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Potomac, MD

Avenel Local Park

1.675(based on 2 reviews)
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8 0
Crooow
Gold level trusted reviewer
Experience: 37.3 years 252 played 57 reviews
2.00 star(s)

Not worth it

Reviewed: Updated: Played on:Jul 9, 2024 Played the course:2-4 times

Pros:

Attractive park in affluent neighborhood. Baskets are easily spotted and in excellent condition. Tee signs/maps on all 7 holes; baskets are numbered. Lots of porta-potties in the parking lot. Hanging basket on #5; elevated basket on stump on #7. Some tree-lined fairways.

Cons:

Biased to RHBH players (which favors me). Holes 3 & 4 are boring "throw across this field" holes. Single tee pad - single basket positions. Lots of park users but not many waiting periods. Hole 6 might be unavailable during any use of the soccer field (but not really an issue for accurate arms).

Other Thoughts:

This used to be 9 holes but the first 2 have been removed and the remainder renumbered. This makes the older reviews harder to follow as all the hole numbers have changed. Park near the #7 basket (elevated on stump near the tennis courts).

Walk between the tennis and basketball courts to get to the first tee (veer right) in the woods. This is the gauntlet S-hole and was my favorite (roughly 258 feet).

#2 tee is to the right past the basketball courts. From the tee it is unclear if the fairway is meant to be along the entrance road or up on the hill past the line of small trees. The basket is on the hill but down near the end where it slopes down toward the entrance. Thus either path is feasible (270 feet).

You'll see basket #4 straight ahead and tee #3 is on the way to it. #3 throws up a small incline to a basket in the middle of a field. It is a boring 275 wide open drive.

Hole #4 throws down that same slope to the basket you previously spotted. It is a boring 295 wide open drive.

Tee #5 is close to the park entrance and throws to a hanging basket 335 feet away. The fairway parallels a tree-lined walking path that parallels the road. There is a mando that tries to keep you away from the walking path but it is only 100 feet from the tee and a RHBH throw can easily pass it and then curve right back over to the path (which is what I did). But not a bad hole.

Hole #6 is the longest (370 feet) and has a mando and also says everything to the left of the trees is OB. This is to keep you away from the soccer field. The basket is on a slight downslope near some trees.

Walk uphill past the basketball court to get to the tee for #7. It is short (180 feet) to an elevated basket on a tree stump. Attractive but not difficult.

For a course bagger, this is a one-time course. Holes #1 & 5 & 7 are fun; 2 and 6 are okay; 3 & 4 are boring. I hit the basket on #7 so almost got the postcard ace but not worth going back to Cubby it. If you lived in the neighborhood, it would probably be a fun distraction from the equestrian and tennis lifestyle. The new course map was ripped (I did the best I could photographing it) and says this is not a dedicated course but a practice course. It has numbered tees and baskets and maps so it feels like a short course to me.
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10 0
swatso
Diamond level trusted reviewer
Experience: 16.1 years 767 played 416 reviews
1.50 star(s)

Be(ware|side|low|yond)

Reviewed: Played on:Aug 8, 2023 Played the course:once

Pros:

Baskets, 5x12 framed cinder tees, informative teesigns ...

Cons:

...most of which warn about oob, mandos, and to be aware of other park patrons.

Other Thoughts:

Avenel is a well-maintained public park, consisting of playing fields (baseball, soccer), surfaces (basketball, tennis, playground), a circumventing walking path with benches and accompanying treelines ... and a squeezed-in disc golf course.

The holes themselves:
* distances range from about 170-370', averaging ~270'
* luckily missing the nearly continous trees on #4, the tunnel on #6, and the double-mando on #7 are the accuracy challenges, with the other six primarily playing as openish, although some mandos force throws to be right-to-left.
* Over half the holes are essentially flat, with some slopes (none extreme) to deal with on the other holes

And to prove beauty is in the sight of the Beholder, I actually liked the challenging s-shape required to navigate tree-laden #4 (Monocacy's least favourite), and disliked #'s 6 (his favourite) and #7. For the most common throw (RHBH, with its natural fade), these two holes brought oob, followed by external walking paths, followed by public streets (if you really botched a throw) into mis-play.

Probably NOT a course to play on a pleasant weekend day. On a mid-morning random weekday, I had to wait on holes 1,2,3,6,9 for random park patrons using the park for other activities.

Adequate for a course-bagger or a desperate local, but probably won't be on anyone's regular rotation.
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13 0
Monocacy
Gold level trusted reviewer
Premium Member
Experience: 24.2 years 542 played 81 reviews
1.50 star(s)

Fun niner amongst the mansions

Reviewed: Played on:Aug 4, 2023 Played the course:once

Pros:

This 9-hole course offers a variety of open, park-style, and wooded holes. The moderate hills present on many holes also add interest. This is a fun course in a pretty park, and I enjoyed playing here. My favorite hole was #6, a tight 171-foot slightly downhill tunnel that is pure fun to throw.

DISCatcher baskets were mounted level and caught well. Hole #7 features a nice hanging basket, and hole #9 has a lovely basket raised on a huge stump, with stairs built into the stump to retrieve your disc.

Level, boxed in stone dust tee pads on the first eight holes, with an asphalt tee on hole #9. I like stone dust for tee pads, but they may require maintenance from time to time.

Post-mounted tee signs include hole distance and a map showing basket position, mandos, and out of bounds areas. No excessively long walks between holes. Navigation was pretty straightforward – I think I checked GPS two or three times. Low risk of disc loss, although one could find thick rough on a highly errant drive.

Port-a-pots, trash cans, and recycling containers near the parking lot, with a few trash cans out on the course (including one in the fairway – see cons).

Cons:

Lots of potential safety hazards, including walking paths, benches, soccer fields, and trash cans in the fairways, plus roads, parking lots, tennis courts, and private property easily within range of poorly-thrown drives and bad tree kicks (I had more than zero). Course designers used mandos and extensive OB to provide some mitigation but hazards remain.

Holes #1, 2, 3, and 8 may be unplayable if adjacent soccer fields are in use.

Hole 4 has an unrealistically tight line with punishing OB if/when you hit a tree on your drive. I threw what I thought was a good drive that kicked off a tree and barely stayed in bounds.

Other Thoughts:

I played late morning on a weekday, but even so there was soccer practice on one of the fields (fortunately not one that affected the disc golf course). I would expect far more conflicts on pleasant-weather evenings and weekends.

This was a difficult course to rate. From a gameplay perspective I would probably give it a 2.5, which is good for a 9-hole course. But with the abundant safety issues I cannot justify a rating higher than 1.5. That said, if you get a chance to play here when the park is not busy you would probably enjoy yourself.

Quick bag 6 minutes off the Beltway (I-495) west of DC. As you are driving in you may be puzzled by what looks like white-fenced forest areas. If you are observant you may notice the multi-zillion dollar mansions hiding behind the trees.
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