Nice course.
Plenty of challenges.
Had to throw all types of throws depending on hole.

Tee location and organization was tough. I got lucky and joined up with some locals that were able to show me tee and basket locations.

-18 holes with multiple basket positions
-Tee pads: some rubber, some fake turf
-Maps on most tee pads
-Beautiful park
-Some great up/down elevation shots
-Great mix of open/ wooded
-Creek for OB on some and tight corridor fairways on some as well

-Very tough /Near impossible navigation! I can not stress that enough not FTF (First Time Friendly) at all! Even with the print out on this page still hard to nav without a guide.

-Confusing layout (sort of combined with last statement) You actually pass a hole to get to another hole only to return later to passed hole!?

-Old baskets

Other than the confusing layout, this is a very fun course! I was lucky enough to meet up with a group of locals (Thanks Joe and friends!) to play a round with. Without them I can safely say I would never have finished the entire course and that would have been a shame because, spoiler alert, It's a great course!!

-The holes are not impossibly long (even in the long position) nor too short. Not too wooded or too open (a great mix actually). This course is just balanced and right! Great mix of BH Vs. FH drives, great mix of wooded and open, there is even a tight corridor or two (if played as concrete being OB) that can prove very challenging. I hope it shows in the review, because I really dig this course!

-There is even a multi-use playground/recreation area near hole 3 or 4 that is a great addition if you want to bring a family out to use as you throw a round alone!

-The creek adds a hazard to a couple of holes and the elevation shots are a blast!

-Just an overall fun and almost perfect 18 holes of disc golf. I have played far worse, some better, but not too many. If the navigation issues could be fixed this would have rated even higher!

Favorite holes: There were a lot of nominees at this course and I couldn't choose one, but I have to say the holes around the barn and right after the barn (where the elevation comes in) are very fun and memorable! I believe these holes start at 13 or 14 and continue through 15 or 16.

I'm fairly new so it's a bit challenging in a good way.
Lay out isn't confusing
Good use of the land

Swampy in areas after a good rain
Brush is thick in the spring and summer

I'm Staying at a hotel in the area for a couple months and this course is the closest. We play it 3 times a week on average and it's still pretty enjoyable.

Course is maintained very nice. It hasn't had all of the brush grow back yet. A wide variety of difficulty of holes.

Hole 16's tee box is flooded out and it appears that a new stream will be flowing through there anytime there is rain.

Stop throwing you beer cans/bottles all over the place. There are recycle bins all over the course.

Roughly a 40 to 50 minute drive from downtown DC, Rockburn Branch is a fantastic, well developed course in Maryland. The 18 holes have multiple pin locations while most holes have a raised rubber tee. (3 pins, 1 tee). While navigation can be a chore here and there, it's really not too difficult with a map loaded up.

There is a strong mix of technical holes with good old bombers to grip and rip. There is a decent amount of elevation change too for a east coast course. Seems like a lot of the lines are mowed.

Roughly 14 out of 18 holes have mowed grass lays with a good mix of pins in woods. Traffic in early April was light, but with the significant trail development, there may be a mix of users of the park. Holes 11 through 15 are worth playing just for the beauty of the barn and views. We threw every driver we had on hole 13, just an amazing line and view.

If you've never played the course, loading a map is a must. It is not intuitive at points to the next hole.

There is only one tee location. The tees are mostly a raised rubber pad. Hole 4 did not seem to have a pad and hole 16 was swamped when we played it.

While many of lines are mowed if you stray it can be pretty hairy out there. With full foliage I could see losing a disc pretty easily.

You cross a significant number of "trails". If there was a busy weekend I could see some park user conflict.

Played while foliage was down, definitely made disc and pin finding a lot easier. Could see full summer leaves take the course up a notch or two in difficulty.

Also hole one has warnings of ticks, snakes and poison ivy. Worth considering.

Lots of variety in holes. Plenty of elevation changes. Park is well maintained and baskets are moved periodically.

Not many trash cans. Signs in need of upgrade. Easy to lose discs on certain holes, especially during summer months.

My favorite course in the Maryland area.

