18 hole course located in Minneapolis, MN

Concrete tee pads, with two on nearly every hole. Long, grippy, just about as perfect as can be.

Discatcher baskets, all in near perfect repair. Most holes have two permanent pins, with the shorts in yellow and the longs in blue. Pretty great.

Excellent tee signs at each hole, with distance and hole layout and par. Also, bag holders as well. A very nice touch. Navigation was pretty darn simple.

I can't imagine a scenario where a course could be any better manicured. Perfect mowing, built up tees and pin positions, stone paver paths...it's a sight to behold.

While this isn't the toughest course in the world, it's damn fun. Good variation in distance, lots of rolling hills and elevation, and a pretty large selection of shots. There's a hint of openness to the course, but it's designed well enough that you don't ever feel like it's an open course. The top of the world shot on hole 17 is fantastic, as well....one of the best I've played.

Speaking of sights to behold, the views here are pretty stunning. Looking out over Lake Bryant from on top of the hill is probably a top 5 scenic view in my disc golf experiences. I don't often stop to click pictures of the scenery on a course, but I definitely did here.

There's not much to bad here. P2P ($5) isn't everybody's cup of tea, but with amenities like this, it's really hard to complain about it.

LOTS of traffic here during peak hours. We were here on a beautiful Saturday afternoon, and we paid the price. I'd assume it's not as bad during weekdays. This is a popular course, and for good reason.

As mentioned above, there's a fair amount of holes that are relatively open. Fortunately, most of those have some sort of elevation involved, and they're relatively well spaced out on the course. The prairie grass on these holes can eat some discs, though...especially on windy days.

Simply put, this is a fantastic course in a fantastic area for disc golf. If I get back to this area, I will definitely be back again. If YOU get to this area, you're doing yourself a major disservice by not playing it.

-Very well maintained
-Golfers respect the course and it shows
-Garbage cans, benches, brooms, bag hangers, & detailed signs at every hole
-Very long, level tee pads
-Well marked navigation from hole to hole
-Good mix of short and long, left and right fades
-Good use of elevation changes throughout
-Bathroom accessibility near several holes

-There isn't much in the way of heavily wooded holes
-Moderate difficulty at most

First off, this is a wonderful course. Three River Park District impeccably maintains the grounds and course. Because of this care, the disc golfers respect the course and don't trash it. Every single hole has a garbage can, recycling can, bench, bag holder, detailed sign with map, and broom to sweep off the tee pad. Many holes also have those smoker things to put used cigarettes in. Because of all these efforts the course is remarkably clean with almost no trash anywhere it shouldn't be. The grass is kept nicely mowed and an areas that could be prone to erosion are maintained nicely with wood chips.

The hole design for the most part is a nice mix between straight, left and right fades. There are also nice elevation changes on many holes. You will have to employ multiple throwing styles and or release angles. That being said, the course isn't overly wooded and you really won't be punished too much for straying from the fairway. There isn't a hole on the course that I would consider a wooded hole, as none of them go through the forest. Generally speaking, if a hole is wooded it only is near the basket and/or tee pad but not the length of the hole. The course is not overly difficult by any stretch. Advanced players may not find the course to be challenging enough, but it is a perfect course for beginners and intermediate players. Advanced players may want to visit a place like Kaposia instead.

There is some very nice scenery of Bryant Lake and the park as a whole throughout the course. Wind can become an issue on the later, higher holes. Hole 17 is one where you should empty your bag if you can. You throw from the top of a cliff across the road and parking lot to the basket over 500' away. Crosswinds can wreak havoc on your throw if the wind is blowing that day.

All in all, this is an excellent course and the only thing preventing me from giving a full 5 star rating is the overall lack of challenge, mostly because of a lack of true wooded holes. This is a course that you should be sure to visit at least once, as it is easily one of the top 5 in the state.

This course is flat out awesome. The landscaping is very nice. Everything was super clean on the course and the tee pads. Loved everything about this place so played it twice. Shot 2 over 2nd time around.

The only con of this place was the restroom by hole #1. It stunk horribly lol. Would be nice if it was pumped out.

