Trenton, ME

Acadia Disc Golf @ Hapana

2.725(based on 9 reviews)
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Acadia Disc Golf @ Hapana reviews

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8 1
BuckeyePhil
Experience: 5.8 years 35 played 6 reviews
4.00 star(s)

Course upgrades coming July 1st 2023 drive by

Reviewed: Played on:Jun 17, 2023 Played the course:2-4 times

Pros:

Nice short technical course. I played a tourny round with the course owner who showed me the plans for all the upgrades currently taking place. This course has definitely changed through the years, so you can discount any of the old reviews. Good mix of short wooded holes, elevation, mandos, and a few open holes. This course is very well maintained! They have a small cubhouse with some discs, drinks, and swag.

Cons:

Can be wet in a few areas. Mostly paver pads, but there were a few wooden tee pads that are tricky when wet, but they are currently replacing with all paver pads this year, so this won't be a "con" by end of this summer.

Other Thoughts:

Do not be fooled by any negative reviews because this course has gone through alot of upgrades and is a hidden gem.
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8 0
markmcc
Diamond level trusted reviewer
Experience: 11.9 years 278 played 254 reviews
3.00 star(s)

Short and Sweet 2+ years

Reviewed: Played on:Jul 18, 2018 Played the course:2-4 times

Pros:

This 18-hole course is located on private property just off of the main (Maine?) road to Acadia National Park. So if you're in the area to visit the park, this is your best bet for a quick round of disc golf.

This is a remarkably short course, with an overall average hole length of 225'. If you remove the three "long" holes (1, 14 & 18) the average length drops to just 187'! This is primarily a short, technical course that is full of fun ace-runs and "birdie-or-die" type holes. There are ace boards at many of the tees and it is clear that the locals hit aces regularly. I drove many of these holes with putters, and most of the rest with midranges. The three longer holes noted above do allow you to air it out a bit.

Despite the short holes lengths I found this to be a fun and challenging course. The short holes are all heavily wooded, requiring that you hit specific lines and gaps to get to the baskets. If you do so birdies are very gettable. But there are ample trees to stop your disc or knock you well off line.

There is a good variety of straight fairways mixed with sweeping right/left and dogleg right/left fairways. Many holes have alternate lines to the left or right, which I found unintentionally a few times...

Hole 5 is a sharp dogleg left that requires you to clear a mando on the left side just before the corner, but come inside of a second mando to the right as you curve around the dogleg. The shape makes it tough to get to the pin for a look at two, but I enjoyed trying.

Hole 12 is a blind drive over a small rise to a downhill basket placed next to a tiny little pond. The pond is no more than 15' across and shallow, but I'll bet it has collected a few discs. There is a long pole next to it for retrieval purposes.

Hole 14 is the standout, teeing from an elevated area, playing through a "goal-post" double-mando and over a thick group of pines into a blind landing area. The landing area is large enough to let you rip this blind drive hard through the mando and then go figure out where you landed.

Tee pads are mostly mulch on natural ground, though holes 1, 2 and 18 feature wooden platforms that are large and flat. I saw several more platforms stacked in the parking lot so more may be in the way.

Tee signs are simple wooden boards with hole number, distance, and par only. They've seen better days but are better than nothing. There are enough next-tee arrows on trees to guide you easily through the course, though they can be tough to spot.

Cons:

This is a short, technical course with a lot of trees. Not a place that I would recommend bringing the family for a first-time DG experience.

The natural teepads are lumpy and bumpy and often contain roots or rocks. Most of the holes are short enough to allow stand-and-deliver drives or an abbreviated run-up, but footing is tricky on many of the tees.

The signage is minimal and rough. Often it is a simple board on the ground near the tee with hole number, length and par. They could use some freshening up.

Speaking of tough to spot, the dark galvanized baskets are practically invisible on many of the shaded holes. Even on short holes I found myself walking up some to make certain I knew where the baskets were.

The ground over most of the course is full of exposed roots, stumps, rocks, little gullies, etc. You have to watch your step to avoid turning a knee or ankle. I suggest boots.