Rubber mats on most tee boxes now. Very scenic with good mix of holes. Technical holes with lots of glades and elevation changes. Good blend of shaded vs. open holes.

Lots of Poison Ivy in the summer months.
Some tee boxes are just dirt/gravel (not many)
About half the holes require a spotter for novice tee shots to avoid lost discs.

Hole 16 has a huge Environmental Area along the left of the fairway. Send a spotter down for players that throw left fading shots. The EA devours discs.

All in all a fantastically designed course that is well maintained and good for parties. There is a volley ball court here and plenty of parking so you can bring your non-DG playing friends for a day of fun.

Search for Rockburn Elementary on GPS/Google for directions.

Variety of shots, open, tunnel, up, down. This is a nice place to go for a walk in nature, and then to have DG on top of it is a bonus! Good balance for various skill levels.

Teepads could be better. Some are slippery or non-existent. Signage on some holes could be more clear.

Great mix of Everything. Elevation changes, fairways, trees, lefty shots, eighty shots, water comes into play on a few holes. Love it.

Really I can't complain about anything being a CON. As said in Another review if you complain about the rough.............have control and don't go there.

Very scenic drives! Down hill and over streams x2...are my fav"s. Other fun downhill and fun uphill shots!! Granted it is a technical course. You need to work through some tight wooded fairways as well especiAlly on hole 7. Love this course it was worth it to drive down And play in the spring equinox which was a lot of fun as well

This course is in the process of getting new tee pads installed. Four of them are in so far and it makes it much more fun and safer to play. Also the park has been busy clearing and mowing the shule on the sides of the fairways. Over the years it has improved but durring the summer its still fairly easy to loose a disc. Spot well for everyone in your group! Rockburn is a challenging wooded course that can be very tough when the pins are in the long positions. Great variety of holes and use of elevation.

Not all the tees are done yet and some of them are still rutted. Summertime it can be easy to loose a disc or three. A few of the holes are blind and that makes it hard to spot. Don't take a chance.

The course plays very differently depending on the position of the pins. Pin positions are marked on the tee signs and there is a lock on an eye screw to indicate the position. This course is right off 95 and is worth the time if you are driving thru. Hole 12 has a super long pin. If you follow the fence to the opening and look right out into the field down the road another 500' and left there it is.

By far the course that I play most often (mainly because its close to where I go to school). Just like Patapsco State Park, there are great elevation changes and a great mix of open and wooded holes. It is almost never too crowded and playing for fun and playing competitively are both obtainable here. The fairway is always well maintained and the environment is awesome. I especially like Holes 5, 7, 12, 13, 15. Hole 5 gives you an excellent down hill shot to the basket surrounded by trees and an ace is obtainable is you're lucky. Hole 12-15 is set by an old barn and an old house no longer in use. On hole 15, you shoot right next to the old house and throw down a huge declining hill. Very scenic!

I absolutely hate the tees. They are loosely made from gravel but they look like small dug-in trenches from people throwing in that particular location. I usually throw next to it on the grass for better footing. During the summer, the wooded holes are.....rough to say the least. You can spend 30 minutes searching for your disc and during the winter when all the vegetation finally dies out, you can usually find discs at multiple holes. Also, most of the vegetation surrounding the fairway will hurt you with millions of thorns!

Check out Baltimore disc golfers group on this website! I am always at this course, Im probably the only Asian guy there ever so come say hi!

This course is challenging and fun to play. The course is a little more open yet, it still has some challenging holes. I played Patapsco before this course, and I felt that the layout and the scenery at Rockburn was much nicer. Rockburn is set in a large park and the holes vary in distance and types of shot you need to use. The course is challenging yet realistic if you are playing well.

I really liked throwing down towards the creek on number 9. It was a well designed hole where you could either end up in the drink, or with a nice lay up shot to the pin. The course was fairly well marked and for the most part you could easily distinguish as to where you were going to go next/throw. The back nine is the reason you come to play this course. With holes throwing out over the fields and some cool shots near the houses, it gives this course a homey feel. You feel as if you could be practicing in your backyard and it is simply a picturesque setting. It is nice to play a course that has so many different types of holes/throws. There are short holes and then there are holes where you can huck it as hard as you want. Many times courses stick with one idea, and Rockburn is not one of them.

