Cleveland Lake as been around for several years but now has cement tee pads on every hole. Alternate tees are available on most if not all holes, though only some them have their own concrete. Routing from one hole to the next does a good job having you not walk through the fairway of the next hole when getting to the tee pad, which helps when the course is busy.

The highlight of this course is holes 5-9. They're in the woods, and while they don't have a ton of elevation, they have several interesting lines, great skip opportunity, and some trouble if you go off the fairway or hit an early tree. The alternate tees and pins on those holes also change up variety significantly. To a lesser extent, the rest of the holes on the front nine have many of these qualities, depending on pin placement.

Some new pins have been added recently that make otherwise boring holes a little more fun. Holes 1 and 3 end in the woods, there are a few dogleg possibilities, and a few holes play as par 4's. Even more pins have been added that allow for the possibility of a par 4 on hole 9, an elevated pin on 10 and a shot over the creek on 14 that makes for some real lost disc possibility. In short, this course has some really nice variety.

There are now some gold pins that offer even more variety. I prefer some above others, but you have the option of playing a shorter or longer course if you prefer. There are also options to play a par 61 layout, or even split some holes to make a 24 hole course or so.

Some wind is often coming off the lake that adds a good challenge on some of the open holes, especially when there are some steep slopes and water in play.

The entire back nine is, in my opinion, pretty useless. Most of them are flat, and they annoyingly play up, down, or on top of the dam. Except for 18, the lake is an annoying water hazard that doesn't bring anything new to the course but still creates lost disc opportunities. The creek that comes into play on holes 13, 16, and 17... well, basically the entire course, is a little weary to throw around and can make discs difficult to retrieve when some rocks are involved.

A couple pins are just dumb. There's a left pin on 16 that brings the path into play for no reason, the dogleg on 6 is pretty awkward, and I don't think the creek on 14 is actually a fair challenge. The long right pin on 2, while challenging in many ways, isn't a very fun hole, unless you have the power to throw a wide shot over the trees to the right, and then it's a pretty easy hole. I would like to see the tee pad on 2 be pushed down the hill, to make over-the-top lines harder, and then for the short pin to be pushed farther and to the left.

There are hardly any hills to speak of, other than the side of the dam. It makes many holes pretty repetitive, especially the open ones, and causes some of the wooded ones to be less spicy than they could be.

A walking path comes into play on holes 11, 12, 16, 17, and 18. It's pretty easy to see people though, and only 18 plays over the path (except one pin on 16).

Several holes need more trees to be good holes in my opinion. Looking at the map, there's some woods near hole 2 that wasn't utilized for some reason. Some of the more boring part of the back nine could be cut in lieu of better holes for sure.

There are many parts of this course that aren't fantastic, but I really like the middle section of the front nine, and the downers of this course really aren't too bad, and the improvements over the past few years have made this course a whole lot better than it used to be. If tee signs come in and a few more trees are added on the back nine, a 4.0 rating is possible. Even until then, this is a fun course for sure.

A course that has had a ton of attention paid to it in recent years, Cleveland Lake hosts a challenging design which tests all aspects of your game. The city maintains the park well, and the Cass County club keep up with additions and larger work projects.

All holes have at least one concrete pad, and most have two. 9 has an ultra-long third as well. Main baskets are purple DisCatchers that pop well on any background, while 1, 6, 8, 9, 10 have their own gold pins (yellow DisCatchers) and there are two more that can double for 11/18 and 13/16. Only one tee sign per hole, but it shows every possible layout/distance you could ask for.

The woods on the south side of the park are used to their limits. Hole 2 is a gap to lace about 150ft down with the basket another 150 past that, the greens of 3 and 6 are covered with obstructive trees, and 5, 7, and 9 are incredible par 4 (or 5 for 9 long-long) challenges with shots to shape off the tee, approaches to hit, and trees blocking some of the green. The woods of 5-9 are the highlight of the course, and coming out of that stretch with a couple birdies is a feat to brag about.

Then comes the distance, 10 is a max-distance yoke for most players, and the gold pin adds the element of needing a good placement for a second shot as there's a gap 450ft off the tee, 11 is open and downhill, which usually gets a knock from me, but the mix of the trees on the left and the wind coming off the lake on the right always seem to keep this one difficult. 13 has a downhill off the tee, crosses a large creek, then has two excellent greens: one just in the treeline, one with water both in front of and behind it. 14 takes a left about 225 off the main tee, then continues 100ft to the shortest option; do you have a good hyzer? These are long holes, done well.

Some great pin spots: 4's longest in the woods is a challenge to access, both pins on 5 are excellent, although my favorite is across the creek, both of 7's sit through a small jungle of thin trunks with low-hanging branches, 8 gold way down in a corner of the clearing, 16 left on a small island inside the walking path, and 18 by the water to play mind games with you on your drive.

A few moments of enjoyable elevation, 10's elevated green is a challenge from anywhere other than underneath the cage 16 plays down the top of the dam and depending on pin placement either falls to the left shorter, or right further down. 17 is uphill to the top of the dam, forcing control to hit the very top, while 18 is a long toss off the top of the dam with water sitting to the left. There's a safe route, but it's a risk/reward play for the deuce.

Some bland tee shots, 1 ,3, and 16 are wide open (1 long and 3 have guarded greens). But the rest of the course - even with minimal trees - places the tees incredibly well.

A few long transitions: 6-7 9-10, 11-12, 12-13, and if 16 is in the left side pin you'll be going all the way over the dam to 17's tee.

