Pros:
OK, OK, I know I'm going out on a limb a little bit with a 5.0 rating for a course that won't truly challenge the top players to bring their best game every time. But Bryant Lake fits my personal criterion for a 'perfect' rating because it does everything right, then goes WAY beyond the 'necessary', and will appeal to the widest range of players possible. I have only given this out four times in 201 reviews, but Bryant Lake Park earns one.
Why? Let's address the disc golf play first. You've got the variety of having at least two tees for every hole (blue and yellow), and usually have two baskets permanently in place to choose from (also yellow and blue). Casual players will have a lot of fun throwing yellow to yellow, while Intermediate to even Advanced players will enjoy blue to blue. They'll be able to keep it fresh by mixing up tees and pins for four options on nearly every hole. You'll be throwing blind tee shots, in and out of the woods, astonishing elevation shots, and enjoying the scenery of the dedicated park space up on the hills overlooking a pretty lake.
But what floored me was the infrastructure. Picture an enormous, trapezoidal, level concrete tee with metal benches, trash, recycle bins, 'ash trays', perfect tee signs, brooms, and retaining terraces, steps, brick and stone paved walkways, protective netting, and every landscaping feature you've ever seen on a course, then multiply it for multiple tees, terraced basket positions, fantastic course maintenance, fresh mulch constituting almost the entire putting surface for every basket, etc. etc. I mean, you'll never forget standing on the long tee for 11, realizing they've put up the safety netting on your left to protect you from the blind, downhill, hyzer throws off the 10th tee above, and staring down at maybe 150 feet of brick paved slope taking you halfway to the basket. Or realizing that most course designers would be happy putting the basket behind a boulder for a fun challenge (on 16), but they've actually terraced and paved stones around the feature!). And you might do like I did after throwing the top of the world shot on 17, and try to count the stairs you walk down to the fairway (about 100). Have you ever put in landscape stairs? This incredible feature is only there to access 1/36th of the course, really. Wow!
The pictures here on the web site give you a hint, but you really need to come check this out. It's astonishing!
Cons:
Most folks can only find one or two negatives about Bryant Lake, and those are the fact that the challenge isn't championship caliber, and the design leans a little left to right overall. Doesn't really bother me. I play disc golf first for the fun, and second for the challenge. So if you're in the same boat, it might be really hard to find a 'con' about this course. Maybe the fact that the elevations will give you a hard time if you're not in shape? Maybe tens of thousands of dollars in course infrastructure isn't worth $5 per play or $45 per year to you. That's cool. Just know these are the facts going in, and, if you're like me, you'd say: wish I lived close by, because I'd pay that annual fee for a course like this in a heartbeat.
All right, I'll admit: as I racked my brain, I had to say that the parking is a little awkward. The best place to park is to the left after the entrance, and beside the 18th basket, the practice net and two practice baskets, there in the shade. 'Overflow' parking by the 15th tee would be the second choice, but I'd avoid parking downhill where shots that turn over to the right off of 17 long have a decent chance of dinging a parked car.
Other Thoughts:
If I ever get back to the Twin Cities, there are a huge number of quality courses to play, but I'll be setting aside a day each time to play this one again and again.