Visiting DC Area, Need Some Info

[emiller3]

Will be in DC (Renaissance Mayflower Hotel) in mid-August and I'm looking for some info from some knowledgeable locals on where to play and any particulars I should know about. I'll have a car, but probably not a whole lot of free time, so I'd be interested in the closest playable course as well as any 'must play' courses. I don't have a lot of experience playing outside of Colorado, only the Bay Area last year...it took some acclimation, but sea-level golf was definitely fun. It seems like there are a lot of shorter courses in the area, as well as courses that you have to pay to play, which is fine with me. Anybody want to provide some suggestions?

[black udder]

I'm a couple hours South of DC, so don't know the area real well, but I'd suggest tracking out some of the MD courses. They should be fairly close and a couple of them are top notch.

[plastic_fondler]

Seneca State Park in Gaithersburg is one of my favorites that I love to hit when I'm in DC area.

[black udder]

Just heard about Rockburn via the Disc Golf Monthly for April - it's like 5 minutes off the highway! (and in the area)

[chunk]

rockburn is a little north of dc.

THE closest course to dc is 10 minutes away at bluemont park in arlington, va. bluemont is a nice 9 hole course with 3 teepads (red, white, blue). the whites are challenging and the blues are down right killer. bluemont hosts a nice crowd on thursday for doubles.

2 pro level courses are ~ 30 minutes outside of dc. giles run is a 18 hole gem with dual teepads and dual pins and lots of loooong fairways. seneca creek state park is 27 challenging holes and also has dual teepads. the difference is seneca is tighly wooded so line shaping is really important. both courses will take you a couple of hours to play.

seneca is pay to play but i prefer it over giles run, especially in august when you will want to be out of the sun.

hope this helps. drop me a pm when your in the area.

[emiller3]

Thanks everyone for the info. Sounds like I will definitely go play Bluemont Park for a quick fix, and I'll try and get in early or leave late to play the others. I'll let you know when I'm in the area, chunk, see if I can catch a round with you.

[plastic_fondler]

Bluemont Park is cool since its close and you can avoid DC traffic. Its an older roc course that has expanded tees. I really didn't care for many of the long tees...but I agree its a nice park course. One word of warning in the traffic on DC's beltway is nasty. Also, dogfish head brew pubs are centrally located to both the Bluemont and Seneca courses. I high recommend getting some pints and grub after the round.

[emiller3]

My trip is getting closer, so I need a little more info from anyone willing to help! Turns out I have a pretty packed schedule, so I think I'll only be able to play Bluemont, and probably only if I go early in the morning. Near as I could tell the park is close to 300 N. Manchester Street, anyone know if that's right? Here's a link:

Map

I'll be traveling 66 to 50 West, about a 15 minute drive according to Google maps.

If I don't end up getting a car, I'll have to take the Orange line from the Farragut West Metro Station and get off on the Rosslyn Metro Station, then taking the 4a bus to Carlin Spring Rd and N. Manchester. Anyone know if this is a safe trip? I'll have to do about a half mile of walking on Manchester. Also, does anyone know if I'm going to be able to navigate the Bluemont course without a local?
Thanks!

[chiggins]

I don't know much about the NoVA courses, since I live in Northeast and always seem to be headed north instead of south, so here's the MD courses, from closest to farthest:

Calvert Park is an 18 hole course in College Park, MD, just outside NE DC. It's mostly flat, and kind of small. But it's very well kept up, 3 concrete pads for each basket, and has enough trees to make it a good course. It's not the one you'll be blown away by, but it's a great course to get a fix and it's close. It's not far from the College Park Metro station, and you can play all 18 in less than an hour without having to run.

Also: it's right next to College Park Airport, which has a small museum. They used to have 10-15 discs in their gift shop, but I went in there just recently and they've got a whole wall, and at least one display stack of Wizards, and another of Rocs.

About 40 minutes up 95 towards Baltimore is Rockburn Branch Park, which is an awesome 18 hole course, very challenging and gorgeous. This is the one I head for if I can carve out more than a couple hours on a weekend. It's more challenging now that we're into summer, as the grass is high off the open fairways and the shule is thick. The lost and found thread for Rockburn on the MD Disc Golf forum has been very active. This one's definitely worth playing if you can squeeze it in.

Up from there is Patapsco (very challenging) and Druid Hill Park in Baltimore (great course to play, always love this gem).

Northwest of DC up 270 is Seneca Creek, which used to be an NT stop (now they just do A-tiers). It's also been expanded to 27 holes and has new pads. If you can carve out half a day or more, and you find yourself on the Maryland side, I think this is probably the course to spend it at. Unless having a beer between rounds is important, because you can't do that there anymore.

[emiller3]

chiggins, thanks for that info. Calvert Park looks like a good course, and it's more accessible by public transit than Bluemont. If I don't have a car, I will go to Calvert Park, looks like I can probably get there in a little over a half an hour.

There is an off chance that I'll have a free day, and if I do, sounds like I'll be hitting Rockburn.