+ 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.

- 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.

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!)

A very beautiful, quiet course. Peaceful and the nature walk many of us dolfers cherish. You are walking up and down one of the heavily-wooded slopes of a ravine of a winding creek. It's a very scenic place. And though there doesn't appear to be alot of disc-golf traffic, you don't feel isolated nor unsafe. You hear the tennis players and the pickleball players (and in summer, no doubt, the swimmers) when you are at the top of the slope.

I appreciate the semi-open fairways at nos. 1, 2, 5, 12, 13, 18. In several cases, you start in woods, throw across a small field, and back into woods. Or you start outside of woods and throw into it. Nos. 12 and 13 are essentially on a narrow creek plain with fewer trees (several have fallen near the 13 green) and bushes. No. 12 has a very narrow descending fairway from an elevated tee, right alongside the creek. No. 13 opens out more (larger margin of error) and has fewer trees to contend with.

Holes 14 and 15 start in the creek plain and then climb up hills. No. 14's fairway is the only one on the far side of the creek, along with the no. 13 green. No. 15's tee starts in the creek plain, the first part of the fairway is there too, and then the hole doglegs left and up the main slope of the course.

Closing hole 18 is lovely and accomplishes at least two things at once. Throwing out of a tree-crowded pocket, then across a grassy field and into/through a line of cypress (?) trees is a winning design IMHO. It's a challenge at start and finish with an open break in the middle. The line of trees also keeps discs from flying into the street and hitting cars or pedestrians. There is a split-rail fence along the left side to keep you off that property as well. Smart!

There are some very steep places that (with mud etc.) will be downright dangerous. You really want to be careful because this tract is a real trek up and down many times. Bring a walking stick; you will use it alot. And if you have any distinct mobility challenges, this is a course you need to avoid. It feels like you walk uphill more than downhill, but it actually isn't true. There are just some really steep places, like getting up from the tees of nos. 4 and 7! There are stairs to/from no. 4's tee, but none from no. 7's.

Also realize that there are distinct rollaway possibilities into the creek at nos. 3, 6, 10, and 11. The slope is severe. Even if your disc avoids the creek, you may be trekking down the slope to retrieve it from the rough. Not fun.

The creek is deep in many places, so don't just jump in to retrieve your disc (even if you are bold enough to do that). You probably will wind up breaking your ankle. Bring a disc retriever, despite the extra bulk, unless you have awesome aim. There are few foot bridges across the creek. A good solid one before the green of no. 13 and another one from the tee of no. 15 would be most welcome. Presently, you are using creek-bed rocks to get over and not always keeping dry feet.

The OB fence at no. 1 comes up quickly. As with all the ultimately-downhill holes, you can be aggressive to start (as aggressive as you dare to be in the woods!), but the approach and putt often need to be cautious. And if you are a bomber, please walk up the fairway first to grasp where you are going on your first visit here.

There are many dead-leaf beds in the rough. It appears bumble bees use it for nesting. Didn't encounter wasps, but did encounter several bumble bees. I believe these beds are intentional, to help mitigate rollaways.

The tee pads are 3/4 framing with mulch and wood chips. There are now low, plastic hole signs (temporary?) with diagrams, pars, and distances of each hole. I found the sign information invaluable, and (as I was following the trio in front of me), I could confirm the image with what they were doing or how they had walked.

I think I will avoid the summer and winter months. I imagine the insects will get pretty intense with green vegetation filling up the rough, and the wet-slickness of winter sounds like cruising for a bruising. I'll be here spring and fall when it's dry and the club members are in small number (less potential conflict).

BTW you will find tennis balls all over the place. You expect that at the close-in holes, but I found some at hole 13 down in the creek plain!

Requires every shot in the bag. Great mix of direction, elevation and hazard. Surprisingly challenging for the average hole length, largely due to elevation changes. Pristine location with a rolling landscape that plays along a beautiful creek. The course has been rejuvenated after a few years of not being regularly maintained.

A few fairways are close together, with baskets shooting near the next tee and there are a couple walk-backs from basket to next tee. Gnats in summer can be relentless.