-impeccably maintained
-landscaped professionally
-highlights what a parks dept. can do with a course with some money
-Great mix of shots with real disc golf holes
-Pay 2 play
-no dogs

Can be busy, but thats not a bad thing for a pay 2 play.

Bryant Lake really set the bar for the Minneapolis area when it was remodeled a few years back. This place makes the parks dept. so much money it is ridiculous. A good score here is 48 or less as most of the holes you should be able to get. I love this course.

-Teepads are concrete and great
-Bag Holders are nice and strong
-Waste and butt containers
-Nice Score cards and course map
-Scenery and the view are amazing throughout the course
-Elevation changes were stupid fun. Hole 17 is a great example of that, but there are others.
-Course was clean
-Markers and signage was excellent.
-All the greens were great and perfectly maintained.

There were a few small things that really came down to projects unfinished. So I don't want to call them complete cons because its nice they are making changes and adding great new ways to make it look and play great. There were wood chip huge piles and not raked smooth, there were sections of grass they were trying to get to grow back etc etc.
I also feel the course if very forehand friendly, which I am not good at. Not to say its required or anything, just my opinion.

While playing it once and being newer to the sport I can't speak too much on the technical aspects of the course. While I found it to be very challenging the entire way through I bet more skilled players could add more comments to that part.

What I loved was how great the course was maintained, groomed and all the work into the landscaping. Little things like rock paths and retaining walls were just so great. Lots of nice steps and paths. Following it was very easy.

You can tell playing this course a lot of care and thought went into planning it and its design. You can tell the difference between this and other courses immediately when you get to the first hole.

This is certainly (if not the) one of the best courses I've ever had the chance to play.

Upkept very well, everything is in great condition, lots of trash containers and recycling, and even places to hang your disc bag, easy to navigate, nice tee pads and baskets. Not very crowded during a weekday

All shots are straight ahead, not super challenging, still a very nice course.

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!

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.

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.

Excellent condition. Large tee pads. Clear signage at the tee and also after the baskets. Fairways apear to be groomed regularly and every green is mulched. Trash cans and ash trays at every tee along with benches and bag holders.

The course provided a good challenge: there were many long shots as well as several technical situations. Overall this course was planned very well. I would easily pay $5 again - if I lived closer I would definitely have a season pass.

Groomed fairways, difficult rough, challenging elevation, trees, excellent tee pads, trash cans, recycling, benches and bag hangers at each hole. Simply put it's gorgeous

None that I could find. If this is what $5/round gets us every park should start charging.

Bryant Lake is a phenomenal course. The course features multiple pads with that even have bag holders. The hole descriptors were helpful and accurate for a first-time player on the course. The holes themselves (there are a few holes with multiple baskets) are surrounded by mulch. There are clear signs to where the next tees are and easy to navigate. The holes themselves offer a great deal of variety and length.

Pay to play ($5 or $35 for a seasonal pass)

The course was well worth the money spent to play the course.

This is one of the best maintained courses I have played. There are clean benches, trash cans, recycle cans and bag holders at every tee pad. Multiple pads and baskets at all holes except for 13 which is only 167 feet. Navigation is pretty intuitive, I had no problems finding the next tee. All of the locals I ran into were very friendly and helpfull. The tee pads are the trapezoidal shaped and varied in length depending on the length of the hole, very nice touch. The baskets were all in very good shape and it was helpful that the shorts are the Innova baskets with the yellow band to guide you to the longs. The longs are generally tucked into trees or other nooks and harder to see. The landscaping was spectacular with well maintained steps everywhere. I particularly enjoyed the terraced holes and 16 with the basket on top of the large rock. There are well defined lines on all holes and with both multiple tees and basket you can add what ever difficulty you like. If you like elevation change this is the place for you! 17 probably being the signature hole for this course. If you normally pull a wheeled cart you may not want it here. With the tall grass in the rough on 17 you probably want a spotter for your drive otherwise you may be looking for a while. Water comes into play on 14 but is easily avoided with a lay up and par is still attainable with a good upshot.

The only thing missing is a pretty girl driving the drink cart.

