1) Hole 4 is long, up multiple hills (think staircase), and wide open, great hole to open up on.

2) Almost all holes have some sort of elevation change, that combined with mature trees in the middle and thick woods on either side of the fairway add up for a fun, sometimes frustrating challenge.

3) Holes 7 and 8 are tucked away in the back of the woods and are short and sweet, good little Ace runs.

1) Signs are confusing, non-existent, wrong, or some combination thereof. this course was re-designed not to long ago so i understand this fault, but still don't like it.

2) Odd setup, 1 and 12 are across the creek from 2-11, if they were going to do that why didn't they just go for the complete 18? there's plenty of room to expand around the ballfields.

3) Baskets are in rough shape. About half of them are the old cones(shudder) and the other half are old chainstars that are falling apart and let discs fall out.

This course has been vastly improved over the last couple years, but there's still a way to go.

Hansen Park DGC is one of those older courses around that is just begging for a complete makeover. But a makeover seems harder to get done than building a course in the first place so it looks as though you'll have to content with this for a while.
It's not a terrible course. I liked the way they used the little elevation they had. Those holes were fun throws. The short, technical, wooded holes in the middle part of the course were also enjoyable. I always enjoy ACE runs.

The cone baskets suck. They're relics. They're not history. They were never mainstream disc golf. They were never popular. They were weird and strange when they were installed back in the 80's. Some parks department guy who didn't know disc golf from Barbie's Playhouse got sold a white elephant by the Mushroom Disc Golf Target Company.

This is a simple recreational course with two nice downhill throws, some crappy turnip type targets, no signage. But it's playable if you live close. It has some challenge, some enjoyment factor.

1) Asphalt tees are better than the bare turf that would be there.

2) 2 porto pottys visible . . . one by the bridge between 1,12 and the rest of the course and another in the middle of the courses so if you are having an attack of "el Chorro" when you play here you will have easy access to the bathroom 4 times during your round.

3) Nice big park with multiple parking areas, multiple play areas, lots of walking paths, a stream, sports fields, etc etc etc.

4) Baskets are both a positive and a negative because 7 of the holes have the cone style basket, 1 looks to be a homemade mock up of a Mach basket but, and the rest are DGA Mach baskets.

5) Nice elevation comes into play on quite a few holes, some uphill, and some downhill, and some risk reward basket locations because of rollaways.

6) Nice wooded holes in the middle of the course Holes #3, and #6-#10.

7) Nice variety of shots required and a nice variety of foliage density as well as distance variation. This variety on the course is what is keeping its rating where it is.

8) Dual teepads always fun to test your distance shots as well as challenge yourself differently from each tee.

9) A few garbage cans available.

1) Asphalt tees are more slick than concrete normally, especially when wet.

2) Compacted and bare soils visible around most baskets. This is a huge eyesore to those who do not play the game and also draws attention to the environmentalists out there looking to shut our sport down. Mulch will not only look better but it will also cushion the compaction.

3) #1 basket is homemade and has really heavy chain and a different configuration of chains and basket, plus it is installed higher than all the other baskets. Cone baskets are also a detracter, but some disc golf is better than none I guess . . . still worth mentioned.

4) #13 basket was missing completely when I played.

5) Old signs attached to a couple of teepads will confuse many people as the holes are numbered differently. REMOVE THEM PLEASE!

6) No signs or directionals always a negative to the travelling disc golfer.

7) A few fairways crossings that would be an issue in times of a lot of play.

8) A fair amount of garbage in areas on the course.

It looks like they were looking to put a new hole in off the the right of #11, not sure if they plan to make more holes or simply move on of those two holes. It looks like a great moderately wooded downhill hole and would be another asset to the course.

All in all not a bad course. Design and challenge is key to keeping this course rated what it is, because maintenance seems to be lacking and it just looks like an old abused course. The baskets detract from my fun level but maybe I am just a debbie downer. I do suppose those baskets are better than no baskets as it offers another way to approach putting.

I can understand how the old basket are nostalgic for those who have played this sport a long time, but for me a relative newbie, they are just annoying. It presents a different challenge and I will not skip a course because it has those baskets but I doubt it would bring me back over and over unless it was a top notch course other than the baskets.