Course managers have been back at work after a few years layoff. The realignment of Holes 1-4 due to fencing of the adjacent property is complete. Field adjacent holes continue to be opened up, providing more balance to an otherwise wooded course. Fairways have been blown off and are as clean as ever, and all tees have been rebuilt. Overall The Demon is in the best shape it's ever been.

Beautiful scenery, challenging course.

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

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.

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.

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.

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.

Tight course layout. Accuracy is key to a good round.

Lot's of blind pins and the layout is tricky to follow.

I played the first nine in the rain this past weekend alone. The course is kind of hard to figure out. More than once I had to spend time trying to figure out where a basket or teepad were. Lost a disc that was found the next day, so obviously the people who play here are legit. I'd assume in season the little pvc pipes at each tee would be up to give you a general direction of where the pin is. One suggestion I've also seen work is an arrow on the basket pointing to the general direction of the next tee pad.

Course wise if you like a tightly wooded layout with LOTS of elevation change, this is the course for you. It's not a bad course but compared to Seneca which is so much better maintained, the biggest plus about the course is probably how few people seem to play it.

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

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

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

Nice wooded course with a variety of terrain. layout is decent and makes good use of the location.

Really needs some work. The tees are worn out and many are very short and full of roots. There are a few broken and missing tee signs which are just plastic pipes near the tee boxes. Some of the holes are basically a throw through randomly scattered trees and hoping for the best.

This is a good course, but it is a little frustrating when you nearly get a hole in one a few times and instead your disc rolls 100ft down a hill because it landed on a rock and you end up with a 7 or worse because it happens again when you putt. The maintenance could definitely be improved. The course is a nice walk through the woods around the club. The nearby Seneca creek course is much better but can be a little crowded sometimes so this is an alternative for a quiet course.

-Front 9 ok
-Pretty, quiet course. I was the only player on a Saturday afternoon
-Lots of trees, which could also be a con given the chance of disc loss and interrupted flight

-Back 9 almost unplayable due to lack of maintenance, missing tee markers, a missing basket
-Will come back in fall/winter when foliage is down
-I've been told that the work on this course is ongoing, which is great to hear because it is a nice layout and great location.

Cant wait to play in fall and winter!

Never busy. Challenging course. Tight layout but forces you to work on your accuracy. Nice mix of holes for lefties and righties. Holes 1-3, 5, 10 (If played as a Par4), 12, 15 and 18 are birdie-able but require a perfect tee shot. Holes 12-15 are beautiful holes. It's a great place to play if Seneca is packed.

Signage and the tee boxes. You definitely need to play with someone who knows the course if it's your first or second time, but proper signage will definitely fix that problem. The tee boxes are wood chips. That part isn't so bad, it's the huge 4X4 that sits on the front of the tee boxes that makes it hard to throw a full shot and have proper follow through. The only other problem is some of the tee boxes are not level, due to lack of maintenance or poor design/construction of them, or missing, like the short tee on 14 is missing in action. Darnestown is in the woods and by a creek, so if bugs and ticks bother you, come prepared, but you're playing disc golf outside, in the woods, in Maryland, bugs, ticks and other wildlife is part of the game.

I like this course. It will challenge you and it's a good work out being hilly and wooded. In the warmer months, it's great to play because of the tree cover and keeps you out of the sun.
If the course gets some signage, and the tee boxes fixed and is properly maintained could easily become my home course. When I say the tee boxes need to be fixed/maintained, I'm saying they are definitely playable, but to take the course to the next level, some work needs to be done. All and all, I really like this course and it's a diamond in the rough.

Very, Very, Very tight and technical.
If you are looking for a course to really test your accuracy, this is a good one.

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

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.

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.

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.

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.

Peace and quiet - this course is usually almost empty, which is a pleasant change of pace from the often-overcrowded Seneca Creek course.
Free play - even though the course is on private property, you are free to use the parking lot and course. Just be respectful and clean up after yourself
Diversity - Even though all but two holes are in the woods, there is enough variety of layout, length, elevation, and distance to give each hole a unique feel. Overall, elevation is used to better effect here than at Seneca.
Challenge - There are only two or three holes on the course that will forgive bad tee shots. Planning your flight path and focusing on accuracy are essential here.

