Course Reviews

Rated
by Andrew Pearman ... on Mar 25, 2021 at 12:43pm

With new tee pads, baskets, and better signage, Patapsco would certainly rate 5 stars.

As of March 2021, the park and disc golf volunteers are working to maintain and improve the course. Patapsco has had stone dust teepads framed by wood timbers since 2009, and the 36 Mach 3 baskets on the course are beginning to show their age. Due to the increased number of disc golfers worldwide, the tee pads wear more quickly than they did in the past. Hopefully improvements such as concrete tees are approved- they would make a massive difference for the course in terms of professional feel, player safety, and enjoyment.
Patapsco has recently installed a Disc 'Tossed & Found' box managed by volunteers, and 'Next Tee' arrows at every basket. Work is in progress to better maintain the current tee pads, but concrete or a more permanent solution is certainly needed.

Rated
by ReezyFaustiN on May 30, 2015 at 6:50pm

I played this course in late spring on a Friday evening, there weren't too many people out there so I was able to play quickly. Even with the course map the 5-8 holes totally lost me so I skipped them and went strait from 4 to 9 and the back nine were very easy to follow.
I would say the front 9 and back 9 are like different courses as the first 9 had a few more people playing and not so great holes, the back 9 was secluded, away from the road and ran along the valley which was very pretty.
As for the course being 'well kept' Thats maybe an overstatement. The poison ivy is absurd and is everywhere and was in full bloom along with lots of tall grass for my game so I'm awaiting the rash.
The entry fee is based on the honor system and u didn't have cash so I'll have to be extra honorable next time, but don't let fee stop you. Overall the course is pretty cool and worth checking out, maybe when they get signs the and the ivy dies is probably a 4.5.

Rated
by HiImOliver on Jul 7, 2013 at 8:21pm

Beautiful course with dual baskets and tee pads for each hole.

Pros: The area this course is in is beautiful. The course itself is well kept. There is a good mix of shots, and the alternate baskets provide more variety and challenge.

Cons: Pay to enter the park on holidays & weekends. The first nine holes can be very confusing to navigate the first time through, and there are no helpful maps or signs. The crushed gravel tee pads are starting to become uneven on some of the holes, and footing can be challenging. None of the holes have signs for basket placements or distances, or even what hole # you're on. Very annoying.

Overall, this is a very fun and satisfying course to play, but the lack of signage and somewhat crappy tee pads keep it from being a 5-link rated course. The small fee to play is worth it, and I'd recommend this course to any type of player.

Rated
by mabgot on Aug 8, 2012 at 3:45pm

This course has long holes with some challenging elevation changes. There aren't a lot of technical shots, but you need to be careful with approaches in some places or you'll end up at the bottom of a hill. The woods are tranquil here as exemplified by hole 17 along the edge of the valley - you can hear the stream below. The alternative tees and baskets allow you to choose your level of difficulty. The small fee is well worth it.

Use your smart phone to take a photo of the course map posted in the parking lot - it will help you.

Rated
by Spreadhead on Jun 27, 2012 at 11:49am

I can't give this course a 5 because of how annoying it is to try and navigate. Seriously, that is my biggest pet peeve with courses. I just don't understand how hard it is to properly mark the courses, so people know where they are going. Its beyond frustrating to have to search for the next hole. There should be arrows,signs and flags on the baskets. It would make the experience a lot better for everyone. With that said this is a good course but I still rate Seneca & Whispering falls higher due to the fact that they are better marked. I give it a 3.7

Rated
by greent on Jun 5, 2012 at 12:59pm

I enjoy traveling around to play new courses. I noticed how highly rated Patapsco is, so I stopped by to play when I was visiting from the midwest. I ended up having a bad time due to difficulties following the course so I wanted to give some feedback in that regard. First, the posted map is very small and faint, so difficult to see. After getting on the wrong tee between holes 2 and 3 (tee 3 is not marked), I decided just to walk the course to try and figure it out and I did not even play (major bummer). I had to back track many times in my effort to follow the course. A better posted map would have helped but even better would be a map handout you can carry with you (I had to hand copy the map on a piece of paper to have any chance of following the course).

Also, the PDGA website incorrectly lists the fee involved. A $2 minimum fee applies (can be more) to enter the park on any day while the website states $2 only on weekends/holidays.

I think it is a general problem that courses are not well marked for first time users. Bad news for someone like me that wants to travel around and play courses (furthest so far was in Perth, Australia). I really think the sport would benefit by paying more attention to course markings (first tee, pin, next tee especially). I reviewed the course design guidelines but they do not seem to address these aspects in sufficient detail.

Rated
by tklott on Feb 20, 2011 at 10:10am

This is a nice course, worth the trip out to...it doesn't have signs and the tee pads can be a little tough to handle...not sure how i could give a 5 without signs on the course...it's good, not great...

Rated
by simonh on Oct 11, 2010 at 7:04pm

I will grudgingly give this a 5, only because it is better than a 4 and there is no 4.5.

Nice variety of open and wooded, up and down, left and right. Multiple tees and baskets. Pro to Am levels. Really an absolutely top notch course. Even a water fountain somewhere on the back nine if my memory serves me.
Alright fine, a full blown 5!

Rated
by Bizzness on Dec 28, 2009 at 11:57pm

If you want to know which course I would give a 5 star rating to, this is it! A great course to play at and with the new tees it just keeps getting better and better!

Pros:

I went out to play this tournament for the first time right before a MD Monthly tournament to practice and I loved it. Great use of the land and variety of holes. Before I played this course there was only 2 tees on every hole and 1 basket. Someone donated 9 baskets to this course and they purchased the other 9 so now with the 2 tees and 2 baskets on every hole there is no limitations. If you want to play VERY long holes play Pro tees to long baskets on this one and it is a killer. They have an annual Patapsco Crusher with this style for the tournament and man is it a crusher! Great course to have PDGA tourneys as they just at the Patapsco Picnic a few months back and some great pros including Nikko (Who won), Jenkins, and a lot of other Pros. Great layout though and worth the drive for anyone in the surrounding states.

Cons:

Pay to play but you will forget about the $ the second you step on the course. Play over some roads which with cars can get annoying but provides some OB. There isn’t much marking out there as to where the next hole is but glad I got with some locals that knew their way around.

Conclusion:

World class course now with the new flat crushed gravel tees, I heard this is the first step to these tees as they will pack down with time and also a filling will be added later on. Can’t Wait! Great Layout but navigation is still hard, bring a map! Excellent course and with the new tees and added long baskets this course is a 5!