While the difficulty level is not as high as it could be there is enough challenge available for even the top players. While I am not a fan of the high grass in the "rough" it fits very well in the design here. This is jewel of a course and one you need to play if you are in the twin cities area, well worth the $5.00 charge. I will have this course on my play list next time I visit.

I was impressed with the whole course. Bag trees were nice to see. Seats at every Tee boxes. Signs, lots of signs, the were in great shape. Tee boxes are so nice and wide. Some holes had two basket and they were in great shape. The areas around the baskets were really nice. Overall the course was maintain very well.

The only two cons for me. Are both safety issues. First on Hole #17 is throwing over the road. Second is going down the stairs on Hole #17.

The $5.00 was good money spend. The shop by the lake was nice. I will play again.

The thing that really sticks in my mind about this place is how nice this place looks. Every green had a soft layer of shredded cedar mulch on them. The tees had garbage cans, recycle bins, and benches, signs, and bag holders. All fairways well mowed and the rough trimmed out. Thank you!

The course reminds me somewhat of the Hiestand course I had played in Madison, WI a couple days prior. The fairways are fairly wide and well- defined - it's when you hit the rough edges that can mess with your score. There are not many holes in which you find a lot of trees "in" the fairway. Often times the fairway trees affect either the drive or the approach, but usually just one or the other.

Dual pins (both permanent in the ground) give you options. The Innova yellow bands on the short pins help you home in on the long pins which are less visible.

Just as Hiestand in Madison, there was a glut of right turning fairways (about half), which was a bit repetitive.

I joined a group of singles that were gathering on the first tee. I'm glad we did - good company and one of the guys got an ace on hole #11! Much better than playing through all day (crowded on a Saturday - we had to wait to tee on nearly every hole).

Extremely well groomed
Great amenities
Bench on every hole
Some difficulty
Awesome signature holes

Fairly easy, mostly straight shots
No pets
Busy

Must play course in the Twin Cities. It is 5$ to play, but this is one of the only courses that I have seen the money actually be put back into the course. A season pass is 35, and it is good at two other courses.

> 18 holes with a ton of variance between each
> Tons of elevation, including a huge downhill shot on 17
> Plenty of shot shaping required
> Solid mix of long and short holes
> Great upkeep, solid tee-pads with a bench and bag holders nearby every time
> Great direction to each hole from the previous basket

Minor pros:
> Scenery/view from certain holes is amazing
> Close to the cities, as well as several other DGCs

> Seems to be slightly imbalanced in regards to difficulty (I'll elaborate later)

Minor cons:
> Can get very busy, probably due to location and quality of the course

You'll hear a lot of people talking about Blue Ribbon Pines DGC in MN, but honestly I like Bryant Lake Park just a bit more. First of all, the upkeep is absolutely phenomenal, and it feels like a high quality course throughout all 18 holes. Garbage and recycling bins can be found at the start of every hole, along with a bench, bag holders, and a sturdy tee pad.

My one issue with this course is that there are a few holes right around 200-250 ft, that are pretty hard to bogey unless you have a bad putt. Which is fine, but you then also have holes like 17 that can test your driving strength and accuracy. I prefer a course to have a consistent difficulty, but BLP just has too many holes that are too easy.

Regardless, that's a minor flaw in an otherwise near perfect course. And although there are easy holes, be prepared for uphill shots, water hazards, and some heavy woods that will claim a disc thrown off-course. There are multiple tees and baskets for those who want a more casual play-through.

For me personally, this course shines on holes 1 - 7, as well as 15 - 18, but everything in-between will definitely keep you interested as well.

Here's a few things to keep in mind:
> There are three parking lots, but one of them puts you in the path of huge downhill shot on 17.
> There is no pro shop here, but you can buy discs from the Super America gas station on shady oak road, just a minute or so from the course
> Scorecards with maps, and pencils are usually available by the bulletin board before Hole 1
> Costs $5 to play, but you can get an annual pass for $30 or $35 that gives you access to Bryant Lake, Elm Creek, and Hyland (which unfortunately is closed for 2014). They usually let you use an old day pass towards your annual pass as well.