Bugs - plenty of gnats, as well as mosquitoes in the vicinty of holes 1-4 and 10.
Heavy leaf litter in the fall and winter can make it hard to find discs, even on the fairway.
The course is too challenging to recommend for beginners, and there is no practice basket.

"Tough but fair" is the best way to describe this course. There are very few opportunities to grip-n-rip, but neither are there ridiculously narrow fairways or silly features designed to cause frustration. Hole for hole, this course offers among the best disc golf experiences in Maryland, though overall I still prefer Seneca Creek for its mix of open and wooded holes.

This is a really cool course with a lot of potential. It is secluded in an area that no one but DGers would want to go. This is what I imagine Seneca Creek to have been like 10 years ago. The course rambles up and down hills. It's mostly in the woods and offers lots of challenging lines to draw off of the tee. 18 tees and discatcher baskets make this a complete course. Bring your own water and don't be shy about playing on private property. There's hardly anyone outside of the fenced in facilities every time I've been there. The first tee starts at the front of the tennis courts and goes into the woods. This is a great course to play when you want to beat the summer heat as it's almost completely in the trees.

The tee boxes are the biggest shortcoming with this course. The are in disrepair and need to be completely redone. At least half of them are crooked, meaning not perpendicular to the ground. They make for uncertain footing. Also, a good number of them are only about 5-6 ft. long with no room behind for a run up. The wood mulch needs to be raked and packed down more and the walls of the boxes are falling apart.

I've been to this course two times and played four rounds. I have yet to see anyone else playing out there during the week or on the weekend. There is a lot of trash and there are broken bottles are to be found. It's a shame that more people don't play this course. It really has a lot of potential and is still very fun and challenging. I'm happy to have this as an alternative to Seneca Creek.

Situated almost entirely in the woods surrounding the Swim and Racquet club in an upscale DC suburban neighborhood, this course is what a par 3 woods course should be. Course offers a big variety of looks, hard hyzers and and anhyzers, uphill, downhill and side hill fairways, and some blazing fast greens (especially on the early holes so make sure your approach game is ready at the gitgo). Precision first is the rule, but if you don't make it far enough up the fairway on some of these you'll still have a tough look for your par.

Eighteen Discatchers in perfect shape, only one pin setting each hole that I could find. One boxed and mulched tee per hole. The signage issues noted in earlier reviews have been addressed by large clear Next Tee signs pointing in the appropriate direction. There are PVC pipes at the from of each tee with the distance and a crude drawing of the fairway. Most walks from green to tee are pretty short but far enough away to be clear of approaches to the green.

The middle holes down by the creek (Amen Corner?) are a whole lot of fun and what makes this course excellent over just very good.

Several of the pin settings are on significant downhill grades, with a steep drop off not far behind (which may include a bath in the creek), but I view this as a positive as it adds a requirement for precise distance control on your approaches.

An absolutely beautiful setting for a walk in the park.

Even though it was early spring, the gnats were out in full force, so bring bug spray and a hat. Lots of walking up, down and along some fairly significant grades, so wear appropriate footwear (particularly if it's recently rained).

No bridges across the creek (which you need to traverse several times), not too difficult during low flow but i imagine this could be a challenge after some rain.

I prefer hardtop tees so mulched tees are not my favorites, but these were pretty well maintained (few divots) and while a few seemed a little cramped, were long enough for the most part.

This is nitpicking, but some of the holes on the front have a deja vu element as they play back and forth along side one another (much like a ball golf layout). There's what looks like an un-needed mando at first glance on 17 but it's there to protect the 16th green. When you get closer you see that you wouldn't want to approach from the wrong side of the mando anyway. I didn't really care for #18 as it had a wall of cypress about 15-20' before the pin. You have to either skip or slide one through low between the trunks or roll it through I guess.

I love woods courses and this is just the perfect piece of land for one. The designers did an outstanding job with it, I don't think I'd change a thing. I'm not sure how well the course would handle a crowd but I don't think that will be an issue, we were the only group there on a beautiful afternoon.

I'll echo what others have mentioned, keep in mind that this is basically private property and that we are guests. The course was very clean, I only saw one bottle (removed) during the whole hike. Please bring a trash bag along with you and help keep this place pristine and available to the DG community.

