Gunpowder Golf Course, Laurel, MD

Even though I shot a 39 & 45 this week; the course always has issues. Majority of greens are essentially unfair; most don't have a level spot on them for hole placement. Sand traps are rarely raked even several days after a rain, as traps remain hard and are unplayable. The trap for #18 needs redone. The bunker is in front of elevated green, which is okay, but it is poorly placed as its 6 feet below the edge of the green, and is losing dirt down into the hole as runoff rain erodes the dirt/sand at top of hole with deep crevices. Gradually grade up to the green so that the bunker is almost level with the green. Many tees are not level, they're on a slope--either downhill or sidehill. Tees aren't mowed short enough, often they just move the tee blocks to an un-mown area. In cold/cool weather the club house runs out of hot chocolate--who manages this place? C'mon staff; the course isn't that cheap you let course maintenance slip, or take care of customers!

We had a great time playing Gunpowder! It’s a challenging course with lots of natural scenery and they don’t fuss over every little detail which makes it feel more relaxed. We will play there again!

(1) It's like hitting in a hallway - you MUST hit straight or you'll lose at least one ball per hole. I like it because it makes you concentrate on eliminating fades & hooks.
(2) Virgil (the marshal) is really nice. He played the last three holes with me at the end of a slow day and we had a great time.
(3) There's a little bit of an ant problem on a couple holes on the front nine.
(4) The pitch-and-putt section is a good idea, but is not maintained at ALL.
(5) The clubhouse is more than decent for a public course but, as it seems for most public courses in this area, the changing area (bathroom) is really bad - I guess they do that on purpose to make you get dressed at home, which is no good if you're coming straight from work.
(6) The local rule is that you're entitled to grass. Be sure to take that relief 'cause some areas are rocky instead of rough..!
(7) The par 3s are all platform-to-platform - difficult enough to warrant a tougher course/slope rating, in my opinion.
(Overall) a good value. I'll go there often to work on my accuracy.

Course in terrible shape. Almost no grass, tee boxes were mud, no yard markers anywhere. Not sure why they were even open. Should just close for the winter if they're not going to invest anything in maintaining the course. Waste of money & time. Probably in better condition in-season but I'm not going back.

The best value for your dollar in the DC area. Many walkers do not allow faster cart players to play through. Hole 16 (signature) always a pleasure to play. Love to shoot this course, but would like to see a few small improvements like the irrigation on center of greens removed.