Raspberry Falls Golf and Hunt Club

This course has a lot of character. Challenging par 3s. Long par 5s that open up in the middle … challenging but playable. And tje par 4s have a lot of variety Participated in the St John the Apostle church tournament today. The club did a great job, and the lunch afterwards was really well done. Even had a decent selection of beers during and after the golf. Enjoyable day. Will bring bug spray next time!

Absolutely beautiful golf course!!! I got a rate on
that was outrageous! I felt like every hole was isolated from the next. Great pace! Great course! Great price!

I golf here about once a year and yesterday’s round was a disappointment. For $ 100/​person I don’t expect a 5:35 round. When we mentioned that they told us they were «overbooked.» That’s my fault? Greens in good shape, tees generally terrible with many bare spots. We had a heavy rain several days ago and most of the sand traps were still unplayable with no sand and a wet clay base. Didn’t see a ranger on the back nine to speed things up.

Tested about dozen golf courses around DC area .
So far my two favorites are Westfield Golf course (VA) and Raspberry Falls.
Both golf courses are well maintained and nice fairway and fast greens.
Only complain for Raspberry Falls GC — mostly mud filled in sand bunkers.
It would be five star if they fill the bunkers with sand… not mud

I have played this course at least 8 or 9 times over the past three years, and I am trying to figure out why I haven’t reviewed it yet.
Every time I have played this course, be in early spring, late summer, or in December (once – it was f’ing cold that day!!), the course has been in fantastic shape, obviously better in the spring summer months. The course is well maintained, the bunkers are a pleasure to hit out of (at least as much pleasure one can glean from a crappy shot into a sandtrap), and the greens are always fast. And TONS OF BREAK. If you think you have a straight putt, read it again.
Some of the views on this Gary Player-​course are amazing, the most notable of which stick out are the #3 and #18 tee boxes, as well as the back view from the 11^th green. The pace of play (for me at least) is usually pretty good, and it’s never taken more than 4:30 to play 18.
The course itself is a little pricey to play for the average golfer who just wants to get out there and hit a few. And it’s definitely not a course for walking; I am not even sure that they will let you given the distances between some greens-​to-​next-​tee-​box. But if you want to play a well-​maintained course and fantastic views and layouts, it’s hard to beat the Falls.

I wish the day would have been Five Stars. Everything about the course is first class. My only disappointment was the back nine. The course backed up and dragged out an otherwise great day of golf. There was no Marshall in sight during the entire round. I guess since we got a «great deal» we were not given our due level of quality service. They stacked people in and failed to manage the pace of play. It taught me a lesson that you get what you pay for. If I play there again I hope that the staff leave the club house and visit the course. Otherwise a beautiful experience.

Had a really great round here — first time out but I’ll be coming back. My thoughts:
— Course: Really nice enjoyable course, creative layout, relatively flat, nice greens (not too hard or fast) with fantastic use of bunkers and some rocks as well. Limited elevation changes or water.
— Service /​pace: Dining room was subpar. Pace of play was good — nice and spread out — we got around in 4.5 on a Saturday morning.
— Value: At $ 105 it isn’t a deal — it is probably fairly priced, I wouldn’t pay much more and the price is why I’m not giving it a five star (plus I like a more scenic course). It is pretty far out there as well.

I’m far from what I (or anyone) would call a «GOOD» golfer but I really enjoyed my time here this past weekend. The course is in great shape (it’s early in the season right now) and pace of play was pretty quick for the length of the course. Fairways are pretty wide so novices can have just as much fun as their more advanced playing partners (who will appreciate the length, difficulty of shots from the rough, and speed/​undulation of the greens).
We had a ton of rain the day before so it was a bit soggy, but drainage was good and most of the traps were dry by about 12 hours after the rain had stopped. This was likely the reason for the abnormal shortage in customers. Overall, I was expecting the worst and pleasantly surprised with the conditions.
This is a relatively expensive course by my standards (not for this area though), but if you can get a deal it’s worth the money. The staff is extremely friendly and helpful. You won’t regret paying the little extra for what you get.

Wow, what a difference a couple of months has made. Played here twice in the last week. Course is in fantastic shape and is still a wonderful layout. The only thing is a couple of the tee boxes from the tips are terrible, but the greens are rolling nicely. A week ago they had some really long rough at spots, but they seem to have cut it down for Memorial Day weekend. Service was in full swing and they really took care of everyone in our group. Pace of play has been much better too. Finished in 4 hours, 40 minutes which isn’t bad. Will definitely keep coming back if they keep this up.

this is definitely one of my favorite course in NOVA area. wide open yet challenging. its beautifully designed and has best services. i been going here for last 6 years and people really has to understand that if it takes more then 5 hr, you just cant blame the course. even with slow players, theres not much marshall can do to push them. so people shouldnt give low ratings because of slow pace. its just how it is this area. lots of ppl and not enough courses.