Other Thoughts:

Most Maine courses are pay-to-play. Some are set up as true businesses with pro-shops, attendants to pay, scorecards, etc. This is not one of those courses. You simply park next to the owner's house, push your money through a mail slot in the door, and play your rounds. There is a bit of information posted about local leagues, but nothing at all to get you oriented regarding the course.
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3 0
MonDragonDisc
Experience: 7.8 years 14 played 4 reviews
3.50 star(s)

See the Forest through the Trees 2+ years drive by

Reviewed: Played on:Aug 18, 2016 Played the course:once

Pros:

Awesome wooded course! Super challenging without even trying. Some memorable holes, the hanging basket was really cool and hole 13 I think was a good challenge, the tee pad area had some nice benches and trash cans. You can probably play most of the holes with a midrange and a fairway driver, bring out the distance driver for hole 18, I got a double bogie on that one thinking I could toss my TL that far (that's just me though).

Cons:

Pay to play is not something I am used to but I am totally in support of keeping the course going if money is what it will take. Empty the trash cans. A course map would be freaking awesome.
When you get to the parking lot, tee pad one is to the left of the house.

Other Thoughts:

Seriously a course map is needed, otherwise this course is awesome.
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7 0
TBabb
Silver level trusted reviewer
Experience: 18.7 years 65 played 56 reviews
2.50 star(s)

The closest course to Acadia 2+ years drive by

Reviewed: Played on:Aug 8, 2016 Played the course:once

Pros:

Hapana Disc Golf course is located on private property off Route 3 between Ellsworth, ME and Mount Desert Island. The course is open to the public. 18 holes wind around the property through tight woods and unique topography. Natural tees are marked with log frames and filled with mulch. There's a good amount of signage giving hole number, distance, and par as well as signs to help navigate the course in the proper order. Some benches are provided at tees as well as trash cans. The fairways are generally well defined and most foliage is kept under control. Most holes are short, technical shots through the woods, though holes 15 and 18 will test your long game. Thick woods, tight windows, sharp turns, and judiciously utilized elevation make this fairly short course quite challenging for its length. A hanging basket on hole 6 and a hallway shot through the woods on 9 are a couple memorable holes in addition to the long shots on 15 and 18. The course plays in a loop which is great. There's also plenty of parking.

Cons:

The course was difficult to find (more on that in the Other Thoughts box below). The baskets are home practice baskets. They're not secured in the ground and they could use some color on the top as many of them are difficult to spot off the tee. A course map is not available to the player which is a shame, because many of the holes are blind shots. A hole map on tee signs would help players know what direction they're throwing at. Several tee signs are heavily weathered and illegible. The predominance of short holes may be boring to some players. Several holes were straight, short shots with little in the way of obstacles. Some tees were cluttered with exposed tree roots. Losing a disc is probable. A few holes (12 and 15 especially) could reduce disc loss with a spotter on the fairway. Thick grass on hole 6 may also create extra space in your bag. Hole 9, while memorable, may be unfairly wooded in the opinion of many players. Also, this course will cost you $3-$5. I've played free courses that are much better designed and maintained than Hapana, but do bear in mind that Pay-to-Play courses are the norm in Maine (likely due to its vacation/destination nature).

Other Thoughts:

The course owners have taken down the sign for the course on Route 3. They explained to me that this was because they didn't want inexperienced players on the course. To find the course, you'll want to turn right off Route 3 on Hapana Way and follow the dirt road past the first house. You'll then see the sign for Hapana Disc Golf.

If this were my home course, I would be disappointed to have to pay to play every time. But it's a great destination course if you're on vacation visiting Bar Harbor and Acadia National Park. Definitely worth a quick round if you're in the area.
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4 0
pmay5
Gold level trusted reviewer
Premium Member
Experience: 20.8 years 480 played 245 reviews
3.00 star(s)

Fun, natural course in great location. 2+ years

Reviewed: Played on:Jul 18, 2014 Played the course:once

Pros:

Great location for this course, one turn off of Route 3 on your way to Mount Desert Island.
All the tees were marked with signs listing distance and par. They were all mulched and level, for the most part. All baskets were in good shape with one hanging basket.
There was a line to throw on all the holes, most were in the woods with the last few in the open, across their mowed field.
There were some really fun holes to play, 7,9,10-14 and 18. Not too many bad holes. Most were short, technical holes, but had two holes over 450 feet.

