- Beautiful park
- Great hole variation
- Decent baskets
- Good mix of wooded/open holes

- Major lack of direction/signage
- Horrible tee-pads (sometimes you're better off not throwing from the tee-pad)
- General lack of maintenance

There are quite a few DGCs in the Twin Cities and in its surrounding areas, and most of them have the potential to be great courses. When looking at courses like Blue Ribbon Pines or Bryant Lake Park, you see a great course both from the technical aspects of the game, all the way down to the nice landscaping and navigational signs to ensure players never get lost.

When I went to Acorn Park for the first time, we weren't quite sure where the first tee was, and ended up looking around by the 18th hole for a while because the "rules" sign was by the last hole and not the first for some reason. After getting direction from another player, we found the first hole and started the course.

One thing I did not particularly enjoy about my first visit to Acorn Park was how busy it was, but honestly if it hadn't been this busy we probably would not have been able to navigate the course. At least 4 or 5 times throughout the day we ended up in a spot where we didn't quite know where to go next. The worst case was on Hole 9 where after finishing, you can see the basket for Hole 10, but there's no indication of where the tee is and you actually need to walk downhill in the woods to get there.

Other than the poor signage, the tee-pads were the only other real bother at Acorn Park. The tee-pad on hole is un-usable as it is deeply cracked right in the middle. Some other tee-pads were very short as well.

Once you've sifted out the bad about Acorn Park, you can really start to take away all the good that this course has to offer. The photos that were uploaded are a great example of some of the beautiful views offered by a few holes at Acorn Park, especially in the wooded areas, but definitely when you come out of the woods as well.

There were definitely a few tricky holes as well, some required your shot to hook far left, some far right, and others required you to throw a certain distance to avoid water (hole #1), or to avoid landing in bushes/rough (holes #8, #13?, #18).

This course also neighbors both Lakewood Hills (White Bear Lake), and Kaposia Park (St. Paul), which can provide an all-day event for disc golf for those who are up to the challenge. When we played, we hit Lakewood Hills first and then came here, and that worked out perfect.

At the end of the day Acorn Park is a Very Good course, and could easily become an Excellent course with the simple addition of some signposts. (Although some new tee-pads on select holes wouldn't hurt either).

- Course is set in a good sized park that has some hills, water, and woods. There are some extra activities away from the course, so a walking path is the only source of interference. Should be free and clear for DG.
- A lot of the holes here are set in the woods, either in a lot of skinny trees, or fairways carved out of gnarly woods. Those in the skinny trees include #1, a shot over water and through a gap or two that finishes right at the end. #2 is another RHFH shot around the trees, #3 is an uphill flick shot with lots of little trees to get around, #4 is a little bitty hyzer shot, #5 is uphill with a few lines to choose from, #10 is pretty much straight, #14 is a little hyzer that drops off to the pin behind a big tree, there is a good variety of lines here, that need good accuracy to hit the pin. Overall, these holes are pretty short, so there is a lot of deuce or die.
- The holes with wider fairways, but thicker rough, pose a different challenge - these are longer with more hazardous areas to find. #6 is a downhill hyzer with nastiness on both sides and water on the right near the pin, #7 also has a lot of crap to avoid directly on the fairway, and #8 is a hyzer over swampy water. Must stay on the fairway, but also on the 'good' parts of the fairway. #9 is trickier, a 475' toss with water left, lots of trees right, and a pin tucked under pine trees. #11 is a longer downhill hyzer over thick rough, with a gap in the woods, and #15 is a tighter uphill shot with big trouble on the right.
- A few holes are a little more open at the end of the course, but are still challenging. #16 is the most straightforward, a 327' shot up and over a hill, while #17 is a downhill shot with trees surrounding the pin. #18 is a very cool hole; the tee shot is over some woods and through a gap, to an open area. Then it is an uphill fairway, with the pin behind a large cluster of trees, open to either a righty or lefty shot, or maybe even a tall overhand, but definitely not straight.
- Elevation changes here aren't too extreme, except for the last couple holes, but it is noticeable on many holes. Uphill shots in the woods are pretty common, and some longer downhill shots over some rough areas.
- Baskets are OK, teepads are fine, signs are not so good. Map is probably a good thing to have the first time through.

- The holes in the woods are pretty, pretty short. A lot of putter shots with five of them under 215'. The lines are tough, but they are still just approach shots for the most part.
- Seems pretty hyzer heavy, especially on the longer holes. Or, at worst, a straight shot. #1 and #12 might be the only ones that don't accept a RHBH hyzer.
- Asphalt tees jut out from the ground, and the lack of tee signs hurts. A little rough around the edges.

