Fort Washington, PA

Ft. Washington DGC - Old Layout

0.855(based on 10 reviews)
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3 0
Zunz
Bronze level trusted reviewer
Experience: 10.4 years 85 played 21 reviews
1.00 star(s)

Oh Deer! 2+ years drive by

Reviewed: Updated: Played on:Feb 8, 2016 Played the course:5+ times

Pros:

Nice variety of shot shapes
Elevation changes on most holes
Easy to navigate with a photo of the course map (the map is slightly out of date), not a problem at all after the first time around.

Cons:

Thorns
Thorns
Thorns
A birdhouse in center of the throwing lane on hole 3
Targets, not baskets
The stone tees. Even when they are clear and dry it's not hard to lose your footing. Especially on hole 6 where the tee box tapers down to the left front corner.

Other Thoughts:

This course is ten minutes from my house and after reading the other reviews I never bothered to give it a try. Lesson learned.
This course is not for the feint of heart and its certainly not beginner friendly! Most of the fairways are tight but the lines are there and they are hittable. Slightly errant shots still have a decent chance of getting through if they are above the bramble. Bad shots can end up in some of the worst rough I've ever seen and I'm sure its even worse in the summer. It does look like a lot of work is being done around the fairways to clear as much of the thorny mess as is possible. I threw some AWFUL shots today and the only disc I almost lost was a second disc that I forgot to pick up ten feet from a target. That isn't to say that I didn't get shredded retrieving the worst of my throws, but they were really really bad... Like 100' off the fairway bad. Most of my bad throws though, were retrievable without bloodletting.
Elevation comes into play on almost every hole, some more than others.

The first hole is a slight uphill hyzer that can be played up the path or over the underbrush on a more direct route.

Hole 2 plays straight with the post tucked into the left side of the fairway.

Hole 3 has a poorly placed birdhouse dead center in the opening. The basket is out in the field slightly uphill and pretty far right. Not sure if the fairway is a mando, but there's a straighter line at the post through the trees to the right off the tee but there's a lot in the way.

Hole 4 is a long gentle uphill hyzer.

Hole 5 is a long anhyzer or a big curving hyzer flick with a lot of trees in the way.

Hole 6 is a big hyzer that plays out of the woods into the field. There are patches of tall grass in the field that eat discs, After the fall mow I found chopped up bits of at least 8 different Frisbees.

Hole 7 plays from the woods, across the field and back into the woods with a gradual downhill across the field and a steep 15' drop off right before the green. Oddly, as with a previous reviewer, I think I got my first ace on this hole. It sounded like I hit the post and the disc was laying next to it when I got down there.

Hole 8 is a rhbh sweeping s turn with an understable disc (I throw a comet) to stay on the fairway and get down to the green. Its not the hole 8 on the map though, the tee is right next to 7's pole, not up the path like the map shows and the post is to the right along the path towards 9's tee.

Hole 9 is another hole that isn't exactly where the map says it is. It is the longest hole on the course. It's a slight hyzer/ long straight shot with the post out of the woods and left of the fairway about 40' short of the road.

Overall I'm sorry I waited 2½ years to play this course. I'm a rec/am level player and I found the course to be quite playable. I will certainly be back, and not just because it's 20 minutes closer than any other course. I'm not sure what it will look like all grown in during the summer, but I have a feeling I won't be throwing my favorite discs here.
I've seen more deer on this course than any other. For the most part, they don't seem to care all that much about people walking around. It's not a bad idea to check thew fairway before throwing.

12/16/16 Update: Having now seen the course throughout a growing season I had to update my review. Dropped my rating from 2½ discs down to 1. The lack of mowing anything resembling a fairway, along with the height and thickness of the rough, makes half of the course basically unplayable. And the other half ain't that great either.
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2 0
owvanguard
Experience: 15.8 years 170 played 34 reviews
2.00 star(s)

Tight 2+ years drive by

Reviewed: Played on:Nov 14, 2015 Played the course:once

Pros:

Poles instead of baskets make for tough fun day.
Pleasant course.

Cons:

No tee signs, fairways are narrow, hole 8 is a mistake.

Other Thoughts:

Not as bad as the other review made it seem.
Hole seven is doable if you lay up just before the bushes and then pitch over them to the pole.
Whoever is maintaining the course is doing a good job, unfortunately the design is for very small fairways.
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2 3
paramaniac
Experience: 14.2 years 17 played 2 reviews
0.50 star(s)

Waste of time and a disc 2+ years drive by

Reviewed: Played on:Mar 5, 2011 Played the course:once

Pros:

Nice park. There is a playground close by that my kids had fun on. Plus not too far from the "course" is a Hawk watch, nice place to chill and see some rare birds

Cons:

The entire course is a con. Thorny thick overgrown rough made finding errant discs impossible. Posts instead of baskets made it impossible to know if I did in fact get that ace

Other Thoughts:

Go for the park, not the course
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2 2
xollox
Experience: 1 played 1 reviews
1.00 star(s)

Same as other reviews 2+ years drive by

Reviewed: Played on:Jun 12, 2010 Played the course:once

Pros:

Nice park facilities (bathrooms, picnic tables, grills, etc.) Course was easy to find. No one else was using it.

Cons:

Posts instead of baskets. Dense thorny foliage all around course which made losing discs all but inevitable.