Cons:

Soggy ground. Being in coastal Maine, they get a lot of water. They've done their best with some homemade boardwalks and log walkways. The day I played, they had just had two days of rain, so I'm guessing it was wetter than normal. That said, it was mainly a problem on the first 8 holes, then 9-14 go up onto the rocky hillside and 15-18 were in the open, just wet grass.
Mosquitoes - you need to bring bug spray.
No course map. The next tee signs were very good and nearly made this a non-issue. But I like to have a course map when I play a new course, even if it's on this site, so I can print it before playing.

Other Thoughts:

Overall, I had a good, fun time on this course, especially once I got up on the elevated holes. 12-14 were a great set of holes, almost overlapping each other. Downhill right, uphill, then long downhill left. Nice to finish on a few open holes, so that you can air a few out during your round.
The best thing about Hapana is the location. Just a couple of miles north of Mount Desert Island, with the tourist meccas of Acadia National Park and Bar Harbor. I was there with the family on vacation, and was able to get in an early morning round and back to the resort before they woke up.
There is no longer a sign on Route 3 marking the course. I understand they had some undesirables showing up and just want locals and serious DGers playing. Turn at the street sign for Hapana Way, just north of the airport.
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6 0
headbangerdiscus
Experience: 12.7 years 6 played 4 reviews
3.00 star(s)

rough around edges but some fun holes 2+ years drive by

Reviewed: Played on:Jul 30, 2012 Played the course:2-4 times

Pros:

fun hill top holes
freshly mowed long field holes
challenging pinball tree lined holes

Cons:

mostly shorter par 3s
rough, wood chip/tree root tees
no scorecard
no clubhouse (atleast was locked when i played)
little hard to navigate
no hole map
only one bench for resting
overflowing trash/recycling

Other Thoughts:

Tee boxes are only wood chips with rocks/ roots sticking up. Not a problem really for me, but maybe older players or kids may have a stumble or two. A little hard to navigate first time through, put on your eagle eyes and you'll see little signs that mark the way to next hole, but would be nice if they were not brown/green and a color that stood out more from the trees. Note: 1st tee is on hill to front left of building. No hole layout maps, but most aren't too long so a short walk will let you know where you're aiming. Some fun holes, such as throwing to top of hill with basket resting upon a large rock. Another tee on top of large rocks on top of a hill where you sail disc over treetops below. A couple open field holes let you really test your distance,especially hole 18. No scorecards so use one you've got kicking in your bag from a previously played course, or contact me, i made one using distances I wrote down from tee signs (had to guess on hole 6, sign was missing). All par 3s except hole 14 (par 5). As one of the few options near Bangor I enjoyed it. The cons are easily overcome. I am sure I will be back since I work near here.
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4 0
Mr. Blue
Experience: 20.7 years 5 played 4 reviews
1.00 star(s)

Disappointing to say the least 2+ years drive by

Reviewed: Played on:Aug 22, 2011 Played the course:5+ times

Pros:

Lots of short holes with a couple of medium length holes make this course a great idea for the beginner or Junior Disc Golfer.
For the avid disc golfer, this course is great for practicing your short and mid range game. It is a beautiful walk in the woods.

Cons:

The tee boxes are hazardous, and inconsistent.
The trash cans are not kept up on, and there is unnecessary refuse on the course as well.
There are no maps or scorecards available.
The biggest con is the fact that while the place is a great IDEA for Juiors to play, the course is NOT friendly towards families. This is a shame as the members out there are great people, but the management leaves much to be desired.

Other Thoughts:

Too bad this course is not well kept. There is much potential on the property. It is a shame that the place is a disc golf course posing as a business because AS a business, there is WAY too much work to be done to make it acceptable as a pay to play disc golf course, especially when there are SO MANY OTHER BETTER OPTIONS WITHIN AN HOUR from this spot. Here's hoping these reviews of the course on here are taken for the opportunity to improve that they are intended to be.
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4 1
stormrider
Experience: 15.8 years 11 played 1 reviews
3.00 star(s)

Great potential 2+ years drive by

Reviewed: Played on:Aug 12, 2010 Played the course:once

Pros:

Fun course with a huge variety of holes. Heavy woods to open fields, lefts, rights, up-hill and down-hill, the course keeps you guessing from start to finish.