All holes are well maintained and easy to follow. The difficulty is intermediate or higher, but can still be a fun course for beginners (if playing short tees.) The long tee for 17, enough said for that! Each hole has bag holders, benches, and garbage and recycling bins.

None that I can really think of. I am sure if I looked hard enough I could find a few.

If you have not played this course, I highly recommend you do so. It is worth the $5 day pass. Or if you live close, $30 for the yearly, which includes Hyland Ski and Snowboard and Elm Creek. Also fun courses.

Layout is excellent. Signage is excellent. Facilities are excellent. Good challenge for all levels of play. With two baskets and two tees, you can play a different game everytime you play. Beautiful views for most of the course. Clean!!! The course offers a variety of elevations and open and wooded ares. 17 is by far one of the most fun with a huge downhill shot.

Cost five bucks. (Not really a con when you think about where the money goes)

This is an absolutely outstanding course. I will play again and again (at least untill I go broke).

-Great tees, both short and long on almost every hole
-Multiple pin positions on many holes, allows for up to 4 different ways to play some of the holes to mix up the course
-Immaculate fairways, always mowed and kept clean
-Rough is not super long prairie grass, it is only knee high on most holes, allowing for easy disc retrieval if you have a decent line on where you went in
-long enough for pros to have a challenge playing everything par 3, but short enough that course par is friendly to beginner and intermediate players as well
-the park has made very good use of the pay to play money, doing upgrades every year...check out this link to see what it used to look like http://www.playdg.com/courses...;c=bryantlake
- Bag holders, trash, and recycling on every hole keeps the course clean
- Maps of every hole so you know where to throw if it is your first time, along with posted signs pointing you to the next tee
-either open enough or multiple throwing lines on most holes, friendly to lefties and righties or backhands and forehands, allows you to work on your weak shots or play to your strengths depending what you are in the mood to do
- good use of elevation changes without being too harsh
-Immaculate woodchip greens on every hole
- sand traps and out of bounds penalty areas are posted
-Most holes separated enough to not be in risk of conflict with other players, hole 10 &11 being the only slight exception
-Course is separated from the rest of the park, so no interference from non-players
-Nice swimming beach to cool off after your round, along with canoe, kayak, paddle board, and paddle boat rentals available
-Hole 17 is a top of the world shot that can be either extremely frustrating or extremely gratifying, but fun and memorable every time you throw from up there

-Hole 10 is blind downhill and the tee for 11 is near enough that a shanked throw could end up by the tee or hit someone
-Some would say pay to play is a con, but $5 is worth the day or a season pass for $35 is more than fair if you are from the area, and the park uses the money well

I am biased as this is my home course, but I believe Bryant is the best course in the metro. Relatively quick play for an 18 hole course, and there are other attractions in the area. Definitely worth your time if you can play it.

+ This course is incredibly well kept up and beautiful, well worth the $5 fee
+ Great use of elevation
+ Wide variety of shots required
+ Love that both baskets are in place all the time
+ Trash cans, benches, bag hangers galore.
+ Tee signs well done and very clear signs pointing you to the next basket
+ Tee pads in great shape
+ Overall, course flow is well done
+ Fairways are well defined and rough is typical for the area, thick but you can get in their a usually find your disc.
+ Hole 17 is epic, a couple others are very scenic as well

- Overall challenge could be better, I've played this course three times over the last three summers and am pretty much guaranteed to shoot under par (playing par 55) in the long pin positions. The course par is a bit of a joke, I think I was -11 according to the posted par, I would recommend playing everything except 8 long as a par 3.
- Pin positions are static, wish they had more.

I play Bryant Lake Park every summer on my annual trip to visit the in-laws. It's an incredibly well cared for course, it's been a unique experience for me, it's the closest experience to the country club atmosphere of ball golf that I've had. If they added alternate pin positions that increased the challenge a little, I'd rate this course a 5, there would be nothing I could find wrong with it.

Immaculate upkeep, thought out and challenging holes, multiple hole layouts for almost all holes that allows it to change from day to day, second to last hole is throwing basically off of a cliff and it's awesome to see the disc soar through the air

not many

very well put together with a variety of holes