I am a totally biased, golf-​obsessed creature. And if I like you, I am pretty sure you have to shoot my sister to get me to change my mind. I worked here back in 1998 for half a summer just to get my handicap down and wait out the time between being hired at my next grown-​up job and the start date (I have my priorities and bank account in order, so I can take a luxury like that fifteen years ago). I fell for her hard hook, line, and sinking a forty footer. Nothing has changed.
Service, views, layout, challenge… all good. Like every course in the DelMarVa, it’s busy and pricey. But if my buddies call me up and say we have a tee time at Raspberry, I am all over it like white on Republicans (or Asians on Raspberry).
The eighteenth is reason enough to play this beast. Such a fun hole. A risk/​reward par five off the mountain, next to the eponymous falls, and then across the creek to the green. Great freakin’ hole.
Don’t plan on walking. Bring your best game. Take some extra time to enjoy the range. Take even more to have a beer afterward.
The «mountains» affect almost everything. Putt toward them, it’ll break a TON more than it looks. Hit a full club up every time you’re facing them.
Oh, and don’t bother looking for your ball in the long stuff. He gone.
— — — — — — — — — — — — — — –
Played here on a gorgeous random Wednesday morning and a) paid $ 50 to play, 2. there was nobody on the course, and D– got a voucher to play three courses on the Raspberry Trail in some defined timeframe and get a free round. Perfect.
And I played 2 balls for the equivalent of 36 holes in three hours and seven minutes.
Golf Now has great deals for this and many other fine courses. After a dozen or fifteen bookings, they don’t even charge you a booking fee.

A great escape from the city jungle environment of DC.
I had read so much about this course for so long. It was on my «must play» list and it did not disappoint. It’s challenging yet very manageable. The course architect definitely took advantage of the Appalachian Mountains that this course is nestled on. The elevation changes and views are amazing. Sometimes, you feel like you’re teeing off over a cliff.
The one thing that did stop me from scoring this higher was that course conditions were up to par for a high-​dollar course, and the practice range was for mid– to short-​irons only. This course is long and should accommodate for drivers and fairway woods.

Played a Sunday 18-​hole round yesterday (4÷29÷12) with a total time of 5-​ish hours. This just isn’t the course to expect an under 5 hour round. After some rain the previous couple days an additional 5 holes were cart path only.
I hadn’t played the course for at least 8 – 10 years and can say it isn’t what it used to be. It took so long between playings for various reasons, but namely because rates just kept going up and up. They are now hovering around $ 100 for the weekend for a course that is probably worth $ 60 – 80. I remember the course being in immaculate condition with amazing stacked sod bunkers. These clearly haven’t been maintained to the level Gary Player probably intended because they are non-​existant and have been allowed to grow over. Overall, the bunkers were kind of disgraceful for a course that used to pride itself on conditioning. However, the fairways were great and greens were at a good speed for this early in the season.
Additionally, I didn’t think the staff was nearly as «with it» or attentive as they used to be. I made a tee time a week in advance as a single and when I got to the course the cart kid said he only had the first sheet of the tee sheet so couldn’t give me a cart. The grass tees on the range were closed due to rain the previous days and the range balls are now a mix of crappy range balls you’d get at Woody’s. (As I recall they used to all be uniform and ‘high-​end’ range balls). When I finally checked in with the starter I had to say my name and tee time no less than 4 times apiece until he found my slot on the tee sheet.
Overall, if you are familiar with this course in its heyday you might want to look elsewhere to get your fix of expensive, slow, weekend golf.

Played 18 one Saturday in late October and the pace of play was disgraceful. We went off at 2pm thinking that would get us in before the 6:20 sunset time with just enough time to spare. However, by 6:20 we were still coming down the fairway at 15, on track for a 5 hour plus round. We tried to play a couple holes in the diminishing light, but ended up leaving before the 18^th in almost pitch black.
Something must have happened to the running of this facility. We saw no marshalls on the course watching the pace of play, and the carts no longer have GPS. I like the course, but they have to fix their pace of play issues before I’m willing to shell out on these green fees again. I’ll be playing Westfields more next year.