**Updated Review 2015**
Private course with 18 Boxed Mulch Tees with 18 Discatcher baskets. Secluded and scenic 16 acre disc golf only area around the Swim and Raquet club that is un-useable for anything else. Almost entirely heavy wooded and very hilly elevation terrain along a creek gives you all kind of variety. Lots of tight fairways that seem to favor backhand or forehand on some holes. Very little underbrush, well groomed, and navigation is fairly easy with big next tee signs and the tees are pretty close to baskets.

Mulch tees are probably my least favorite and they are short to boot. Holes play fairly close to together, so beware if others are playing(seems rare). The terrain is a little rough and rolled ankles a few times, also slipped down some steep areas. Can be muddy around the creek and had to pass over the creek some places. Tee signs are just pvc pipe with distance, but it's not hard to figure out the hole. Gnats and other flying insects can be bad in summer.

Wow...this is an interesting course and glad I made the trip. Accuracy is definitely rewarded over distance here as there are no holes to let a driver loose. It will test your skillz on elevated and heavily wooded fairways, and has lots of shots I've never seen before making it both fun and challenging. The creek and landscape give this course its beauty, but the elevation can be extreme and trees can be brutal. Aside from a few people playing on the tennis courts, the tennis balls and some deer, I had the course to myself making it very peaceful.

There is potential for this course with better tees. I use a fairly compact x-step, but felt cramped on a number of tees. Hole 13 was probably my fav, and the whole middle section was great. I definitely recommend this course(except to rank beginners), and hope to play again soon!

The woodland setting and the integration of the natural environment into the course is the best element here. All the baskets are in place now. I found the wood chip tees to fit well with
the nature of the course. There are not a drawback as driving distance is not much of an issue on any of the holes here. Instead there is a premium on creativity and accuracy in shot making. The many trees, hilly terrain, and the creek make for challenging but fair obstacles. The relatively short length and general openness of the woods keep it friendly for advanced beginners.

LOTS of gnats. Even copious amounts of bug spray didn't keep them at bay. I disagree with the reviewer who thought the basket positions were "unfair". A testing layout doesn't mean
it is an unfair layout. Yes your disc can roll away down a hill with a not-good-enough approach shot but given the short distance of the holes this course's defenses are the trees and the terrain. The course can be tricky to navigate as many holes are adjacent and baskets and tees can be in close proximity and there are lots of blind shots. I have never had a problem with traffic from other folfers on this course though.

There are no grip-it-and-rip-it holes on this course. There are woodland courses that have relatively open if narrow fairways and impenetrable rough, think Whispering Falls, and those that have open woods with many trees dotting the fairways and rough that is not so difficult to penetrate, like Boulder Woods. This course is among the latter. A spotter would be helpful here to guard against disc loss but is not near mandatory such as at Whispering Falls or Seneca Creek. The holes near the creek with the dense low vegetation are the greatest risk. This is a nice course to play in the heat of summer as your first drive takes you into the woods and you stay completely in tree cover till your last tee shot brings you out. How some people have managed to lose tennis balls so far out into the woods is beyond me. Rotting tennis balls
seem to sprout as if they were woodland fungi.

(Rating of 4 is based on how it's playing right now, a solid 3.5, with a .5 bump for the steady progress in development.)

I've been playing this course for some time and it just keeps getting better. I agree with other reviewers that one of it's best features is the land itself, but it's also how the designers have used it to create some really great golf. Each hole is unique and the full 18 requires a broad range of shot making from drive to putt: right/left/straight, uphill/downhill/cross slope, low/high ceiling, water hazards, etc. Its laid out well so there's no criss crossing fairways or long walks between holes (there is one slight walk back from 16 to 17) and play begins and ends right at the parking lot.

While most of the holes are in the woods and were frustratingly wooded when all 18 were first put in, they've been cleared out gradually for more open fairways. Now there's more playable area and some fantastic shot lines. The holes which do involve field shots--1,5,8,17,18--are also being opened up, giving more relief from the trees. Some of the baskets/tees/fairways which used to play too close together have been worked out. Another great feature, which helps give the course variety, is a stretch of holes on the back nine--12,13,14,15--which play along and over a really nice creek. These holes have a ways to go in overall maintenance, but each plays the creek a little differently and include some of my favorites on the course.