12 good holes, good mix of length and technical. Good use of elevation.

Kind of a weird layout, you play hole 1 then walk across hole 12 to get to 2-11, then come back and play 12. If you didn't know what you were doing it would be really easy to think it was just 2 holes.

Cones. Nuff said. These things suck, and Hansen has like 6 of them. Some of the locals really love them. I hate them with a firey passion.

This was the first course I ever played. It's pretty good for a learning course, putting on the cones is an exercise in frustration. Worth playing as the hole diversity is pretty good, but not suitable for a real test as the cones are far too fickle to putt on often without trying to slit your wrists with a sharp edged driver.

For the age of the course there are some very interesting holes. There are several holes that are fun to play. Mainly the ones dealing the one major hill on the property. The back to back up and down holes on the course are the two best on the entire course and are really well done. The course also make interesting use of mandos. Though the mandos are so easy that it is almost impossible to miss them. The course has both left and right break holes. The distance is not overly challenging on any of the holes. The tee pads are adequate and are usually asphalt. Some of them could be better maintained.

The con section must start with a discussion of the baskets. First, the saucers baskets are just horrible. I can deal with it being very hard to sink putts with the saucer but the baskets are in such bad shape that there the metal rungs on the actual baskets missing on a lot of the baskets. This leads to putts falling down into the basket and then falling out. In an ideal world, saucer baskets would not exist. The one positive of saucer baskets is that it teaches you to throw your putts harder because if a putt it thrown soft at a saucer basket it will not go in. Even on the holes that have normal baskets the baskets are an issue. The chain baskets are fairly beatup and are either placed way to high or have very narrow baskets and chains. There is almost no signage on the course and it is guessing game on where the next tee and hole is. There is some signage on some of the holes but the signage does not match up to the hole because it is for how the course use to be before the redesign more than 7 years ago. The course is also very swampy on several holes such as 1 and 12. The swampyiness of the course leads to very bad bugs in summer. The course can get very crowded at night but during the day it is almost always empty.

An old course that is in need of some repair. The biggest issue is the baskets. If they replaced all 12 baskets with new ones the course would jump up to three stars.

Hansen is an old school park in a nice neighborhood with a big group of nice cone devoted regulars. Most of the locals play every day and some are quite strong players.

The course has long and short tees on each hole. The quality of the pads is inconsistent, but they are good enough to be an asset rather than a liability.

There is good use of elevation, making for some fun shots. You can really let a few rip up and down the big hill in the middle of the park.

Random doubles league takes place on Weds nights at 5:30 (sun light permitting, it starts earlier in fall) for a few bucks, cash payouts.

Updated: the cones have been drastically improved this spring (4/14/2012). New buckets were fabricated for the UFOs, greatly improving the overall quality of play at the course.

The layout isn't exactly intuitive in a few spots. The walk from hole 9 to 10 takes you around a blind corner directly through the line of fire 50' in front of hole 6's teepad.

It's not a very flashy course. While I don't consider the buckets to be a huge detractor, they don't do anything for me. I get annoyed by them more often than I find myself thinking "Yeah, everyone should get these!". I generally do a pitch/apex type putt where the disc descends into the chains and drops into the basket. This style doesn't work very well on some of the the cones. You are almost forced to putt low, flat, and hard because there is so little clearance between the bucket and the outer edge of the cone. (update: the clearance between the cone and cage on the new and improved baskets is larger and has alleviated this problem for me considerably).

There is a no smoking rule posted on a bunch of signs in the park. Though I've never seen it enforced, you could probably get a ticket for smoking cigarettes.

Hansen is a weird oasis for a certain type of disc golfer. The cones scare off a lot of people. Those who play there are generally happy to be there and be playing their relaxed brand of disc golf. It's like the local bar. Almost everyone you see goes there on the regular, lives close by, and they love it for it's chill atmosphere.

It's a fun 12 hole, but it's not worth going out of your way.

If you consider playing the league, it's recommended you practice there first. Those guys can putt on some cones like you wouldn't believe and shoot very good scores.

