Bryant Lake Park (Eden Prairie, MN)

Photos and commentary below are for the third match in three weeks between the rejuvenated Mark Ehling and myself at Eden Prairie’s pay course at Bryant Lake Park (BLP).

From what we can tell, it is free during weekdays and early weekend mornings, and the standard $3 round / $5 day on weekends.

Mark had played outstanding in our first two matches there in June, while I turned in some dismal performances: 59 to 67 and 59 to 72.

Last week's match (July 3rd) at Bryant Lake Park was a minor classic though.

Conditions:
Temp: high 70s
Wind: minimal
Bugs: nil

My gesture in the below photograph, of course, refers to the hole number, not some delusional sense of self regarding my OJDGR (Official Jag Disc Golf Ranking).



Note: By the way, I will be posting the First Installment of the OJDGR data, culled from the best available information, including Jag posts provided on this site.

While most of the holes at BLP are out of the woods, they are mostly all bordered by woods (unlike say, the pay course in Madison, I forget the name).

The course is listed as Par 60 from the pro tees, though this is very generous (12 3’s and 6 4’s). I would say it is more of a true 56 or 57 tops.

Hole one is a straight shot of 398 feet – though Mark has crossed over two fairways to the right on his drive here. Today we both made par 3 (which is a birdie according to the scorecard, but it's a par 3).




Hole two is a one of the many anhyzer holes at BLP – 305 feet out, though the anhyzer is only very slight on this one.




Mark double-bogeyed this hole to stake me to a 2-stroke lead, probably my biggest lead against him since Madison, as he’s been on a rampage.

Hole 3 is short (246) but a bit tricky – you can either try a long drive with an anhzyer tail or try to sneak through the patch of trees just 30-40 feet at the right. We’ve both done that successfully.




You can get a better view of the gap here. Also, don’t be fooled by Ehling’s Lew Ford Twins jersey. This guy isn’t a scrappy player anymore – he can deliver some real bombs (see Hole 5 below).




Mark bogeyed Hole 3 while I made par again, so now Senior Jag is up 3 strokes on Minneapolis’ lauded new filmmaker (seriously everyone, Mark’s debut film “How To Live Better” is pure cinematic perfection).

Hole 4 is listed at 261, though I think it’s quite a bit shorter – the pin is tucked away between the trees between the two paths.




The hole is noteworthy only if you go right on your drive, then you end up in ‘jail’ below the basket like I did on mine. (I clanked my birdie putt from here):




Hole 5, at 432 feet, is the 4th longest on the course, and is listed as a par 4, though it’s really a 3.4, so I’d round it down to 3. The pin is across the green field, and tucked between the second patch of big trees way down yonder.




Mark BOOMED his drive – which we both reckon was the longest of his life. The disc actually ended up about 20 feet past the pin.




Unfortunately, Mark missed his (birdie, technically eagle) putt, and we both made 3s.

Hole 6 is an uphill, anhyzer hole that’s pretty short (232). The hole is reachable in theory, but if you put too much anhyzer on it, you’ll be in a bunch of trees on the right. If you end up on the left, you face a Cliff of Death. (There are about 4 holes with Cliffs of Death on this course). Basically, you could roll 100+ feet down to the lake.




We both got 3s, so 1/3 of the way through the round I’m at Even and Mark is +3 (counting par 3s).

Here’s a lovely view from the teebox at 7, though in the opposite direction of the pin.



The pin at 7 is 416 feet away, with a Cliff of Death on the left, and placed on the top of the ‘pyramid’ way in the distance. The crappy green anti-erosion matt on the near fairway is super slick, and I have wiped out twice on this so far this year (including on this round, leading to a 6).



Here is a view from the base of the ‘pyramid’ – Mark got up and in in 3 strokes. I had a triple 6 (though listed as par 4). Thus endeth my lead.




Hole 8 is a doozy that has given both of us fits, particularly Mark. This is one of many holes with blind drives. In fact, frequently our second shot on this hole (listed as par 4, 487 feet), is also blind.