No tee boxes kind of sucks. You don't really know always where to throw from, and it makes it unclear. I could see the potential for people/bystanders not playing disc golf to get in the way up near holes 4-6. There are some benches and open areas where other people might set up blanket and get in the way. I always appreciate courses that clearly mark where you should go after you finish a hole, and this course doesn't do that as well.

This was a great course that I will play again very soon. Being from PA, this course is worth the drive to come and play. If I had to choose between this course and Patapsco, I choose Rockburn. I enjoyed the challenge and the variety of holes.

Elevation changes that include 2 really fun shots you get to hurl off the hill and the signature hole near the Doyle House. Solid mixture of open and tight fairways, regularly maintained with a mixture of pin positions, easy access from the parking area, playground nearby to leave the wife & kiddies for a couple hours.

Not exceptionally well-signed, which is too bad since the signs are relatively new but just poorly designed. Have to keep an eye on the wooden arrows at the bottom of each pin to be successful the first time through. I would appreciate constructed tee boxes too, although the natural tees are in pretty good shape in most places. If you play it once, you'll be back again.

There is an active DG community at this course, including the regular presence of DO Fitness, MD's premier disc golf vendor who will be there all summer long! (I have received no compensation, I just like those guys and they know a lot about discs for you newbies looking to upgrade your gear.) This course also has one of the best practice areas around, with a few nice benches nestled in the trees and terrific shade all summer long, and both holes for the 18th to shoot between. A great place to hang out and meet other golfers as they finish their rounds while you work on your putting or short game. All this weighs into my decision to give it a solid 4.

Awesome park with a variety of throws.
Very scenic.
Great pin locations. This course seems to be on an old ranch with some major elevation changes.

Concrete tee pads would be nice.

Fun place to play and ride bikes. Not to far of a drive from Baltimore.

Wow, this course is awesome. Every hole is unique and challenging. I really like courses that let you warm up on some open holes before moving into the heavily wooded areas that require more technical shots. The baskets had very long orange poles coming out the top that made them easy to locate. As I played the back 9 holes I said to myself that 9 was an awesome hole , then 10, then 11 until I was finished. Now I just have to say all 9 of the back 9 rocked. 12 and 15 especially, 15 is one of those elevated holes you can empty your bag on. This course is great and I hope to play it again sometime.

None really, I bet it could be much different in the summer. The thorns might grow in a little making disc locating a pain but it's a well designed course.
Tee pads, an upgrade to concrete tee pads would be nice, the ice/mud combo wasn't doing it for me.

I played Loriella Park in Spotsyvania VA an hour earlier and the difference is night and day. This course had great sings and baskets. I had very little trouble finding the holes. I was told that the signs were added earlier in the winter, great addition. I also noticed that they removed a bunch of thorn bushes. Didn't help me much but I bet it will be much nicer in the summer. There are some historic buildings and really cool rows of trees that the back 9 wind around, made me feel like I was playing during colonial times. Wonder if they had disc golf back then? j/k

Varied terrain and elevation, challenging holes, great dog friendly park, nice people. Briars are being removed!

Still needs teepads, only a couple holes have test pads on them, can be slippery when wet. Some of the briar areas were good obstacles, some trees to replace would be nice.

This is my favorite course in MD due to the challenging course and close location to my home. I may be partial to it also because I can bring my dogs out and play. The big ice bowl/chili cookoff is not to be missed.

This course is very challenging with a variety of holes & lots of elevation changes...water on 2 holes...open & "fair" wooded holes...2 baskets on a few holes...very clean park and neighborhood...not beginner friendly (yes, this is a plus)...#15...mostly long holes with taller orange posts on top of the basket which makes it easier to see the basket from the tees. This is a very nice feature and needed here!

for such a good course this is nit picking: briars can be all over, I played in December and found plenty of them.

The tees are dirt/gravel, if cement is not allowed, flypads would be a good improvement.