- Very good use of the land
- Well-manicured
- Woods and Hills
- Fairways are fun

- Horrible baskets. Coned baskets are inconsistent in the gap between cone and basket. The newer baskets have the same issue.
- Tee pads not very good
- Not easy to navigate first time through
- There are only 2-3 holes most people couldn't deuce consistently.

It's for the most part a pitch-n-putt course. There are some good hole designs. The available land didn't allow the designer to get enough space I believe, to really make a good twelve hole. The installation of the baskets is a big part of any course and they get a giant FAIL for that.
Basically if you live in the area play it, its interesting. If you don't then don't waste your time. There are so many more courses worth playing minutes away. For those of you playing, cross the bridge for the other holes.

Hansen offers a decent variety of holes for both the beginner and advanced ranging from narrow to open fairways, elevation change, length variation, and difficult cone baskets that will help anyone hone their putting skills.

Long and short tee boxes on all holes but the 7th.

Picnic tables, trash cans and portable restrooms.

Very little litter on course.

It is difficult to lose a disc as most of the understory vegetation on most holes is sparse. Some exceptions to beware of are the woods on hole 1, woods on hole 3, and tall grasses on hole 12, which are OB.

A very quiet course to play on weekends and early part of the day midweek.

No water hazards except for the creek which is mostly out of play.

Basket type is an inconsistent mix of cones and newer chained baskets, but this adds to the unique nature of the course. Many cone baskets, though, have been refurbished and wire baskets replaced with newer ones that don't let discs fall through any more.

First timers may have a difficult time navigating the course for the first time as plans for new signage are currently underway.

After a heavy rain event holes 1 and 12 can become soggy in low areas as well as standing water at the base of the hill on hole 5.

Late afternoons and evenings the course becomes crowded. Wednesdays are league nights.

With some better signage, further maintenance on the existing baskets, and perhaps the addition of a couple holes down the road to add to the course's diversity Hansen will become a more attractive choice of play to disc golfers in the area. I would definitely recommend this course to others who want to play something different.

The local group Friends of Hansen Park have been committed to the constant improvement of the course through annual donations to the city, volunteer labor on the course, and working with the Parks and Recreation Department of New Brighton. On July 27, 2012, new concrete tee pads were poured. As of today, August 4, 2012 some block walls have been built to prevent washout around the new tees and a couple more yet to be built. Similar to the Lakewood Hills course in White Bear Lake a modular system of plastic cells infilled with crushed granite will ultimately surround the new tees. At some point as funds and planning align, new signage and more holes will be installed.

-Great variety of holes (long, short, open, tightly wooded, elevation)
-Long holes (five of twelve from the tee boxes are roughly 400 feet, but still deucable by the big guns)
-Multiple tee boxes (long and short boxes on every hole except hole 7).
UPDATE: Concrete tee pads installed July 27, 2012!!!!
-Cone holes (love them or hate them, many people would put this in the "Con" section. The cones are nostalgic and represent the early years of disc golf. Cones a con??? not on this review!!). The locals are trying to acquire five additional cones to replace the chains.
UPDATE: Existing cones were refurbished with new cages.
-Very well maintained (grass is mowed regularly, and there is not a piece of trash in sight, very few cig butts)
-Good overall flow to the course (if you haven't played it, print off a map from the files section!)
-Portable restrooms (2) available
-Safe tee box and pin placement (rarely hear anyone yelling "fore"!)
-No chance of losing a disc (unless you severely shank a drive on hole 1 or 2)

-Signage out of date (This course has seen several changes in its 30 years in the ground. New signage on the way in 2012)
-No par-4 type holes. Every hole can be deuced by skilled golfers.
-Can be busy during the week (During weekends, you may have the course to yourself. And as a previous reviewer noted, it is a testament towards the love of old school designs and baskets!)
-Long stinging nettles on hole 12 (they are OB, so best to stay out!)

