Mountain Branch Golf Course

I was looking forward to my first round here. The pictures and layout looked gorgeous online, and there were a few good reviews. Let's start with the good: The gentleman in the Pro Shop was friendly. The starter, an older gentleman, was excellent, and gave us many details about where to go, how to navigate the course, pin positions, where to take the cart at the end, etc., which most starters don't take the time to do. The beverage cart ladies were excellent, friendly, professional, and even had low-calorie sports drinks, something that many courses don't have, believe it or not. The fairways, greens, roughs, and common area were not spectacular, but were generally well maintained. Now for the not as good: There was a wedding going on, which is fine, but my overall sense was that they probably focus more on events than on golf. It was a challenge to find parking, even though the golf course wasn't crowded at all, again probably a symptom of the wedding event. For a day in which there seemed to be far less golfers than expected, there were a ton of unrepaired ball marks. That's the fault of the golfers, not the management, but on a side note, I sure wish any and all golf course management would remind/demand that golfers repair their ball marks and divots, and make each golfer show them a repair tool. My biggest disappointment came with the course layout itself. I imagine that some golfers will find it quite challenging in a good way. I found it to be quite challenging in a bad way. There are too many blind shots for my taste. There are also too many "squirrelly" holes for my taste, with nonsensical layouts or split fairways or hazards in places that make you scratch your head more so than appreciate. And some of the greens are just goofy, especially on the par 3 holes. And it may be that the person who picked the hole locations for the day was in a bad mood, but almost every single pin was just a couple of paces from the fringe in the most challenging part of the green. There's a par 3 that isn't even a half a wedge swing, and the landing area is about the size of a washcloth. Just "squirrelly." And since there aren't any hole drawings at the tee boxes or on the scorecard, you're pretty much on your own to guess how best to play each hole. Consequently, my best drive of the day ended up in a hazard in the middle of the fairway. Also, the pace of the practice putting green seemed significantly slower than the actual greens, which defeats the purpose of having a practice green. I will say that 2 or 3 holes were very nice looking, including #15, for instance, but in my humble opinion, the overall layout isn't as nice as some reviews would suggest. At the end of the day, every golfer wants to walk off #18 feeling like they want to play the course again, and neither of us felt that way. All in all, the friendly staff counts for a lot for this golfer, but for the price we paid, particularly compared to the courses we typically play, I guess I expected more positives.

I have never experienced a round that went less then 5+ hours at this course. Out side of that the layout is great for all player types. The staff is friendly and don’t forget to say hi to the course cat Snowball.

Mountain Branch is a fine course and in quite nice shape for this time of year. To those in Philly who are looking for a new day trip to play golf and eat well, this is a place to go to for sure. The course is on rolling hills and the changes in elevation make club selection crucial. The greens are enormous and 3 putts can be your biggest enemy here. The staff is nice and the carts are really nice. Had a great day on my recent visit!

For Feb 26, the course was in remarkable shape. Great layout. Greens are gigantic and it's hard to hit approaches close. Can't wait to come back in prime season.

Did not expect such a nice experience in winter. Perfect staff conditions surpinsigly good for a winter game, challenging but forgiving course, although you have to be able to drive at 250 to have a chance to par. Loved it

Got a foursome together for maybe the last time this year. Course was a tad slow with lots of annoying leaves. That aside, the course was in great shape. The greens were nearly perfect. This is a tremendous layout, with a great mix of holes. All levels of golfers can enjoy this course using the appropriate tee box. Best clubhouse bar/restaurant I know in MD, so grab some food and have pint at the end. Always a nice crowd.

Very hilly course and the fairways slope away from the cart path. Why does this matter, was near 100 degrees out and cart path only when we played. A LOT of side hills , uphill, downhill walking. To be fair we only payed front 9 so can’t speak to back 9 layout. Hardly a flat lie on any hole.

Mountain Branch is a beautiful but challenging course. Course conditions were great. Thick rough will swallow golf balls.