Other Thoughts:

A lot of potential if they did something about the the areas surrounding the fairways.
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7 4
JurkyBoy
Experience: 22 years 53 played 3 reviews
0.50 star(s)

Fort Washington DG 2+ years drive by

Reviewed: Played on:Jun 9, 2009 Played the course:once

Pros:

None. The park is nice, I guess.

Cons:

A disgrace to disc golf. The holes are abnormally short. Targets are simply posts - no baskets installed. Fairways are 8-foot wide mowed through long grass and thorns.

Any errant throws will be landing in long grass or dense thorns. Extremely dense thorns.

Other Thoughts:

There is no reason to even try this course.
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10 3
Tolbert
Silver level trusted reviewer
Experience: 18.8 years 341 played 32 reviews
0.50 star(s)

Once was enough 2+ years

Reviewed: Updated: Played on:Sep 30, 2008 Played the course:once

Pros:

Gorgeous piece of land here at Fort Washington. Park is very clean and the day I played was nice and quiet. Tees were clearly marked and layout was easy to follow. The holes that played in and around the field were nice (3, 6 &7) Fair throwing lanes, with only a tree here or there to play around.

Cons:

The remaining holes were at the point of unplayable. Narrow trails (fairways) were surrounded by thick thorn bushes. Some trails twisted, winded and turned so that the only logical thing to do was pull out my best approach disc and throw for layups. Better than being shredded going for a wayward disc- which about sums up 2/3 of the holes. I don't mind posts so much or object course for that matter, but after I threw a drive across the field on hole 7, right on the money to post you can't see from the tee, I walked up to find my disc lying right next to the post and couldn't help but wonder, had I hit it? Was that an ace? I'll never know. But that aside, many holes were to ridiculous to play, between the very narrow fairways and beyond punishing rough.

Other Thoughts:

The field holes weren't so bad, and the park grounds are amazing and abundant. Its seems if a local club were interested great things could be done here.
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13 1
optidiscic
Diamond level trusted reviewer
Experience: 21.8 years 156 played 147 reviews
0.50 star(s)

Thorny and Corny 2+ years drive by

Reviewed: Played on:Feb 1, 2009 Played the course:once

Pros:

Nice Park, ample parking, info kiosk, Throwback posts for those who fondly remember those days.

Cons:

Take a mid-range to an overgrown field full of huge dense multi-flora thorn bushes now throw your disc.....there you just played FT Washington. Now go home before being wounded and losing your disc. Forgive the sarcasm, I drove in and saw a huge ridge with open fields and old growth forrest...I was thinking, hmmmm maybe theres some potential here...I found the kiosk and saw that the course is just a narrow trail through thorns. Must be the most unforgiving and punishing no distance course ever created. To avoid getting hurt you throw your disc safely 30 ft at a time to avoid being ripped open. You will shoot a 36 on this tiny course out of fear.

Other Thoughts:

George Washington and his troops wintered here due to the steep defensible ridges here. George and his boys knew how to use the land to their advantage. There is amazing land in this park and with the overcrowding of Sedgely and Tyler and no other good courses in the area it would be amazing if someone would approach the Park Service and offer up a better design. FYI Multi flora thorn rose bushes are invasive and not native species to North America, there should be no reason why these dangerous weeds cannot be eradicated from the park.
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8 3
ArchAngel33
Experience: 1 played 1 reviews
0.50 star(s)

Very Dissapoiting 2+ years drive by

Reviewed: Played on:Dec 7, 2008 Played the course:once

Pros:

Fort Washington is a great looking park with hills, mature trees, wildlife etc. This is an ideal overall location for a disc golf course.

Cons:

Poor course design and maintenance which consists of a 10-15 foot trail cut through dense sticker bushes and brambles which will tear you up! Don't even think about using a driver. Play mostly consists of throwing a putter 20-30 feet at a time....very unsatisfying. Course is poorly marked. It is a great shame becasue this site has the potential to offer a great course if properly designed and maintained.
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11 2
permeant
Experience: 1 played 1 reviews
1.00 star(s)

Don't expect much 2+ years drive by

Reviewed: Played on:May 8, 2008 Played the course:never

Pros:

Beautiful environment, no one else there, clearly created with love for the sport. Easy parking, low stress get-go.

Cons:

Course would best be described as a knife's-edge eight- to ten-foot wide grassy trail through a woodland of dense wild rose bushes punctuated by ferns and poison ivy, with tees and posts sequentially along the doglegging trail. There are two or three holes that are more in the open, but even these must pass over dense thorny areas. Requires superhuman accuracy and a bit of x-ray vision to not lose discs; use a spotter! You might as well only take your midrange and putter. Or just play with a putter, period. Holes are wooden poles. Tees are uneven rocky/gravel pits generally about 4 feet wide, 5 feet long. No one else likely to be playing.

Other Thoughts:

Short course - really quick round (unless you're tending wounds or searching for discs). Map at tee 1, no maps on course. Hole seven (I think...) is difficult to spot from tee - it is down over the hill and to the left a bit. I had the same thought as previous reviewer about trying it in winter, except those wild rose bushes will still be thorny (at least visibility would improve).
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1 10
maf763
Experience: 21 played 13 reviews
1.00 star(s)

Fort Washington 2+ years drive by

Reviewed: Played on:May 9, 2007 Played the course:never

Pros:

Has potential to be a decent 9-hole course.

Cons:

Very poorly maintained and overgrown with thorny bushes. Count on losing at least one disc per round. No baskets, only a 4x4 post

Other Thoughts:

Probably better to play in the winter as much of the undergrowth would be cleared out.
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