This course is set in a residential neighborhood-PLEASE RESPECT IT AND THE NEIGHBORHOOD (the course was nearly pulled out of the ground in 2006). Please don't litter.
CIGARETTE BUTTS ARE LITTER.
Watch the LANGUAGE (remember, its only disc golf, not life and death!!). In parts of the course, players are in people's back yards where children are playing.
It has been in the ground since the early 80's and has an old-school feel to it.
Many people simply hate the cone hole, and for good reason. The sweet spot is about as big as a mailbox slot. I personally love the cones...they are a great "equalizer"...and they make you a better putter.
This course is fun for both beginners and experienced players. I've seen several changes in recent years and things are looking better all the time. The City has been refurbishing the cones there are plans in the works for other updates (signage, shelter area, etc)
In my opinion, this is the best course under 18 holes in the Twin Cities.
Side note from a previous reviewer comment: I've played 1000+ rounds on this course in the past 12 years and I've never seen or heard of a car break-in or other crime.

Variety of holes and shots needed to play this course

Really bad bugs, Flooded holes, standing water. Easy to lose a disc. Parking near soft ball fields, cars get hit with foul balls all the time. Near a high crime area in New Brighton, cars occasionally get broken in to.

Not a course for beginners. If you can stand all the bugs and crime, not a bad course, but I'd recommend passing on this one. Acorn park isn't too far away!

This is one of Chuck Kennedy's first courses; may have been his very first.
Attempts have been made to keep this course somewhat up to date; over the years.
I personally, think the cone baskets are a national treasure for our sport. Playing here is like playing at baseball park before they tear it down to make room for a modern stadium. Tell me you wouldn't have wanted to see some of the old ball parks before they were torn down....
Decent use of elevation and rollaway pins.
Chuck loves his super class disc; and I think this is a course that reflects this.

Somewhat difficult navigation.
Varied basket types; some of which do not catch well.
Short length.
Course pretty crowded on my two visits. (For all the legitimate cons to this course, I think this is a testament towards love of old school designs and the fact that rec players have a need for shorter courses.)

Hansen Park is worth a nostalgic visit. It is a fun course to play as well. The skill level needed here is low; but not horrendously so. Play one or more tough courses in the area; and use this one as a "blast to the past"/chance to score well, if you can sink those cone basket putts...

-nice rolling hill that comes into play a few holes
-get to air it out on some holes, but still get to test your technicallity through some woods
-long and short tees
-stupid cone baskets make it more challenging

-tucked away very well within New Brighton, was tough to find.
-several types of baskets
-cone baskets mean you have to putt straight at the center of it or it will ricochet off sideways. Soft floppy putter would help considerably.
-no signage, the flow is awkward
-old asphalt tees on some, dirt tees on others
-long and short tees make it hard to know where to tee off for the correct order of play
-tees are kind of marked with what hole you're playing, but not too well
-backyards and walking path become obstacles
-random patch of tall weeds on the last hole by the baseball field

-to the guy who said there could be more holes and the course could be longer: No. Not at all. There are already 12 squeezed into a small place with bad flow and almost-crossing fairways. there's no room for more holes

- Excellent use of elevation. Fun downhill holes (Nos. 5 and, to a lesser extent, 11) and somewhat challenging uphill holes (Nos. 4 and 10).

- The open and wooded areas compliment each other well. Like Acorn, every hole has a different look and feel than its predecessor.

- The magic cone baskets that were damaged are now repaired.

- Concrete tee-pads.

- With the exception of No. 3 (a 180 ft. left hook through a small patch of trees) and a blind-shot hole (No. 7), all of your drives are straight and open.

- Even with wooded areas, the scattered trees aren't much of a hazard. Hanson is a pretty course, but shot-makers won't be too impressed.

- Three different types of pins (chainstars, old knockoff chainstars, and the solid cones).

- Two holes were removed about a year ago, maybe longer. I don't know if it was because of residents' complaints, but it wouldn't surprise me. Either way, the City of New Brighton has butted heads with the course regulars over this and other issues.

- Hanson proper may be well-groomed, but areas of the course seemed neglected through out most of the year. Problems with damaged baskets were rampant this summer. Again, however, all equipment (no matter how mismatched or antiquated) is repaired.

- As for the infamous cone baskets, I'm ambivalent. I agree that the smaller entry-zone is a nice putting challenge. But I also think they're cheap pieces of crap that take away from the course's consistency.

