- Disc golf in a legitimate desert!
- Plenty of driving opportunity
- Well designed greens
- Plenty of natural beauty
- A unique experience

- Soft sand teepads
- Hole 6 (see other thoughts)
- Signage a bit lacking and questionable
- Only 9 holes, room for 18

You aren't mistaken and the name isn't misleading; there's a desert in Maine and they put a disc golf course in it! Just the fact that this course is so unique makes it a must play course if you live within a few hours. We used the course and the onsite camping as a home base while playing the other amazing courses within a 45 minute drive (Sabattus and Levalley links among many others) so we weren't dissapointed by the fact that the course is only 9 holes. There are bathrooms and a seasonal gift shop on site, as well as tours of the desert to keep non-playing family members entertained. Tromping through the beach-like sand and throwing massive bombs from dune to dune was a blast, and the open nature of the area makes for some fierce winds to battle against. Most of the greens are either protected by half buried, knarly trees or on steep sand dunes that make for tough up and down putting. The forest surrounding the desert is utilized on the desert holes to add depth and boundaries, and there are several areas where there are huge dropoffs in unexpected places that add an element of danger to the drives. A putt is just a putt until you put a 60ft drop into forest behind it, then it's a challenge.
This course is still in it's infancy, and as such is lacking some important basics. The baskets are Discatcher Sports that have been secured down fairly well. While I had no issue with that, if you insist on permanent, top of the line baskets it could be a negative. The tee pads are soft sand and not great for the long drives needed for the course. They are designated by small, low white signs with a vague line showing the direction of the hole and the distance. Most baskets are evident from the tee though, so the lack of signage didn't slow us down much. Many of the locations of the pads were less than ideal as well. We found it easier to tee off next to a lot of the teepads (or behind or slightly in front) where there was more solid ground. The biggest issue with this course is hole 6, the first one that leaves the dunes and threads through the woods. Hole 6 isn't a hole, it's a road with a basket at the end of it. The 12ft wide "fairway" wiggles through the woods for 600+ feet and turns so often that it's near impossible for a player of less than pro level to par, nevermind birdie the hole. Out of the two rounds we played, my buddy and I shot a 5, 6, 8, and 9 on the par 4 hole, with the 8 and 9 score happening due to one misplaced drive a piece.
Please remember that the course is still in development and according to the designer, is not going to be fully ready until spring of 2013. That being said, it's 100% worth playing just for the experience of playing disc golf in the desert. Go play the course, give them advice on it, enjoy, and watch as it grows into something great! PLEASE NOTE - The Desert of Maine is technically closed for the season right now, but the designer/owner, Matt, was happy to let us camp there once we mentioned we were there to play the disc golf course. He's a real chill guy, but he's not great about picking up the phone or returning calls quickly, so make sure to call well in advance if you want to play before spring.