Some pin spots just aren't enjoyable. 2's long is tucked too far left to be a consistent line for anyone unless you can go over the top. 6's "gold" is out the right side in a clearing with nothing around. Not a great pin from any tee except the one poured specifically for it. 12 long and 16 right are perched on the side of the dam, and while it's a challenge to get to them, putting on them simply isn't fun.

Some areas hold water really well after rain. The green of 2, the wooded fairways of 5-7, and the green of 13/tee of 14 area.

I'm not a fan of the top of the dam hole (12), but it is a score-separating challenge, so I can't list it as a con.

This is a great course to get away to. It's out of the way of a lot of other courses, so it's not something to hinge a trip around, but if you want a course that will test several aspects of your game this is a great choice.

The recently redesigned layout for the disc golf course at Cleveland Lake is pretty good. Many of the 18 holes are mostly open, though there are a stretch of wooded holes from 5 through 8. Water is in play on a few holes, mostly toward the end. There is also minor elevation change on a couple of the last holes.

The tees are grass, and there are long and short on most holes, marked by 4x4 wooden posts. The baskets are DISCatchers, and they are in pretty nice shape. All holes are par 3, and a few of them are lengthy if you use the long tee boxes. A few holes there are alternate pin locations, and work to further improve the course is ongoing.

The grass was cut nicely, and the park is fairly clean. I was grateful for the port o potty next to the parking lot. I liked the way the earthen dam at the end of the pond was utilized on the final third of the course.

Hole 1 is wide open and flat, a bit long but unless it is really windy, a simple warm up hole. 2 is better, with a drive over a creek, passing through a gap between two groups of trees that grow next to the water. There is a small drop in elevation from the tee. 3 is a mostly open hole until you approach the pin. You have to penetrate a line of trees to get close. It isn't easy but it's possible, I got a nice skip on the drive to set up a makable putt.

4 is largely open, but has a couple of shrubs to get past mid fairway. 5 is when you get into the woods, and it is kind of long. I got into the trees and struggled to getting out, It is a line you can hit, but if you don't some of the rough along the edges is heavy. The pin is behind a lot of scattered trees that can make the putt hard unless you really get close. Hole 6 is shorter but still has a lot of tree trunks to navigate between the tee and pin, and if you land the drive in the wrong areas, the angles to work toward the pin can also be crowded.

On 7 you tee from the other side of a creek, and there is a bridge that crosses to a small clearing big enough to have run up and throw. It was not as tight a line as 5 or 6, but has a little bit of a bend to the left. 8 is the last hole in the woods, and is a wider fairway than any of the previous three holes. There is a curl to the right at the end of the fairway, and a few mature trees around the pin. 9 is back into the open, but there are a few low trees in the fairway, and a creek not very far behind the pin. I overshot it and nearly went in the shallow water.

Hole 10 has trees in front of the box that force you to use the right side, but not much aside from a couple of small trees once you get past that. Hole 11 plays with the lake to the right, but plenty of wide open space to work with and only a few young trees planted here and there. 12 tees next to the parking lot on top of the dam. The basket is also atop the dam about 300' away. It is not easy to land the first shot right on the crest under the pin, so you may have a substantial uphill look on the second shot. My drive hit the right side, and stuck into it like a tombstone, helping me avoid a roll toward the water.

13 tees from the flat under the dam, and plays across the rocky spillway behind it. It isn't too long, and open to the right side, perfect for a big back hand hyzer if you are a righty. There are plenty of trees to the left next to the creek. 14 also plays to the right side of the creek, and is a bit closer to the water around the landing zone so be sure to stay to the right, in the grass. 15 takes you slightly uphill, and the pin is on a bit of a hill, with some tall grass to the left and the rocky backing of the dam to the right.

16 will tee from the opposite end of the dam from 12, and plays over the top of the rocks to a pin that is on the low side behind the dam. There is some tall grass if you pull it to the right too far. 17 plays from a tee near the spillway, and to a pin that is on the back slope of the dam. It is a kind of tricky basket location, where you don't want to overshoot the midrange drive and fly over the top of the dam. If you can plant one i the side of the hill and not get a roll away there is a decent shot a birdie here. 18 is one a good finisher, with a bit of a risky drive. The tee is on top of the dam with the water to your left. The pin is near the water, which will catch any disc that is too far left and short. Fun drive that is kind of nerve wracking.

No concrete tees, and grass is worn out. The drives were thrown from soft and slippery spots a couple of times. There was a bit of standing water in the grass on holes 3 and 4, and some slick muddy spots in other places. It was good enough to play, but squishy in areas.

If the wind was really blowing hard, a few of these holes could be a lot more interesting. The lake looms on 11, 12, and 18, and with gusts it would be even more of a menace.

I never saw the original set up for this course, but I did think the redesigned layout was fun. It mixed variety of shot shapes for a couple of holes, woods for a few, the water hazards on several, and used the available space nicely.

Improving the tees would be nice, and waiting for drier conditions might be advisable. A few of the holes are pretty similar, with small variations.

I went 5 over par (59) on the first round here. I birdied holes 3 and 13, made 10 pars, 5 bogies and a double bogey on hole 5. I missed some putts and could have done better for sure. My favorite holes were 2, 5-9, 12, 13, and 18. Dull start, but a fun finish and some good ones in between. Good course if you are looking for second or third tier quality near KC.

Good mix of long open bombs, short and technical fairways. One side of fairway forgiving, the other side may not be. Lost one disc into heavily wooded and deep brush.

Grass tee pads. Some tee markers hard to find as this course is new and there are no maps on each tee.

When mowed this is a fun course. Shows lots of promise. When not cut, it can be frustrating finding discs. Looking forward to playing more frequently as it is close to my home.