Recently all remaining baskets and tees were installed. The choice of wood chip for the tees is debateable, but it does fit the character of the course. If they harden over time and are raked and leveled regularly they should be fine. I actually don't mind this variable as part of the challenge and uniqueness of the course.

Another thing I've come to appreciate (especially with the heat this summer) is that because Darnestown is mostly in the woods and plays along water for a long stretch, it's the perfect hot weather course.

Little short: Overall course distance is on the short side. Looks like there may be a few holes which can be lengthened, but otherwise it will always rely on obstacles and terrain to provide difficulty.

Gnats: Much like Seneca can have a lot of gnats. I've played at all different times and in the late spring and summer months you can expect them, so plan accordingly. In the fall, winter and early spring it's typically not an issue.

Natural wood chip tees: These were definitely unstable when recently installed. Hopefully they'll tighten up. Some tees are shorter then regulation length, but it looks like there is room for these to be lengthened.

Lacks signage: I've played the course enough that I don't need signage, but this would definitely be lacking for the first time player.

Private club: During the middle of the day in the summer months the tennis and swim club can be crowded. And while I've played at these times without any issue, it still feels a little uncomfortable. Not sure what the situation is for the parking lot gate exactly and parking along the road seems less than ideal for the neighborhood, but again no problems so far.

Not only is Darnestown a nice compliment to other great courses in the area such as Seneca, Patapsco and Rockburn, but if progress continues as it has in its first few years, it could be grouped with these for some of the best disc golf in the DC Metro area.

This course is a tricky one to rate, because there are so many things to love about it, but also so many things that could be improved.

The best elements of this course is its beauty. The stretch of land has great hills, a nice creek, glorious old trees stretching up into the sky, and lots of wildlife. And from the road, its hard to even guess the course is there -- with the exception of 18s basket, the rest of the course is completely hidden in the woods, though its in the middle of some of the nicest homes/manors in the D.C.-area.

Every hole has trees -- most holes have lots of trees. However, these are old, tall trees with minimal undergrowth (and fallen trees/branches are very well cleared by whoever maintains the course), so finding discs is easy.

Holes range from ~200' to ~450', but many play longer than their distances because of elevation. The 200' hole, for instance, probably plays closer to 350' because of sharp elevation. There is a good mix of throws required, though this is definitely a course that favors backhand shots. Even the shape/gaps in the left-to-right hooking fairways tend to be lines that play better for a backhand anhyzer than for a forehand hyzer. This is not a bad thing -- just an observation. I am a forehand-dominant player, and yet threw backhands off the box on at least 2/3 of the holes.

The elevation is one of the things that really works well for this course. Most holes involve some amount of elevation change or involve throwing over elevation change. I love varying terrain, and this has some of the best land I've ever played on.

I saw one reviewer who was frustrated with the fact that many of the baskets are on hills or have "fast greens" that can cause rollaways. I actually consider this is huge PLUS for this course. Yes, there are a lot of fast greens, but none of them seemed unfair. I've played much faster greens on some of the top courses in the country, like Renaissance Park, and fast greens -- when fair -- make you a better player. It requires you not just to throw your disc, but to think about approach speed, landing angle, and even what kind of plastic to use to minimize skips/bounces/kicks/roll-aways. Fast, fair greens make you a better player. I consider the fast greens one of the best parts about this course -- it helps separate a good approach from a great approach.

I've only played through this course once, but I threw several teeshots on most holes, trying out different lines and approaches, and I consider all the holes to be fair. There are well carved fairways and some interesting lines that you don't see on most courses. Some are particularly memorable and unusual. Hole 12 is a slight downhill, almost straight, ~300', with the stream to the left. The R-to-L hill slope and the shape of the gap off the teebox makes it almost impossible to throw a backhand shot to the pin; most RHBHs will fade left into/across the creek. The best shot is a slight forehand anhyzer or helix -- a touch shot with a neutral fairway driver. This is a shot few players have, but everyone should learn. And on this particular hole, it's the best option off the box. I AM THRILLED at some of the unusual hole designs that make this a very unusual training course.