- Course itself offers a good variety of holes, there are the shorter ones with good line shaping skills needed, longer holes that offer plenty of hazards on longer shots, and some open holes with tougher approaches. A few longer holes are pretty tough, mainly #9 and #18. Short tees are really short, and good for beginners, long tees are good for more experienced players. Worth checking out at least once, for any skill level, though advanced players will be able to crush the score.

-Well designed course with a nice mix of wooded, open, long, short, hyzers, anhyzers, etc. You'll need pretty much every type of throw here.
-Decent enough tee pads, they look like chunks of old blacktop but they work
-Water hazards are nicely incorporated (however one of the ponds was dry and another one was getting pretty close). Can't fault the course for that though, it's been mighty dry here this year.
-The underbrush is cleared away fairly decently from most holes
-Many holes have benches at the tees

-The whole course had a very run down, dirty feeling about it
-I've never seen so much graffiti in my life, and a lot of it was pretty inappropriate stuff
-Some of the baskets were getting pretty beat up
-The water hazards were extremely unappealing to look at (think fungus and algae)
-Navigation can be mildly confusing the first time here, but it wasn't terrible
-There were quite a few unsavory looking people hanging around throughout the course, and while I didn't see anybody doing something questionable it wouldn't surprise me
-The signs are pointless; half of them don't even have numbers on them

This course is fairly old, and it shows. A lot of areas where there should be grass have been reduced to well-traveled gravel which I assume would get very muddy and nasty after a rain. This is especially prevalent around the baskets and right after the tee pads. This fact is exacerbated by all of the traffic this course gets as it is one of the most played courses around, by prepared to wait at each tee.
The course felt very dirty. It probably doesn't make a whole lot of sense but once you go there for the first time you'll see what I'm talking about. Everything has graffiti on it. The tee pads, while still acceptable, are getting worn down. The baskets are beaten up. The ponds are gross. Some of the people there look like they might have bathed in those ponds... you get the picture. I realize the only way to fix some of that is to charge a fee, but it's worth noting.
Navigation for the most part wasn't too bad, I only got turned around once; and it's possible that was because it was getting pretty dark out. The signs are 4x4s stuck in the ground that may or may not have a hole number written on it in Sharpie. The signs are worthless. Also, some of the baskets did not have hole numbers on them either, although no baskets are close enough to each other for it to get confusing in that regard.
On to some positives now: this course is a very nice layout. It provides you with the opportunity to throw all your discs using all your throwing styles. There are elevation changes on a number of holes as well as water. Between those two challenges and trees there is something to be weary of on every hole on the course; there is essentially only one "wide open" hole. I was fairly skeptical of the course after pulling into the parking lot, but give it a chance it; you won't be disappointed. With some equipment maintenance and some TLC this would be one of the top courses in the region and I would most likely consider giving it a 4.5... but, because of the general disrepair of the course I'll elect to give it a 3.5 with the potential for so much more. I certainly would come back to this course.

I played very early on a lovely July morning so wasn't bothered by the crowds here. I met up with Dennis part way through and he showed me the way. Everything here is showing it's age. The signs are old with lots of grafitti. The teepads are older, some are smaller than you would want. This is an intermediate length course that has had a lot of use over the years. It's fairly tight in places and has has some nice enjoyable ACE runs. # 4 and # 5 are both cool little ACE runs. # 17 was a difficult teeoff through a narrow slot in the trees with it's basket hidden in the trees, probably one of the tougher holes on the course.

And # 18 was a fun ending hole giving you (or me at least) a chance to let one rip downhill.

A doe walked out of the brush probably 75 feet from me and just sat and watched me. I looked at her and she looked at me. It was pretty cool with us just checking each other out for probably 2-3 minutes. A chance for a little nature in a metro park setting.

Advanced to pro players won't find the challenge here that they're looking for but, Hey, there's plenty of other courses in the Twin Cities area that provides them the challenge they're needing.

Everything here felt a little dingy and old and rundown, from the signs to the pads to the baskets and combined with the litter and grafitti, it just left the experience kinda empty for me. I can't quite explain it but I wanted more because I mostly liked this course and park.

One thing I really liked about Acorn DGC is the fact that they (I don't really know who they is) have left the orginal course in it's orginal length/distance. No-one has come in and moved this basket 50 feet farther back into the bushes to make that hole harder and thus ruined the orginal beauty or pin placement. Where I hail from, (Washington state), on a couple of my favorite courses, the advanced to pro players have moved every basket on courses like Acorn, trying to make them more challenging. And the courses are now confusing with 5 different layouts. Acorn retains it orginal solid intermediate course design. It works well.

