Pros:
+ Spacious course. Most of the fairways have tons of room to allow for all throwing styles.
+ All holes have accurate tee signs that show the hole layout, pars and distances to the possible pin positions.
+ Tons of opportunities to throw at full power and let it fly.
+ About half of the tee pads are made of curious stone lattices. They are flat, sturdy and wide & long enough for big wind-ups.
+ While it's not my preferred method of directing the player to the next tee, each basket has a brightly colored strip of tape wrapped around a spoke on top pointing the player towards the next hole.
+ Complete and detailed course map at the parking lot.
+ Quiet and mostly secluded playing space.
Cons:
- Too spacious of a course. Most of the fairways have very few trees to present any obstacle challenge.
- I saw litter all over the place, especially during the front 9.
- Overwhelmingly flat. Elevation is limited to raised baskets and the occasional bump or dimple in the terrain.
- Very little to distinguish most of the back nine's holes from one another. They are all open with a peppering of trees and a walking path OB until hole 16.
- About half of the tee pads are just dirt and sand.
- Some holes play ridiculously close to other park structures. Hole 9, for example, has the player throw right past a roller hockey rink.
- Long walk from pin 18 back to the parking lot.
- No proper 'next tee' signs.
- No practice basket or lost disc box that I could find.
Other Thoughts:
My favorite hole here was hole 6 because of its secluded tunnel of pine trees. To my mind, it was the most unique hole as it was the only truly wooded hole on the course. My least favorite hole was hole 10 because of the road to the right. I will always feel uncomfortable throwing that close to moving traffic because of the possibilities, however slight they may be, of an unfortunate gust of wind or a very poorly executed throw causing a disc to result in an unexpected driving hazard.
As for the course as a whole, New Brooklyn Park DGC, good as it is, has some issues.
The challenge in this course lies in its distance, mostly. This course is definitely geared more towards the power players out there. It can feel a bit dull throwing two or three times with nothing to avoid before finally reaching the basket .There are a few technical holes, but what few holes there are that focus on aim and placement do not scratch that itch.
Since the playing area used to be a 9-hole golf course, I will say that New Brooklyn has some unique land features that I've rarely encountered anywhere else. For example, the sandy areas in the back nine that were likely once sand traps for golf balls provide an interesting challenge regarding foot traction that I don't deal with often. On the downside, an area that used to be a ball golf course has to be mostly flat. A disc golf course does not have to have crazy elevation in order to be fun as long as there are other challenges to deal with. But this course is both largely wide open and overwhelmingly flat. It may turn off quite a few players.
A few more notes.
The stone gridwork tee pads are a fun idea and seem to work, but they are installed on just half the holes as of Feb. 18, 2019.
The bright strips of tape on top of the baskets do, indeed, point players towards the next tee, but I didn't find that out until after hole 6. Earlier in my session, I teed off at 7 believing it to be 4 because it was the closest pad to basket 3. Bright-colored next tee signs are better than tape.
Plastic bags, soda bottles, beer cans and other trash has found its way onto the course, too.
Bottom line: New Brooklyn DGC wants you to throw your farthest. Many of its holes give you tons of space to do just that as long as you first check around you to make sure that there is nobody walking along the serpentine paths throughout the park. Forget about hitting trees or navigating steep inclines here. Spend those 18 holes trying to out-throw yourself, and you should have a decent time.