The other pro I need to mention is that this course (for now) has virtually no traffic. My wife and I were out there on a Sunday, midday, and while the pool was full and their were people on the tennis courts, there were no other players on the disc golf course. It is an undiscovered gem. Right now, this has an immense FUN factor. Great shots, great holes, and no one else out there. I know of no better course in the D.C. area to practice and improve your game.

Several of the cons right now are due to the newness of the course. I think 6 of the baskets are still missing. Instead, plastic buckets are hung on PVC pipe at roughly basket level. This isn't ideal, but it does simulate putting pretty well. It's a much better solution than I've seen at most in-progress courses. I think this will be taken care of soon.

Signage is minimal -- marker drawings on short pieces of PVC stuck in the ground. This wasn't a big deal -- it kept with the minimalist aesthetic of the course, and playing through the first time, without a map, we had no trouble finding any of the tees or baskets. The PVC marker drawings did what they needed to do. Better signage would be nice, but is not needed. If the course is obvious, even in the growth of early summer to someone who has never played the course, then it is as good as it has to be. My only worry is that the short sticks of PVC may not last, getting vandalized or knocked over. But for now, they work just fine.

It would have been nice to have at least one "field" hole. I don't think this course really has the land for it, but I always want one hole per course to really just rip it. The closest this comes is on the back, ~13/14, there are a couple of holes that have wider fairways and higher ceilings on some really cool shots by the creek. These are awesome holes, but I still miss non having one "rip-it" hole.

The bugs are bad here. Yes, it is early summer and we've been having rain, but it was so bad that my wife had to quit playing a few holes in, covered in bites (yes, we had bug spray). I wasn't particularly bothered, but if you're someone who attracts bugs, be careful. Lots of mosquitoes and ants, in particular.

A lack of par-4 holes. I am someone who loves a mix of holes, and this course didn't have any true par-4 holes. There appeared to be enough land in places for some of the holes to be stretched out to make this possible. I'm not sure if this will eventually be in the plans, but if there were some longer, PRO pin positions (maybe they can use the PVC/bucket combo for this after they get the other six baskets?!?!?) it would add a whole extra dimension to the course. Half a dozen pro placements (buckets) for some longer holes would take this course up another notch.

One thing that should be noted: teepads are dirt, and aren't always level. This isn't a big deal to me -- I don't mind rough teepads as long as they aren't mudpits. But I know this will matter to some people -- I included it here, because it is neither a pro, nor a con in my book. These tees were fine to play on and did not detract from the course. If anything, I like them better here because it helped the course feel very natural. Concrete teeboxes would actually detract from the course, making it feel too intrusive on the land. I also think this course has potential to be refined and improved over time, so I encourage the designers to keep the teeboxes very simple and easy to change, if needed, in the future.

Overall, I found this one of the most enjoyable courses -- one of the most FUN courses -- that I've played in a long time. The enjoyment value is definitely higher than my more objective rating of this course. I would expect that with some work, this could move up to being a 4-star course. But in the meantime, I would highly, highly recommend it.

If you're coming in from out of town, I think the best outdoorsy day you could plan in the D.C. area would be: hike the Billy Goat Trails on the MD side of Great Falls Park (only a few miles from this course), then come to Darnestown to get in a fun warm-up 18, then grab lunch (head straight up Germantown Road a few miles and you'll have a shopping center with dozens of quick-food options, e.g. Elevation Burger, Chick-Fil-A, Five Guys, Moby Dick's Kabobs, ), and then head to Seneca, just a few miles away, for 27 holes of the best disc golf in the country.

Darnestown fills a missing niche in the D.C.-area disc golf scene. It's a course I'll be returning to as often as possible. Hope to see you there.

Good technical course has a nice combination of length and obstacles to avoid. Good variety of hole layouts that will force you to use all your throws. Guys who maintain it do a very nice job and are friendly to visitors. Shady with nice baskets. The holes along the creek are particularly fun. This is a course that punishes mistakes and forces you to really think about where you want that first shot to land. The course has some holes re-designed and a lot of clearing on the fairways and nice tee signs added so it is much less of a jungle trip than it used to be. Lightly played so no waiting on conflicts with other groups.