Acorn could really be served well by putting in new signs. Many of the area courses (Brockway for one) have the simple signs that are vandal proof. Just a pole sticking out of the ground with the # and distance. The local teens seem to love to beat up the white fiberglass metal ones.

- Great combo of wooded and open holes, along with a great combo of long and short holes. The mix up of holes makes for some great play.
- Some elevation changes are quite fun.

- Extremely crowded
- Wooded areas have many bugs
- Some of the tee boxes are poor
- The course retains water after it rains

Fun course to play. As stated by others, the traffic makes the gameplay slow and difficult sometimes, but aside from that it is a very fun course to play.

Good course for technical shot selection. Hard because it is tight easy because it is mostly short holes. Only 9 & 18 are two drive holes and 9 really isn't that long. The trees and tee pad placement make is course challenging.

There is no real elevation change to speak of. Short course. Very Very crowded! Tee pads need some work.

Good course for beginners, not too long, but still a good distance to be challenging.

Too many trees, and also easy to lose your disk in the water as the water is often right in the way of play.

A good course overall despite the obstacles.

The course is big enough, there are usually people there who will be willing to help you find your disc if you lost it, great for intermediate players, good variations of difficulties through the course.

this is NOT the place to play your first game. Very tough for beginners, TOO MANY TREES, weird set up for navigating from one hole to the next.

this is the course i play on the most, being that i live so close to it, i DID play my first game here actually, luckily, i had a natural ability for getting the disc over the water hazards and not doing to bad for a first timer. Personally I find this course quite enjoyable.

Nice mix of holes in the trees and out in the open. This lets you use your skill shots as well as just step back and throw it as hard as you can.

It was crowded when I played it, and it sounds like there are always a good deal of people at this course.

I will certainly play this course again, and I guess there is something to be said about a course that always has people at it.

This is a really cool course with some water hole's on hole 1 and 9 there are lots of short holes as well, most of which are in the woods. also a few far hole's I play here almost every day it's a pretty basic fun course.

There's a lot of beginners at this course the past few years it's been getting worse and worse and now kaposia park and north vally are pay to play so people are swarming acorn it's kinda a wait I suggest going there before 5pm.

Excellent course for any range of players. I played with a young 10 year old, experienced other, and another person my age just starting out and everyone was involved and enjoyed the course.

Each hole demands a different approach and makes think about your set ups and approaches. I was using types of shots I've never had been forced to use and loved the challenge.

Be prepared to hit trees if you're not comfortable with your flight paths, with the exception of 4 holes or so it's a great amount of wood holes. This may be frustrating to those just starting.

Hard course to get a good first impression but it is possible.

Overall I loved the course and played it very well for my level. Recommended to all levels and for those looking for a course demanding accuracy.

nice layout, good mix of holes. not terribly difficult, only a couple holes that should not be at worst a 3 most of the time.

BUSY. play during the day to not have to wait, lots of litter. Starting to show it's age

Still a very good course, good mix of shots required, 17 is still one of my favorite holes.

1) Very well designed course, using the features and very different sections of the property. Variety of tight wooded holes, a couple of forced water carries which is always fun and challenging. Even a couple air it out driver holes.

2) #1 hole is an awesome hole to start out with. It is picturesque having to throw over the water to a basket tucked well into the woods and protected by a few trees.

3) Baskets are in good shape and concrete (some need some work however) pads on all holes.

4) Posts by all tees help in navigation on a few holes.

5) Alternate teepads allow for a different course to be played. Some of them not only make the course easier but they also change the shot required, which also makes it a little more beginner friendly.

1) Not beginner friendly, despite the duel teepads. The holes are easier from the forward tees, but the difficulty on most of the other holes outweighs the shorter distance.

2) Obviously this course gets a ton of play. Turf is thin in spots and completely bare in others. There isn;t much that can be done however, as it is just a simple fact of lots of play and the location of this course as one of the closer courses to the University campus will cause that.

3) A few of the teepads are not in the best shape but even poor concrete is better than dirt.

4) A handful of very unspectacular holes that are forgettable. Some of this comes from underbrush/weeds, and could be solved fairly easily, however I did play this in the late spring so mid season it may be more photogenic.

Another course I selected because of its 3.5 rating or higher. I have to rank this about the same. It didn;t meet enough of my standards to be a 4, but was still seriously enjoyable. Lots of fun shotmaking required which gets me everytime I have listed it in my favorites too, and man do I wish we had more courses like this here in Milwaukee. MN looks to have a few to spare!!!!

