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Acorn Hills Disc Golf Center reviews
12
1
Finally - a great course in the Manistee area!
Reviewed:
Updated:
Played on:Jul 23, 2023
Played the course:once
Pros:
Acorn Hills Disc Golf Center is located on private land just south of Manistee, MI. The center features a single 18-hole disc golf course with two named layouts: "Fox Squirrel" and "Grey Squirrel". The two layouts overlap but play in opposite directions from one another using the same baskets and different tee pads, similar to the well-known Beast and Goliath "courses" at Mason County Park about 30 minutes south of here. However, Acorn Hills differs in that there is very clear signage indicating that only one of the layouts is open at a time - which goes a long way towards preventing the potential serious safety hazards inherent in such a design. The open layout here alternates week to week. Regardless of layout, the course also loops back to the parking lot after the front 9 and back 9.
When I visited, the "Fox Squirrel" layout was the one available. It appears to play a little bit longer than "Grey Squirrel", but in general I would guess that the two layouts offer similar challenges and both play at a moderate difficulty level. There is a nice mix of holes here. You'll find mostly open throws and tightly wooded ones (and everything in between). Left and right turning fairways. A good range of distances, from about 200' to 600'.
The north side of the property (front 9 of either layout) has some rolling elevation changes and a creek that comes into play on several holes (the creek is small enough that I would say disc loss is unlikely). The longest holes are also in this part of the course, where there is some open space to really air out drives. Hole 7 of Fox Squirrel is a 587' dogleg right across an open valley. There is staked OB on the right side of the fairway, and the creek running along the left side. Off the tee, RHBH throwers will be tempted to bomb one out over the OB and hope that it fades back just enough to land in the fairway, and not far enough to land in the creek. Right after that, hole 8 plays through a high area with the field on the right (more staked OB) and the creek on the left. There are several other holes where clearly marked OB and mandos add to the challenge.
The tee areas are great. The pads are long and concrete. The tee signs are high quality and color coded per layout (orange for Fox Squirrel and light grey for Grey Squirrel). Trash cans and benches are placed near tees at strategic intervals.
The baskets are a mix of yellow banded DISCatchers, unpainted Chainstars, and red Chainstar Pros. They are all in fine shape though.
Two practice baskets can be found next to the parking lot. There is also a kiosk with course policies, information, and scorecards.
The navigational signage is so-so. There are plenty of color coded arrows, but they are all very short posts in the ground so it was kind of hard to spot some of them. The kiosk does not have a course map posted on it, so I found myself checking UDisc on a couple of occasions. It's not a terribly difficult layout to navigate, but more highly visible/permanent looking arrows would be a nice touch.
When I visited, the "Fox Squirrel" layout was the one available. It appears to play a little bit longer than "Grey Squirrel", but in general I would guess that the two layouts offer similar challenges and both play at a moderate difficulty level. There is a nice mix of holes here. You'll find mostly open throws and tightly wooded ones (and everything in between). Left and right turning fairways. A good range of distances, from about 200' to 600'.
The north side of the property (front 9 of either layout) has some rolling elevation changes and a creek that comes into play on several holes (the creek is small enough that I would say disc loss is unlikely). The longest holes are also in this part of the course, where there is some open space to really air out drives. Hole 7 of Fox Squirrel is a 587' dogleg right across an open valley. There is staked OB on the right side of the fairway, and the creek running along the left side. Off the tee, RHBH throwers will be tempted to bomb one out over the OB and hope that it fades back just enough to land in the fairway, and not far enough to land in the creek. Right after that, hole 8 plays through a high area with the field on the right (more staked OB) and the creek on the left. There are several other holes where clearly marked OB and mandos add to the challenge.
The tee areas are great. The pads are long and concrete. The tee signs are high quality and color coded per layout (orange for Fox Squirrel and light grey for Grey Squirrel). Trash cans and benches are placed near tees at strategic intervals.
The baskets are a mix of yellow banded DISCatchers, unpainted Chainstars, and red Chainstar Pros. They are all in fine shape though.
Two practice baskets can be found next to the parking lot. There is also a kiosk with course policies, information, and scorecards.
The navigational signage is so-so. There are plenty of color coded arrows, but they are all very short posts in the ground so it was kind of hard to spot some of them. The kiosk does not have a course map posted on it, so I found myself checking UDisc on a couple of occasions. It's not a terribly difficult layout to navigate, but more highly visible/permanent looking arrows would be a nice touch.
Cons:
There is a barbed wire fence surrounding the property, and it is in play on several holes. The owner(s) have thoughtfully left disc retrieval poles and posted clear signage near the places where throwing over the fence is most likely, but the signage makes it very clear you should not try to climb over the fence. I especially was not a fan of a couple of holes where the basket is near the fence and overthrowing the basket could easily mean throwing over the fence.