Overall the course emphasizes accuracy over power; roughly half are in the 200' range, but the foliage makes it significantly harder to get the perfect shot. There are a handful that let you really drive though.

Cons:

The course would definitely benefit from some scorecards with a map, as there are a couple of pretty confusing areas.

Do a tick check when you get home, this is a heavily wooded area and the locals say they do occasionally see them here.

Other Thoughts:

Definitely helps to follow some locals around for your first round. Tee areas are generally flat beds of wood chips, and are marked with wood placards showing hole number, distance and par (but no map).

For $3 per round or $5 per day it's really not a bad course, but at the same time, most of the free courses I've played are better groomed and maintained, so it would be nice if they put a little more work into the upkeep.

The course has huge potential, it's in a great location, and is the only course in the Trenton/Bar Harbor/ Ellsworth area. If the owners would put just a little more energy into the course it could be a real solid course.
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6 0
DeafDiscGolfer
Experience: 28 years 189 played 16 reviews
1.50 star(s)

Just on the way to Bar Harbor! 2+ years drive by

Reviewed: Played on:Aug 30, 2009 Played the course:once

Pros:

Nice balances of short right, straight, and left of mostly wooded fairways. Good enough for Rec. to Pro players who wanted to stop by to play a quick 18-holes.

Only need mid-range drivers, putters or even a Frisbee to play! Can use distance drivers at #1, #14, and #18 if you really need more oophs with your drives.

Plenty birdie holes here and there.

Nice running creeks at some holes. There's one unique #6 hanging basket!

There's a nice sitting bench near by #10 basket up hill.

Trash barrels at most holes that seems to be overflowing with beers (plenty cash refunds!).

Nice looking entrance sign and clubhouse!

Cons:

Its nearly impossible to navigate the course on your own for the first or even the second times!! Bring or meet the locals!! The first tee is hard to spot but its in front of clubhouse at the left on the mount.

There are some tee signs propped on the ground that only shows Hole #, Par, and Feet but no way to know where's that old Mach baskets are at. Unless you take a walk and try to spot the baskets that has NO obvious bright markings anywhere. It is difficult to disguise old baskets from the wooded trees.

Very poor walkways between tees. There's no "next tee" signs or directions as well.

No course map provided nor course map sign outside of the clubhouse either (hint, hint).

The natural tees are horrible and hazardous! Way too much tree roots sticking above the tee area. Very difficult to make small quick run-ups but only takes one step to make the driving shots!

Couple wetland holes that seems always occur after the rains but there's some walking 2x5 wood pathways at few holes. Might as well to prepare to get your shoes soaked anyway.

No restroom or drinking water provided.

All that for 3 bucks a round or 5 bucks a day?

Other Thoughts:

I was disappointed to see that the course tees, signs, and baskets are not being well marked for any visiting disc golfers and the tee layouts are not that great nor impressive.

These are huge potentials to generate more visitors ($$$) who wants to stop by to play/checking out before/after visiting the Bar Harbor at Mount Desert Island which is one of Maine's tourists' hot spots. The course is right on the very only road (Route 3) less than a mile before the small airport and before entering the island, you cannot miss those entrance sign! See photos to get the idea.

I was very fortunate to join a nice young patient couple at the right time to guide me around 18 holes and allowing me to take pictures of each holes. They were only using Frisbees to play a round and they did it very well!

I would not recommend any new players to try throwing discs there because its difficult to locate discs in the thick grasses and bushes outside of the fairways. Better bring Frisbees for the newbies first. There are only four open-fielded holes out of 18 holes which are in the woods.

Now, I have played there only once (August 2009) and wouldn't mind to go back there when I'm on the way to the island again someday!

I do hope to see some major improvements in order to get better course ratings!!
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