Natural tee pads outlines by 3x3s can be very uneven but now have wood chips that help greatly. No run up potential. Only one pad and basket per hole. Insects can be bad. Invariably you will end up traversing some slopes to fetch throws not exactly in the fairway and they can be steep (hard to take an even stance). A couple of creek crossings require stepping stones which can get slippery. Does not loop back after 9. The fairways for #4 and #6 are parallel in opposite directions for a stretch which is really only a concern on #4 (see details below).

Many of the teepads are right next to the previous basket which makes navigation easy but has the obvious problem. I aced old #2 which no longer exists (got incorporated into #1). If you come during off hours, the gate to the parking lot may be open but be aware it could get locked while you are playing so normally we park off the side of the road near either #1's tee or #18's basket (which you will see when you drive down to the course).

Hole-by-hole: #1's tee is just to the left of the gate as you enter. The fairway parallels the road sloping down past the tennis courts and takes a sharp right turn just as you enter the woods. There is a fenced-off area past the turn which used to be "no trespassing" but now has a sign asking that you use the gate at the corner to enter the area to retrieve discs. Best to avoid.

#2's pad is back up at the corner of the tennis courts with the basket under a few small trees on the left at the end of the grassy area. It is one of the few open holes here (and pretty easy). There is a tether ball area and some other stuff but I have never seen anyone out there even in the middle of summer when the pool is packed.

#3 plays down into the woods (very narrow 'fairway') at the far left side and many throws will end up down at the bottom on the left which can be a slippery climb. The basket is up on a ledge which now has a flatter "green". It used to be that if you didn't land within a foot of the basket, your disc would likely roll down the hill into the creek (no longer a problem).

#4 plays up the hill with a wide fairway cut into the woods. If someone is playing #6, there is a chance that their drive might land in #4's fairway.

#5 starts outside the woods as you throw back toward the tennis courts with the basket tucked into the woods near the end. Then you are into the woods for a while.

#6 throws downhill with a fairway that parallels #4 on the second half. It is the longest hole on the front 9 (and second longest overall). The fairway curves to the right so it is easy to launch a straight throw that misses the trees and ends up on #4's fairway. The basket is at the top of a slope so overthrows can easily end up down at the bottom and possibly in the creek.

#7's tee is down by the creek (follow the stairs) and throws up the sharp slope and then in a curve to the right.

#8 throws off to the left where the fairway goes down and then back up to the same height (or higher) with the basket tucked behind a tree. A challenging hole (and again a downslope on the left which can roll your disc away).

#9's tee is outside the woods with the fairway passing behind the pool fence and down a slope and then curving back to the right at the bottom with the basket tucked into some trees. There used to be a mando here but I didn't see it designated on my last visit.

#10 is the longest hole on the course. You start uphill then follow a straightaway along the top of the ridge followed by a down slope and then the basket a bit farther along in the woods. This is my favorite hole as I really need three quality throws before I can even consider shooting for the basket (I have one 4 here in about 30 rounds).

Hole 11 continues the path after #10 but is shorter and has a trickier basket placement with rollaway possibility.

Hole 12 starts behind #11's basket but then follows the creek at the bottom of the hill. Any throws that fade left risk landing in the creek (very easy to do).

Hole 13 has a large tree trunk across the fairway right before the creek crossing with the basket on the other side of the creek.

Hole 14 is on the far side of the creek headed is the same direction that #12 and #13 went.

Hole 15's tee is on that same side of the creek but plays back across the creek with the fairway headed in the opposite direction and with a big turn to the left after the first rows of trees and the basket up the hill a bit (near #10's tee).

#16's tee is across the ditch from #15's basket. If you don't trust the wooden plank to cross it you can easily walk up or down the path to find a flat easy crossover. #16 plays back toward the swim club.

#17 plays parallel to #16 just a little farther up and has a mando. I usually tee off on 16 and then step over to #17's tee on my way to my drive and tee off there so I don't have to back track down 16's (or 17's fairway) after playing 16.

Finally #18 starts in the woods with a couple of large tree trunks to avoid early and then crosses a grassy area to a row of cedars with the basket behind it (near the main road). I normally make my first throw into the grass field and then aim at the cedar trunks to get the disc through for a short putt. You can go big and loopy to the left around the cedars but that's over a neighbor's property which is OB.

Overall a very enjoyable course now; it used to be a chore. It is still strenuous but not a survival exercise.