- Hanson is worth checking out for its uniqueness, but there's still miles to improve upon.

the distances between holes is good and there are hills which makes it fun to mix up your stratagey.

where the hell are all the chain baskets? instead they have these goofy looking space ship baskets.

it looks like some people have been vandalizing the baskets

Many elevation changes. Wide variety of distances. Good mix of open and wooded. No one hole slightly resembles another hole. Great for beginners due to the many wide open holes. Grass is mowed on a very regular basis. Cleaner than most courses as far as litter goes.

A little on the busy side. Many baskets are in poor shape. The course when through a major remodel a few years ago, and a few of the old numbers are still around, which can confuse first-timers to the course.

The ancient green "top" baskets are not that bad. Yes they are in bad shape, but use some common sense. If your disc lands inside and it falls through the bottom because the wires are 11 inches apart, it counts as in. And as far as putting through the "mailbox slot" opening, it only makes you a better putter. Without the difficult putts, this course would be ten times easier, so the old baskets are just keeping the course at the proper difficulty level.

This is one of the only public courses where it IS legal to drink beer.

There are some holes 300'+ allowing most players to drive hard, but there are also a number of holes where driving with a mid-range disc is appropriate. There is a good mix of open and wooded trees. There are multiple tee positions on all the holes, and all the tees are asphalt.

For me the use of the "cone" baskets really killed the course for me. I can normally sink most of my 20'-30' putts, but with these baskets I found it essentially impossible. As was mentioned in some of the previous reviews, there was a very small target to hit, and even if you could, half the time your disc would be spit out. A number of the holes were excessively short, making them too easy (hole 3 comes to mind).

There was also a lack of any water hazards on this course, making it pretty low risk (This could be a pro or con).

A fun course with challenging holes! There is a wide variety of holes that you will not get bored playing it a few times. There are a couple of holes with down hill shots that really let you air it out!!!

There is a variety of different types of baskets. Many of which are out of date or are being held together by duct tape. The chained baskets are holding up well, but the solid baskets are not.

There can be at times people walking through the park and with the course going along the path you may need to watch out for pedestrians.

Other then some of the baskets this is a real fun course! It is worth a stop!

Good mixture of shots required to complete the course. Accuracy is required as is are putting skills. 4 of the holes are fairly open so most players can bomb without overthrowing. You will drive with putters and/or midranges several times. Aces are possilbe without being easy. A pretty fun course for a smaller park. The mixture of homeade, cones and Mach baskets make it feel like a walk through course history. Probably would be a good superclass course.

Many holes are pretty short with a pitch and putt feel to them. The last hole has a heavy weedbed near the cup. Avoid it or wear long pants. After finishing Hole 1 you walk across the fairway for the last hole, there is a long teebox for the last hole in the woods so be careful when walking across. The grass can get mushy if there was recent rain, many parts are in low areas. Signage is minimal at best and some baskets are in ill repair.

The northside parking lot is nearest hole 1. Most holes have 2 teeboxes. The locals that play the course are helpful if you are having trouble finding tees. Has an established league.

There is a good assortment of holes that have elevation change, wooded holes, and distance on this course. As an added plus, it has two different kinds of baskets, some regular baskets and the rest are cone shaped baskets. This adds difficulty as shooting at the cones provides a new set of challenges ie you can't focus on a chain to hit.
The layout is constructed well enough that even if you are new to the course, it is pretty simple to find your way through it.
A wide variety of shots are used on different holes, there are no two holes that are alike. The one hole that is short enough for anybody to get an ace is a blind tee shot, so you'd have to get pretty lucky.

The course was in pretty bad shape when I played it. The saucer type holes were missing wires on the bottom of them so they didn't really catch the disc, and some of them were tilted sideways by vandals of some sort. For this reason, I had to rate it 3.5 instead of a 4. If they did a little work on it, it would be a great course.

There are a few holes that require a player to utilize a few different shots.

Mach targets on some holes, cones on others... Where is the consistency???

If you've never played here before, you may find your way on the first 2 holes, but after that, good luck! Tees are not marked well at all...

This course has the potential to be decent but unfortunately needs someone with experience on disc golf courses and what makes them challenginge to give it some TLC.