Redgate Golf Course

We booked a foursome on a lovely Wednesday afternoon. I haven't played Redgate in quite a few years, and the others had never played. Unfortunately we did not have the best experience and will choose other local courses moving forward.

Overall the course was in pretty good shape given all the rain. There was some standing water and the sand traps were packed/wet, but fine for a recreational round of golf. The staff in the clubhouse was friendly as well. Unfortunately, it seems like my experience was more tarnished by the behavior of the other golfers and the lack of staff on the course to keep things in order.

1. A pair jumped in front of my group and teed off out of turn. There was no starter present, so it was very much a free for all. The pair in front was walking, and it was very clear that they were playing multiple balls and practicing on the greens.

2. A single woman player coming up behind decided to hit into our group and then continued to play through without asking. The bottleneck in front of us then became the walking pair playing multiple balls, and a single player hitting from the red tees.

3. Thank goodness for the summer solstice, our round took over 4.5 hours to complete.

Overall, an uneven day on the course. An afternoon playing golf will always beat working in the office. But a lack of control and etiquette can make for a frustrating afternoon.

There are many blind areas that make this course a challenge. Greens and fairways were plush. On the downside, play was slow, taking us over 4 1/2 hrs to play on a Wednesday.

Enjoyed my round on Memorial Day. The most surprising thing was that the pace of play was perfect!!! We played in 4 hours (with a foursome). We didn't have to wait on any hole at all. Fairways and greens were in excellent shape. Teeboxes were fair. They were good enough, but the ground was extremely hard (I broke 3 tees just trying to put them into the ground)--probably needs a bit more watering. Almost every hole has blind shots, many off the tee, and the course is very hilly. Walking would be a challenge, although a great workout. If more crowded, I could see the potential to hit into groups in front or get hit into, simply b/c you can't see where the group in front actually is on a lot of holes. Regardless, really enjoyed the course this round.

Plan to play 18. But the pace of play is so slooow. End up played 9. Took us 2:50 min
To play 9. The rough on the course, they need to cut, man like the U.S. Open out there. Only thing I could say is the staffs is friendly and accommodating.

I have played this course many times and was shocked to find the rough not cut to its normal size. It was incredibly high for a holiday weekend and caused longer play due to searching for balls normally found in those spots.

Redgate is vastly overpriced on the weekends for the condition it's in. Bunkers are mostly dirt and stones with little, if any, sand--same condition for the past 2+ years. Fairways ok, but grass is too long; and greens are fair, but very slow. Rough is atrocious--4 to 6 in. high by the weekend. Lucky to find your ball much less hit it out of there.
Course is NOT for beginners or golfers over a 20 handicap as it's very hilly, some water, many trees and lots of blind shots.
At best, the course condition is Fair.

At one point this facility was run by the city of Rockville who did a fine job of making the course the best it could be. Once the course saw a slight downturn in rounds some local politicians wanted the course closed despite protests from city residents who enjoyed playing there. A deal was reached to bring in a golf management company who could cut costs and watch the bottom line. The net result is a course that has more weeds and rocks in bunkers than sand. The tees have never been over seeded and mainly consist of compacted clay. Typically courses are required to let the customer that the greens have been punched. In this case they did not yet had little trouble in seeking top dollar to play there. Until this management company is removed I would suggest avoiding this place. This at one point was a nice well kept community golf course now its an embarrassment.

The greens had been aerated so the course was not in prime condition. However, the staff/management are trying to make the golf experience more user-friendly by allowing carts in the parking lot, 90 degrees on the fairways, and maintaining golfer contact info in the computer system.

Early year round golf, but no tee box markers, craters (poorly aerated), carts might just be 10 years old. I love golf but struggled to have fun this round.

i was pleasantly supprised at the course condition. despite all the snow ment and the rain of the previous week there was very few puddles or muddy spots and those were off the fairways. the greens were moderately fast.

Even though it is Fall Weather, there didn't seem to be any morning maintenance/leaf removal from the greens. The sand traps didn't look like anyone had maintained them since mid-summer, big rocks and plants growing out of them.

The starter was not present, and there were several groups of 5, 6, even 8 players together, which held us up and made us skip ahead on 2 occasions - disrupting our play.

For the money I paid, this was OK. The course features a number of blind shots which result in lots of time looking for balls--even when they're theoretically in the fairway. Some challenging holes that played fair and then some mickey mouse holes that effectively robbed good shots. I found the course more frustrating than enjoyable.

