Goats at Hole #18
Good signage
Great COVID precautions
Pro shop

Wind!
Too many open holes in a row

This is a nice but frustrating course. I like wooded courses best. There were many of those on this course, but there is a string of open holes, starting at Hole #14. Those were really frustrating on the day I played due to the distance complicated by the wind. I was impressed by the COVID precautions. Masks were required through the parking lot into the pro shop and back to the car from the last hole. There are friendly goats at the tee pad for Hole #18.

The Course: Hawk is an intermediate level course at Sabattus. The upkeep and amenities are a defining characteristic of SDG and are evident on this course also. The tees, signs, baskets, navigation, and extra touches are at the top of the class.

There is good variety here of wooded holes and some grassy open holes, a creek is in view on sometimes making for nice scenery (but not as much of a hazard like it is used on the Eagle course), some elevation present but overall way more flat than Eagle. Since it is geared towards intermediate- the fairways are pretty forgivable and hazards are not mentally deflating.

It was kind of nice to relax a little and not have to bring my A+ game on every single shot after getting beat up on the Eagle course earlier in the day.


The Complex: 4 courses on-site that cover a wide range of difficulty. The club house (which looks to be a new version than the pics on DGCR) would be the envy of many ball golf country clubs- two stories with discs, baskets, bags, clothes, and snacks for sale. Climate controlled, very nice restroom inside, and the employees were very professional, polite, and helpful. Plenty of large colorful scorecards and golf pencils.

The Course: Not nearly as great as the Eagle course. If this course were by itself it would be good for locals, but not necessarily a disc golf destination on its own merit.

The open holes are bordering on too open for my tastes to be interesting after a few rounds. And the final few holes were rather bland. I could still play multiple rounds here, but if I lived close I would spend more time on Eagle/Falcon.

Posted par is geared more for those with less experience, so it seemed way too generous to me.


The Complex: A few things that are merely suggestions, rather than cons.

Practice area was very small, a couple baskets for practicing short putts and a driving net. Suggestion- warmup on the 9 hole Owl course instead.

I wished the clubhouse had more hearty lunch options available, instead of just snacks, but they did make a great nearby recommendation- Rocky Ridge Orchard.

With all the courses being named after predatory birds, I get them confused and still have a hard time remembering which name goes with which course.

I have played many other complexes and what makes Sabattus different from the others is its immaculate appearance and that the complex offers a wide range of options catering to all skill levels (versus multiple difficult 4.5+ courses like Selah and IDGC). Hawk is a notch lower than the "2nd" course at these other places in my opinion, but still Sabattus is a great place to spend a day or two playing some enjoying disc golf.

I read Sabattus's mission statement, and I would say they have definitely achieved what they have set out to do and the Hawk course plays a key role in appealing to a wide variety of players and skill levels. I highly recommend making a trip to play here, and I would definitely come back. (not to mention the numerous other very nice courses in this part of Maine)

This is the course that really kick-started my play, about two years ago. With only one course and a handful of rounds under my belt, I played Hawk just before leaving the state and I absolutely loved it at the time. A hundred and fifty courses later, I returned to Sabattus. It didn't take longer than stepping onto the first tee to realize that this is a far easier course than the one that was in my head. That isn't inherently a bad thing. This is still a good course. But it is by far the easiest course that I have ever considered giving a four.

There is some distance here. 500-600 feet holes. But those holes are wide open, with nothing but open field between tee and basket. There are some wooded holes. Those holes are typically less than 200 feet from tee to target and the fairways are more than generous. While a bunch of the short holes are straight, it does require some lines, but none that will raise the blood pressure. There's a little elevation, but it's not overly strenuous. It was around hole 15 that I realized, "this is the perfect red level course."

Yeah those open holes will take a red player a few shots, but that's why they have real, red-level pars. They are going to relish the chance to air a few out, and see what kind of distance they can achieve. If you look at the hole descriptions, there is nothing that overly tax a beginner. And those generous pars will certainly make them feel good about their game. (Even a blue-level player should be aiming for -18 on a good day.

Then you throw in the same exquisite maintenance and aesthetic appeal that Eagle course boasts? Tees, baskets, navigation....it's all top-notch here. Truly an excellent experience for a new player and the perfect course to learn the game on.

It really only has lasting appeal for one skillset of players, and those that play here often will outgrow it relatively soon. I think that all players will enjoy it at least once, but honestly, I wouldn't play it that often if I was local. Eagle is right there and it is a far superior course. Far more so than the current difference in their ratings would indicate.

There is some water here, but it's mostly for aesthetic appeal. The same creek from Eagle winds its way around a few of these holes, but I couldn't see a place where it might affect a toss. (In fact the one place where a local route sneaks across a pond to a back way to the basket, it is forbidden by mando.) There is some elevation, but it's usually quite simplistic. There are some interesting holes here, but they are the exceptions. Too many are simple, straight approaches to the basket. At the beginning, I was debating a four for Hawk, but by the end, especially those last open holes, there was a bit of tedium.

In the end, I found what was only hypothetical a week ago: a perfect red-level course. I think it's on the high side of 3.5 but there isn't enough memorable here to bump it up one more notch.

You feel like you are arriving at a real golf facility when you drive up. The amenities are world class. Everything is clean and tidy from the parking lot, pathways leading you to different courses and the pro shop. The people here are extremely friendly and want you to have a good time. The pro shop is beautiful and has an amazing stock of discs, snacks and whatever you may need.

The course is immaculate in it's maintenance - seriously- every fairway (in the woods) has a gravel path down it's center and wood chips everywhere else. Some serious labor has gone into making this a good experience. As said in other reviews, the signs are fantastic.

The design of the course has it's share of challenges, from narrow woods to open fields. It's the mid-level course, and it did not frustrate this 916 rated player too much. Minor elevation changes are well used and there's a good combination of narrow , medium and wide fairways.

I felt too many holes shared a similar design of 3 different types. Wide open holes- whether short or long (1, 4, 14,16) that had few hazards in the fairway. Sharp, short doglegs that were decent length but required about the same distance to get around the initial dogleg. Horseshoe-shaped holes.
It seemed that many of the holes (though enjoyable) seemed to give me a sense of Deja Vu as I went along.

The par was VERY generous here - I think it would be fair to shave 12 strokes from the par and it still would be reasonable.