Despite all of the steps taken to clearly state that only one layout is open at a time, I was still kind of concerned about the whole idea of layouts playing in opposite directions. There is nothing actually preventing a rule breaker from deciding to play the "closed" layout, although at least there is the incentive that this is private property so a violator could potentially be permanently banned. At a minimum, a sign explicitly stating that users who play the incorrect layout will be banned should be posted on the kiosk (there are already signs warning of bans for failing to pay or fill out the waiver form). I think in general though, I would still rather see multiple layouts here take the form of two tee pads per hole with everyone always playing in the same direction.
The course has very limited availability. As of this writing, the only times you can start your round are on Sundays from 10 AM-6:30 PM, Mondays from 10 AM-6:30 PM, and Saturdays from 5 PM-6:30 PM. That will likely make this one a difficult bag for travelling disc golfers.
In general, there are nice holes here but nothing really blew me away. The back nine/south side of the course in particular started to feel a little same-y from hole to hole. You are still playing on a beautiful wooded piece of land, but it is less hilly and completely wooded through this part of the course.
No porta potty on site.
Despite all of the steps taken to clearly state that only one layout is open at a time, I was still kind of concerned about the whole idea of layouts playing in opposite directions. There is nothing actually preventing a rule breaker from deciding to play the "closed" layout, although at least there is the incentive that this is private property so a violator could potentially be permanently banned. At a minimum, a sign explicitly stating that users who play the incorrect layout will be banned should be posted on the kiosk (there are already signs warning of bans for failing to pay or fill out the waiver form). I think in general though, I would still rather see multiple layouts here take the form of two tee pads per hole with everyone always playing in the same direction.
The course has very limited availability. As of this writing, the only times you can start your round are on Sundays from 10 AM-6:30 PM, Mondays from 10 AM-6:30 PM, and Saturdays from 5 PM-6:30 PM. That will likely make this one a difficult bag for travelling disc golfers.
In general, there are nice holes here but nothing really blew me away. The back nine/south side of the course in particular started to feel a little same-y from hole to hole. You are still playing on a beautiful wooded piece of land, but it is less hilly and completely wooded through this part of the course.
No porta potty on site.
Other Thoughts:
Signage at the parking lot indicates that no pets are allowed here.
You can just show up and play any time the course is open - no need to set up a tee time. The course costs $5/day (cash only) to play, and all players/visitors must also sign a waiver form prior to playing. All of this can be done right at the parking lot, where clear instructions are posted on the kiosk.
This course is the clear new #1 in the Manistee area, and good enough to go toe-to-toe with some of the well-known Ludington area courses to the south. Huge shout out to the course designer Tom, and others who no doubt were involved in making this course a reality. I visit the Manistee area a few times a year, and I'm looking forward to playing this one again next time I'm around. I could see myself bumping up this rating to a 4.0 if I'm able to play the Grey Squirrel layout and enjoy it as much as I did Fox Squirrel. If you find yourself in the area at a time when the course is open, this one is definitely worth a play.
You can just show up and play any time the course is open - no need to set up a tee time. The course costs $5/day (cash only) to play, and all players/visitors must also sign a waiver form prior to playing. All of this can be done right at the parking lot, where clear instructions are posted on the kiosk.
This course is the clear new #1 in the Manistee area, and good enough to go toe-to-toe with some of the well-known Ludington area courses to the south. Huge shout out to the course designer Tom, and others who no doubt were involved in making this course a reality. I visit the Manistee area a few times a year, and I'm looking forward to playing this one again next time I'm around. I could see myself bumping up this rating to a 4.0 if I'm able to play the Grey Squirrel layout and enjoy it as much as I did Fox Squirrel. If you find yourself in the area at a time when the course is open, this one is definitely worth a play.
13
0
Tom26133
Experience:
1 played
1 reviews
Outstanding private course drive by
Reviewed:
Played on:Jul 4, 2023
Played the course:5+ times
Pros:
This course is very technical with many mando's and painted OB line fairways. It is moderately hilly and plays through a working farm, playing though fields, creek bottom, and woods. Every hole is carefully laid out with fair lines off every very nice 4x12 concrete tee pads. The maintenance on this course is impeccable with every hole trimmed and picturesque it's also very cart friendly. Almost every hole has comfy benches and ample trash cans. The course is also very quiet with tons of wildlife everywhere you will forget about everything but golf and nature as you play your round. The 9 hole loop system is also a bonus because it puts you back at your vehicle and restrooms after 9 holes!
Cons:
Only open 3 days a week
