Pros:
This is an absolute beauty of a course. I had to play it since I live close and have heard a lot of hype. The park has gotten a ton of attention to detail, landscaping, and upkeep. You will be inspired by the creative and detailed landscaping. Use of elevation is nice.
Cons:
I think maybe the hype might have made me overly anxious for the course, and then it just never seemed to live up to what I had envisioned in my mind. It is fairly popular and easily accessible which brings crowds, a con in my book. Pay to play has two trains of thought in my book. One, it keeps out the morons. But two, I expect that much more attention to detail like all the landscaping, pavers, retaining walls, etc. The money spent at a popular course should yield these impressive results without question. The water only slightly threatens your play. The risky greens are there with the elevated and terraced areas, but they are gimmicky, not true natural features. Overall, lack of tight and narrow woods subtracts from true balance of play.
Other Thoughts:
To rate a course a 5, i personally think it needs more than 18 holes (or an accompanying course like the Highbridge complex). Only after playing more than 18 top notch holes with all the variety and challenge I seek, do I feel fully satifsfied. To rate a 4.5 I feel a course needs long downhill ripper holes, true risky water hazards that you are very likely to land in, tight woods, and great balance of left, right, uphill, downhill, and OB. Bryant lake falls short, lacking truly tight woods and obvious water hazards. I guess I just didn't get 'the feeling' on the course. I kept seeing all the beautiful structures and details around me, but never was really blown away. Still a super sound course and worth the trip and price to play.
UPDATE: Since shifting my BRP rating, I have to move this one as well. BRP is better than Bryant Lake.