Maintenance brings this down a nothc, but the design and fun factor level out that penalty. It is in my favorites where some 3.5 star ratings didn;t make the cut to my favorites.

A multi use park in a quiet suburb with a good mix of open and wooded holes along with some water hazards. This is an older disc golf park that has seen heavy use and multiple design refinements. Holes have mutilple teeboxes and pin placements.

Has a very good mix of left, right, uphill and downhill shots as well as water hazards. It even has a few holes for those guys that want to air it out. A very good course for an intermediate player. Most holes are not long. I particulary like the uphill wooded holes because they aren't seen in other wooded Mn courses commonly. This isn't a woods course but it is very close with many holes playing into or out of the woods.

Baskets are generally in good shape and parking is good as well. Leagues and tournaments play here regularly.

Very heavily used with lines common starting at about 3p in the warm months. Typically has many larger groups of newer players. Most will let you play through. Teeboxes show age with some being broken up a bit. Signage used to be up but removed by idiocy on most holes.

Hole 1 is over water so warm up if it concerns you. All but 2 holes are very typical drive, chip and putt holes with a 2 or ace possible with a good drive. Another in the line of Mn courses that are older but show how well an old course can hold up even with all the changes to discs in the years since it was first played. This is one of the handful of courses that older Mn players cut their disc golf teeth on.

This course has several challenging holes, and presents some opportunities to practice a variety of throws.

Relatively technical course, excellent opportunity to practice your tree dodging skills.

Not a good course for newbies...Go with someone who knows where they are going. Also you may spend a fair amount of time looking for your errant throws on this course. If you are a beginner play with good spotters so you don't lose your discs.

There are not too many holes that big arms can't reach in 1 throw.

Next tee signs would be nice... and having clearly marked hole distance and direction would be highly beneficial.

Fun course with a nice layout. Asphalt tee pads add for extra grip off throws, but are rarely needed

Lots of slow players, and so many leaves you can lose your disc in late fall. Tough to navigate for first timers, go with someone who knows.

I had a blast on this course, although it could be not busy.

Interesting little course with a great opening hole over the water. Watch out to make sure you do not throw your disc in the water or else you may not get it back.

Pretty short with some open holes that make it good for a beginner to start. Also a few really short holes that feel like puts.

The most hills of any course I have ever played on (sofar), and lots of trees makes for an interesting game. Precision does count, and knowing how to tomahawk/thumb, as well as bend it both ways, will greatly help you in this course. A few lakes in play make for an added element of danger that always spices things up. Terrain in play, in several ways, on every single hole. The scary thing is, holes that at first seemed unusual, like an uphill slight dogleg threading though trees, might start to blur together by about hole 8, but they are still varied and interesting.

Also, most of the holes have dual concrete tees, and the rest have a marked alt tee.

This course has a lot of variety, most notably that it has significant amounts of water, trees, AND elevation in play. Few courses that I've played have as much of all three, they usually lack one or another, so this course is a great way to get a taste of everything.

It's a Twin City Classic, a very mature course that's been broken in by countless golfers before you, but still fun and challenging today. This course shows its age, but that's a good thing, because it makes it a very comfortable place to play.

The holes, though plenty long, seem crammed into their space like sardines, sometimes butting up against one another. There is not much of a natural progression to get to the next hole. Like, to get to hole 3 from 2, you pass by tee 16 and through the middle of 12 if you aren't careful, stuff like that (i used arbitrary hole #s there, but you get the point).

This is further compounded by the lack of maps at the tee boxes. The concrete pads are only sometimes color-coded with painted wooden posts (white-short, red-long) and its easy to not even see the other tee(s) entirely.

Also, its very crowded, so be prepared to wait around a lot. The overall level of player seemed lower than what I was used to seeing at other courses, but that can be a good thing since it makes you look better in comparison, and feel better about your mistakes after seeing all their mediocre throws.

The concrete tees are on the smaller side, and are showing their age. Many are uneven and rounded on the edges, and abruptly drop off several inches to the surrounding area. As a result, sometimes you feel cramped when you drive and have to compact your run-up, which is annoying.

This course has many interesting holes, and none feel like filler holes, but few of these holes have that wow factor that makes you excited to tell your buddies about them. If you are looking for things like elevated pins, terraced greens, island pins, or epic views, look elsewhere, because this park has none of those things.

Simple, but good. A solid, very fun course with good terrain and decent concrete pads, but not nice or fancy. It's got what you need, but not the little extras you might want.