Due to the blindness of the shots, combined with the hills, the rough and trees on the right, and the woods and steep drop on the left, we often have to spend 5+ minutes searching for our drives on this hole. We both got 5s on this occasion.

Hole 9 is one of the few boring holes – 309 feet and pretty much a straight shot out at the top of the hill.




I bogeyed it, so, after 9 holes it was Ehling 32, Eric 33.

Hole 10 starts things off with a very fun hyzer downhill, at just 301 feet, so it is very reachable.




The back 9 has 3 true birdie holes, and I finally landed one on this Hole 10 with a 30+ foot putt with my (still very rough) ‘pro’ putting stroke. (Do I look happy?).



(Yes, I've got a boo-boo on my elbow. Not a disc-golf injury, though).

Hole 11 is another birdie hole. While listed at 277, and it seems short enough (also downhill), Mark and I have never reached the pin on our drives (the pin is straight ahead, down the hill).



Hole 12 is probably the most difficult holes in the 300-399 feet range on the course: THICK woods on the left, and a couple well-placed trees directly on the fairway.



Mark bogeyed the hole, which put me up one…a lead that would hold going down to the wire at Hole 18 (foreshadowing…).

Hole 13 is a pesky, pesky 177-foot anyzher, downhill hole. I believe neither Mark nor myself has birdied the hole to date, and I know I’ve bogeyed and doubled it. It is very tempting to anhyzer the drive, but there is zero room for error, as there is thick woods to the right, short of the pin. So, you’re best off just throwing straight or even tailing left, and landing 30-50 feet away for a long putt.




Hole 14 is a 352-foot, not too remarkable hole, although there is a swamp on the left if you shank it, and pretty thick woods on the right as well.




At this point you have to walk about 2 minutes to get to the “back 4” holes which are in a different section of the park.

Hole 15 is an easy par 3 (that we rarely birdie) at 235 feet, though uphill. The pin is basically straight past the trees in the center of the (gravel) fairway.



Hole 16 is a very fun hyzer hole (214 feet). However, if you release late, and end up in the woods on the right – good luck, as it’s another Cliff of Death. Just follow the gravel path…



…and you will end up by “The Rock.” Here you see my drive and Mark’s 2nd shot. We both ended up with 3s.



Which brings us to the “Granddaddy hole” of BLP – hole 17. The hole Ander would love to make his b*tch. At 542 feet (I think this underestimates the distance), the tee is placed on the top of a cliff, from which you descend 114 steps to the bottom (we counted). The pin is across a road, past the green field in the distance, and up a 3 of 4 ‘platform’ pyramid, similar (though smaller) than Hole 7.



If you should ever jag this drive short in John Deere fashion, you will be in the midst of several trees:



This is listed as Par 4, and we both got 4s. So, heading into hole 18, it’s Eric with a 1-stroke lead over Mark.

Hole 18 is long and uphill (434) and listed as a par 4. One of 2 or 3 legitimate par 4s on the course.



Mark shanked his drive a tad right, though rather far, and I was short but straight. Mark then found Aladdin’s lamp and pulled out the approach of his life, landing just 12 or so feet short of the pin. My second shot was decent, but 50 feet out from the pin, landing on more of that erosion mesh.

It would have been smart for me to go up and in for a 4, forcing a tie and a playoff. But...I went for it, and slipped on the mesh a bit and left myself 20 feet. I ended up with a 5, with Mark still sitting at 2 needing to putt in for victory.

Mark had many false starts with his high-pressure putt, as the wind kicked up just as he was about to release. Eventually, he settled down and scooped it in the basket for a victory-clinching 3.

Final scores:

Mark: 61
Eric: 62

Addendum: We played the course yesterday morning (July 12th) at 8 am as well. Similar story, except we both sucked, tying at 68 in regulation (with Eric again blowing a 1-stroke lead on 18). Mark won on the 3rd playoff hole.

Eric’s record vs. Mark in 2009 thus far (for 18 and 9 hole courses): 2-10 (with Mark winning 10 in a row).