Pros:
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.
Cons:
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.
Other Thoughts:
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.