I played Raspberry Falls on Sunday, half of it any in 2 hours and 40 minutes. I had to abandon my round, because there was simply no way I was going to come even close to completing the back 9 in a reasonable amount of time to meet my commitments at home which were predicated on completing my round in less than 5 hours. Its really sad that under 5 hours is now the benchmark for the amount of time I allot to a round of golf. My friends finished the round in 5 hours and 20 min.
At the first tee, I was greeted by a very friendly and cordial starter who assured me that, «players will be pulled off the course at any point, if they are not moving at a 4:20 pace». Those were his exact words and I found them to be music to my ears, unfortunately there was no follow through, what so ever. Quite frankly, I wish courses would do this, even occasionally, because the only thing worse than local golfers are local courses when it comes to issues of slow play.
On the 4^th tee, after nearly an hour on the course I called the pro shop to alert someone to the problem. I explained the manager who answered the phone that I was going to be waiting on the tee for some time and that 3 holes per hour was an unacceptable pace of play. I don’t feel that the issue was taken seriously by the manager in the club house who eventually assured me that he would come out there and check out the problem. One of the rangers appeared at the 4^th green while we were putting out. He seemed to be about as unfriendly of a ranger as I have come across. At other courses I play, the rangers are proactive in talking to groups in these kinds of situations. He offered no explanation as to the situation behind the delay. I would later find out that the ranger was not the person whom I spoke to at the pro shop. This same ranger turned up as we were waiting on the 9^th tee. The group in front of us cleared the fairway and as I was over the ball to tee off, he came cutting across the elbow of the fairway to take up a position to observe play. I was able to sort of able to abort the swing and topped a ball into the hazard, in order to avoid putting a ball in play that might endanger someone who was riding out close to my intended line of play.
I got back to the clubhouse and went to vent to the manager on duty. He was apologetic and generous with an 18 hole replay and an midweek buy one get one. The manager told me that his ranger informed him that there was nothing wrong with the on course conditions or pace of play. The on course rangers obviously are not paying attention to the groups/​tee times or it would have been obvious that something was wrong before I phoned in from the 4^th tee. The clubhouse manager was also quick to point out that we were a threesome so thats why we were waiting a lot, but 2 hours and 40 minutes to play 9 holes is still easily half an hour too long, no matter how many golfers are in the group. He went on to lament that the course had sold a lot of Groupons to lesser golfers who don’t know the etiquette and while I can appreciate the problems associated with that, its incumbent upon the golf course to enforce pace of play, especially one as expensive as Raspberry Falls. I stopped playing Bull Run last year after successive 5 hour rounds. I drove 45 minutes out and hour back to the course from my home in Arlington. The rest of our group comes from Rockville and Gainesville. It was a similar commute for me to play Bull Run. Its roughly the same drive to Blue Mash, Whiskey Creek and less of a drive to Westfields who all charge about the same amount of money and haven’t had the same pace of play problems as I have experienced at your courses.
To be blunt, I expect better from one of the most expensive courses within 50 miles of DC, especially when the putting green is closed and the rest of the greens have been verticut. I play all around the country and almost every place I go, I find better courses and better values, from Bethpage ($ 120), Harding Park ($ 120), Cog Hill #4 ($ 150), Tiburon Gold/​Black in Naples ($ 90 summer rate when its cooler in FL than it is here in DC). Last week in LA, I played a no name course in the suburbs that was every bit as nice of a layout as any DC course with similar amenities for a whopping $ 50 with a cart at 8am on a Sunday.
I’ve given the midweek buy one get on to a co-​worker, because I simply don’t have that kind of room time in my schedule and when I do, I am playing as close to home or the office as possible. And I am not likely to get back in the next 90 days to use the 18 hole replay so thats down the drain too.
Have some respect for your customers.

Fantastic course that’s challenging and fun to play. Hole #3 and Hole #18 have fantastic views. Free range balls before you play. It really is an immaculate course. I just don’t want to know how much it is full price. I was able to play here with the Living Social Deal where I got to play for $ 40.
My only gripe was the stink bugs, but this was 2010. The year where every golf course has been overridden by these things.

i’d have to agree with all the previous comments made about raspberry falls. for me, the only thing holding it back from a 5 star rating was the cost. it is expensive for a public (though very easily could be a private) course. the only reason why i ended up there this weekend was because of a great deal i found online… though tee time was almost 4 pm.
as for the course, i was a bit worried when the marshal mentioned that the fairways had been taking a beating, but they turned out to be just fine. i’m nowhere near a level where i’m looking for pristine grass and measured roughs, so i felt that the course was just fine.
from the course design to the high-​walled bunker (made me feel as if i was playing out of the roadside bunker at st. andrews… almost) to the elevated tees on a couple of holes, i was a big fan of raspberry falls. though i didn’t play my best golf, i definitely enjoyed myself out there… which at the end of the day is all that really matters.

Raspberry Falls is a challenging and overall very nice course. It feels and looks like a private course. As a result it is pricey but worth playing here at least once in your lifetime. You wont regret playing there.
If this place was cheaper, I would give it 5 stars.

im glad jenn h brought up free coffee
a general rule of thumb is if a course offers free coffee, they have a good course and you’ll pay for it.
but raspberry is worth what they charge, (around a $ 100).
get past the pretentiousness of the guy taking your money, and the smug starter, and your on your own. i dont think they even have rangers.
needless to say, the gary player designed holes challenge everything. distance, blind shots, accuracy, shot shaping, and putting. however, even if you mastered all these shots, where do you go to practice the kind of bunker shots gary left you.
pick a bunker, any bunker. it will have plush sand which is great. but it will also have a 5ft to 9 ft wall for you to compromise. forget where the hole is, just get it on the green or you face a double par to ruin your bid to break your best score.
the bunkers and the drainage is what keeps this gc from being a 5 star.
when it rains there, stay away for a week or else your dry cleaning bill will get you with mud all over it. as for the bunkers, i dont see these walls on the pga… maybe in china, but not the pga.

*4 ½ stars* This almost doesn’t feel like a public course. Like other favorite courses, Raspberry Falls is also well-​maintained and has fast greens. Their clubhouse has great food and free coffee. It’s a challenging course, so if you really get too frustrated, you can leave to hit the nearby outlets for some retail therapy.