Great mix of holes - every one is unique.
Good use of terrain - there are big uphill and downhill shots, tight doglegs, holes playing across creeks, open fields, and woods.
Course is well-maintained, in my experience.
Rotating pin positions.
Good flow between holes, though signage is limited so first-timers should bring a map.
Free play.

Dirt and gravel tees are sometimes in poor condition.
Only one tee position per hole.
Signage is pretty poor.

The holes at Rockburn Branch are long and fairly challenging, and thick brush along some holes ensures that smart shots are rewarded and bad shots are penalized. The course hasn't been crowded at all when I've visited, and the course is mostly away from other park areas so there's no conflict with other visitors. The course could use an organized cleanup effort - beer bottles and trash litter many holes (C'mon people - there are trash and recycling containers in the park - clean up after yourselves!). Seneca Creek is the best course in the DC-Baltimore area, in my opinion, but Rockburn offers enough unique play to make it worth a visit.

Long course with wide variety of landscape and challenges.

This course is long and varied, and well worth checking out. Located just south of Baltimore, Rockburn Branch is set on a county park that was a farm not too, too long ago. The course plays around open fields, across a creekbed, and deep into the woods, leading to as good a variety as any course I've played.

Like Patapsco Valley, this course is much longer than other courses I've played, but with only a couple of exceptions that just makes the course more fun. It seems like the real deal - a good drive, a good, long approach, a decent putt if you're lucky, a short approach if you aren't. And the length applies to all the different holes, woods, hazards, or mostly open, they're all long. The individual hole layouts are great, with tee and pin placements well considered. The course as a whole can be hard to follow, however, and I highly recommend taking a map before you go play. The teepads are natural, but there are multiple basket placements. The signature hole is #15, down a long hill, across a field, and then back across a creek and into the woods, 500 feet or more total. But I loved most every hole, and look forward to playing here again.

Favorite Hole - #15 - long, long shot down steep hill from tee next to old farmhouse, across wide field, to basket set just over a stream about 40 feet inside the tree line.