Pros:
The Eagle at Sabattus Disc Golf is one of the most professionally designed, built, and maintained courses that I've ever played. From start to finish, everything is top notch. The course has a great layout that will require every throw you have on a mix of L, R (both subtle and extreme), and straight fairways. There is exceptional use of trees, obstacles, elevation, and water. There are numerous densely-wooded, challenging fairways including a few ace runs and a few grip n' rip fairways. Exceptional holes include:
Hole 8 - Amazing horseshoe-shaped fairway that wraps around a pond with two possible routes. The obvious route around the pond (on the fairway) requires accuracy to minimize throws and keep an errant throw from dropping into the pond. The "shortcut" indicated on the tee sign is just as precarious as a carefully-placed drive is needed to get into a position to cross the safely pond. Classic risk vs. reward.
Hole 10 - A very tricky zig-zag fairway that is both tight and long as it stretches between 587-641', depending on the basket. While not excessively punishing, any drive that is off the mark will require at least an extra throw just to get back on track and could quickly lead to many throws over par.
Hole 11 - Straight-forward wooded tee-off that approaches into an empty gravel pit. The basket sits atop a steep embankment, requiring a spot-on upshot. Any overthrown putts made from the top of the hill risk a demoralizing roll back into the gravel pit. From start to finish, this hole keeps you on your toes.
Hole 14 - A fairly standard wide-open field with an unguarded basket at the end. What makes this hole noteworthy are the monolithic stones that dot the fairway and the old farm equipment that is carefully placed on the periphery. The hole isn't so much challenging as it is pleasing to the eye (which is probably why it's the first hole you see as you drive into the course)
Several of the holes featured multiple baskets.
The tee signs at the Eagle were exceptionally detailed and displayed fairways, major obstacles, distance, par, and basket location(s). In addition to tee signs, the course had plenty of signage directing players to the baskets and toward the next tees.
The course itself was meticulously maintained. The concrete tees and bridges were in fantastic shape, as were the baskets. Garbage cans, picnic tables, and butt buckets available on nearly all the tees. The fairways and paths were all clear and wooded lanes consisted of gravel, mulch, or wood chips. Surrounding many of the baskets were wood chip greens. There was very little underbrush and shule, reducing the possibility of a lost disc and making the course more aesthetically pleasing. All things considered, this is some of the finest wooded disc golf available.
Cons:
There are very few cons to the Eagle. The main issues were related to layout and fairway navigation. There was a confusing layout on a few holes. Hole 3 was an example where the fairway wasn't very obvious and the signage (while still exceptional) didn't do the best job of guiding players down the embankment at the left edge of the field. Additionally, there were multiple baskets shown on many tee signs, but only a few holes actually had multiple baskets installed which caused some confusion when teeing off or approaching and the pin wasn't where it was expected to be.
While minor, the red baskets blended into the wooded background and made identifying the target difficult.
Other Thoughts:
The Eagle is very challenging but fair. The course is designed for accurate throws but isn't overly punishing when discs go astray.
When comparing the Eagle to the other courses at Sabattus Disc Golf (although this had no impact on my rating), this course had tighter and more unique fairways and throwing lines than the Hawk. The Eagle was also much longer and geared much more toward professionals and had a lot more variety than the Owl.
Sabattus, ME isn't exactly in the thick of things, but Sabattus Disc Golf is well worth the trip and I'd recommend it to anyone and everyone that is considering a disc golf trip to Maine. I wish more courses were modeled after the disc golf complex at Sabattus.