't be airing it out much, but you will get to throw plenty of different shots. The course is short, but technical - a great place to work out the kinks in your short game. It's also only a few minutes from 95, which makes it a convenient stop if you're passing through northern VA.

The place definitely needs some love. All of the baskets have had chains replaced over the years, and my Aviar bounced right out of them several times. A few of the tees were missing signs, but the holes are short enough that it wasn't much of a problem. Others have mentioned that the tees are short, but the course is so short that I don't think its necessary for them to be any bigger - you really don't need that long of a run-up to play here.

I enjoyed this course more than I expected to. I expected to have to pay to get into the park, but there was nobody in the booth at the entrance so I was able to drive right in. There are envelopes for donations at the start of the course, but it didn't seem like a requirement. It's worth making a small donation, though - the course could use some TLC.

The course is excellent for finesse players. it's a small course so you get to play several rounds in a short amount of time, it so fun because of that. You can use EVERY throw in the book, I have a friend who throws tomahawks all day at this course, I throw A Lot of flicks and I've seen folks who Only throw backhand. The course makes for some pretty intricate and challenging putts as well as tight drives through narrow fairways. lots of trees so you're in the shade most of the time. No chance of losing a disc unless it blends in. This is definitely an Acer course, the first 9 can be birdied if you are advanced. A lot of anhyzer, or flick shots and a lot of straight drives, a great course if you're left handed. A great family course, it's challenging if you want to duece every hole and fun if your just learning because you don't have to throw VERY far.

There are only like 2 or 3 wide open shots, but even then , the basket is well protected. The baskets are incredibly bad, Some have like 14 chains, and an ace or long fast putt can cut right through the chains, unlike with a later Mach Series Basket. Sometimes there is traffic on weekends with families come out and bring all their kids, but they usually know you want to pass through them since you may be a faster player. Discs get dusty because of sand on ground and sometimes deer poop and other crap. The tees are a little short and some are in bad shape. The tee signs don't really help much and because its very wooded some baskets can't even be seen so you have play it at least once to get a feel. No big long open shots, the longest is like 250, at best. There are some horseflies.

I love this course because it provides great practice and also because you can Ace SO many holes easily. Eventually the baskets will be replaced and it will retain more shots. Unlike many other courses, your score will vary in this course because of the tight fairways and well protected pins. It is in general a poor course, but I rated it as good because you can practice your finesse shots a lot here and learn how to get out of a really bad spot/situation if you play this course enough. Also, you can throw the same hole, hyzer, anhyzer, flick(both hyzer and anhyzer), tomahawk, thumber, ROLLER(perfect for those), floater, straight, skip shots and aces. This course allows every type of throw and you can probably do well with any of them, given the right hole, but with high frequency.

Very wooded and tight, a nice change of pace.

Poorly maintined.
They hope to charge players $2/day to play it (as of summer 2007), laughable.
The park costs several dollars to enter if you don't reside in Fairfax County.

The teepads are small and aged.

The baskets are terrible, the welds are broken in some. Funny to watch a putter fall through the bottom when you do stick one. If you're not dead on, you'll chain/bounce out easily.

The course I learned the game on, I did enjoy playing it dispite the less than average rating, a round would take me about 25 minutes solo so you can squeeze in a lot of rounds quickly.

Very tight, but short; drives are really like upshots on most other courses but stress accuracy (good practice)

Very short; dilapidated baskets--good putts can often bounce out which is frustrating (soft putters an advantage). These old baskets were replaced in Jan 2011 (led to update my old rating)

Previous review stated hole 18 is a par 5--this is for rec players--I have seen #18 aced. It is about a 250 anhyzer shot with no ability to see the basket from the tee. Advanced players often deuce this hole--not a par 5!

Many adjustments to tees (along with the new baskets) forces me to upgrade from a 1.5 to a 2.5.

Nice little course with tall pin trees.

Baskets are old, tee boxs are short.

Hole 18 par 5