Bring a map, if not, you will have a hard time finding your way around. I played here in '99 and it seems as though only a few holes are the same as back then....thankfully I played with someone familiar with the course. Some baskets have an arrow at the bottom pointing you to the next tee but more arrows are needed throughtout the course. Note: holes 3,4,5 are left & beyound tee 6.

The longer wooded holes reminded me of Borderlands in MA, another long wooded course which I like.

Multiple pin locations
Plenty of parking
Warm-up area, Practice basket
Close to amenities

Recently added signs at each tee, and direction arrows at each basket.

6/12/09 Update
Each hole now has an indicator for the current basket position. Sign at tee #6 directing players to holes 3-5. Van selling discs and drinks at parking lot most afternoons and evenings.

Single, dirt tee locations

Between the tall grass, trees/leaves, bushes, and water, the chance of losing a disc is high

Given the number of sticker bushes, the chance of being scratched is nearly 100%! :-O The abundance of poison ivy is no fun, either.

Holes 3-5, 7 can be difficult to find for a first-time visitor. To find #3, walk past 6's tee and to the left. To find #7, look for the small path right through the woods, not the broad path straight ahead.

This course is loads of fun, with plenty of challenges.

Want water? Yup, a bit of that. Uphill? Check. Downhill? Sure. Around hill? Uh-huh. An(hyzer)? Low ceiling? Narrow woods? Guarded baskets? This course has it all!

Favourite hole(s): #13-15. This downhill, uphill, downhill combination is quite scenic and away from the bulk of the park users. The A-positions all say "birdie me", while the C-positions pose quite the challenge.

Most difficult hole(s) for me: #4C/#10C - I'm thrilled when I (rarely) manage to score a '3' on them. #4C, is a throw around the side of a slope, the second shot typically being a slight anhyzer towards a basket sitting in the woods. #10C is a throw up a hill, with brush on both sides, and at the back - with a large tree looming directly in front of you. Assuming you make it to the top, the longish second shot will be down a narrowing clearing to a basket tucked slightly to the right

WARNING: The above evaluation contained home-course bias, in case you couldn't tell!

I feel so fortunate to live within 5 minutes of Rockburn. In 30 minutes or less I can be at Patapsco, Druid, or Calvert, and in 45 minutes or less I can be at Seneca, Middletown, Heritage, Woodsboro, Pine Grove, or Goucher. What a great location for a disc golf enthusiast!

Brand new tees and tee signs with pin indication. Excellent variety of shots, elevation, water hazards. Scenic views. Nice long 18 holes. Recently cleared a lot brush. Challenging course.

Not hard to lose a disc, but its getting better! Not a beginner course! Do not want to get caught in the woods after sundown cause you can't see anything.

This is one of my favorite courses and happens to be the closest to me. I have chuck and run(speed golf) this course in 30 min. Typically takes just over an hour with two people playing regularly. Hole 15 is my fav!

interesting painted signs.Moisture can make them hard to read at times. Course has great variety; elevation, water (not deep enough to lose discs), woods, etc. Course is reminiscent of some of my favorites, but the hard to find baskets damper the experience.
*a new system is inplace to indicate the pin position, a lock placed on a small ring labeled A, B or C.
Course features a coupls nice tunnel shots.

Several signature holes require shot creativity and risk.

Natural tees vary in quality. Arrows to guide you to the next basket stop after the second basket. Chance of disc loss on several holes. Thorns are a nuisance, but not like Giles Run. Lots of time spent looking for baskets, Bring a map!

Take these notes with you:
Hole 1 starts you off shooting blind over a hill with tall grass and thorns on both sides of a wide open area. After hole 2 make sure you pass hole 6 and go towards the playground. After hole 6 take a small trail to your right to hole 7.

If you have a disc retriever, it may be worth bringing. Spotters are well worth the few moments that it will slow your rotation down.

Porto-potties by the playground. Not a lot of shade so bring sunscreen and bug spray. Check yourself for ticks afterwards.

*edit: as long as the grass remains cut on hole one and the signage is maintained i would say this course has improved from a 3.5 to a 4.