Redgate has some interesting holes with many elevated tees and hills to encounter. The course is not very well maintained. Some holes have so many leaves on the ground in fairways and greens you struggle to find your ball. Sand traps are in bad shape. Hole 16 has a huge cliff you have to carry 250 yds to the green. Ugly hole. Another Billy Casper managed golf course where they put too many golfers on the course.

So many blind shots into unknown and unmarked hazards. No course layout help, no yardage help. Pretty silly really.

Pace of play is unbearable on the weekends with no enforcement.

This time, I played a weekday, and the pace was okay, but when reserving no one bothered to tell us the back was closed for aeration, so "18" was the front twice. That's messed up.

Bunkers need massive attention. They are concrete with weeds growing in the cracks.

This course has so much potential that the current management company is squandering that it's frustrating beyond belief. I really want to play this course on a regular basis - it's less than five miles from my house. It's not a hard course, but if you want to challenge yourself, the black tees are playable for just about anybody. That said, I have not had a pleasurable round on a regular basis in more than a year, and I have informed the course managers I won't be back. The reason is simple: the managers and alleged course rangers will NOT enforce faster play, even after I (and two other people in my foursome) complain to the starter shack, to the pro shop, and to the ranger on the course - if there *is* a ranger on the course. The last four rounds I have played have all been five-plus hours, even after we told managers we were held up on tee box after tee box. There's no reason for that. There's no reason even bad golfers should take more than 12 - 14 minutes per hole, which would constitute a 4 1/4 or 4 1/2 hour round. But that is the standard at Redgate. And that's why I won't go back. I can get higher quality golf, a faster pace, and a far more enjoyable round for about the same price, even if I have to drive elsewhere to do so. That's a shame, because I really would like to play there. But I won't, not until I'm convinced things have changed.

My brother and I got a great online deal, so we decided we couldn't go wrong, no matter how good or bad the course was. We played on a Monday, so it wasn't very crowded. But I could see where weekend play might be pretty slow. We got caught behind one group that was in no hurry. (We played through and I don't know if they were indicative of the weekend patrons). The greens were in great shape and the fairways were in good shape. However, I feel like the sand traps and a few tee boxes could use a little TLC. I seems to me that raking the 1/2" size rocks out of the sand traps and off the tee boxes wouldn't be that difficult.

ps. Bring your Off, there were a lot of black gnats.

When Billy Casper Mgmt. first took over Redgate, the course seemed considerably improved at first. Now there are weeds in the teeboxes, fairways and on the greens. They were cutting the greens the day I played. There had been heavy rain the day before, so it was hard to judge the condition of the bunkers. Teebox on No. 16 has no grass at all.

For me, my golf experience boils down to three things:
1. Condition of course
2. Pace of Play
3. Challenge of course
Redgate gets 3.5 stars for condition. Summer has been difficult but staff are seriously working on the course and I look forward to playing it this fall. A few tee boxes are really bare but most are in good condition. They've managed to keep the greens soft and compared to many area courses, that is not that common a feat. I am not in love with the condition of the rough. It is extremely uneven and not consistent height across all holes. It appears more that staff has not cut it rather than a design feature.
I played at 7am on a Tuesday and the course was quite crowded, I played as a single between two foursomes and I still finished in under 4 hrs. Quite a few locals play this course and their knowledge lends itself to a fairly quick pace.
The course is not particularly long but it makes up for that with several uphill drives, hidden greens and several forced carries. I live almost 30 miles away but I've played this course more than three times over the last 2 months.

I am trying really hard to think of positives. I guess they grill food outside on weekends so if you want a fresh burger grilled for you, you can get one at the turn? Besides that this place stinks!

First off, the driving range is a joke. A Token gets you like 15 balls. Secondly, there are signs posted that you cannot hit driver! What DRIVING range, doesn't let you hit DRIVER!?!?

Secondly, the course layout is awkward. The Par 5s, #4 and 16 are extremely stupid. I think everyone i play with agrees. I have never met anyone who lists Redgate as one of their favorite courses to play.

Thirdly, the conditions have gone downhill. Teeboxes are dirt filled and hard as a rock. Fairways are higher than some courses intermediate cut of rough. Weeds are abundantly growing in the fairways. Greens are SO Slow. Looks like the greens are cut/rolled once a month if that! Bunkers like others have mentioned resemble a rock quarry.

This place has gone downhill. Don't get lured in with some cheap rate, its not worth your hard earned money nor your free time. Play your golf elsewhere.