Pros:
-Nature Trail Disc Golf. As far as I know, this is the first ever purposely designed Nature Trail Disc Golf Course in the world where the tee-signs and scorecards have been designed to help connect people with the resource - what a concept.
- Fun Golf. For what we had to work with, the course turned out great. Considering the terrain is fairly wide open, and that it's not overly long, it's pretty challenging. There's lots of OB to keep you honest... and simply put, you have to throw a few golf shots to earn your birds.
- The Swannanoa River Valley. The scenery of the surrounding mountains and valley below are phenomenal. This is what Dave242 talks about when he says "Appalachian Beauty". From one tee-pad, you can see the Blue Ridge Parkway (the most visited unit of the National Park Service) cutting across the shoulder of Mount Mitchell (the highest mountain east of the Mississippi River). Awesome views.
- The Students. We put the course in the ground, and within a few days the students were playing. Now they have a club with more than 30 kids.
Cons:
It's hard to come up with a list of cons for a concept (Nature Trail Disc Golf Courses) you conceived and a course that you designed and installed yourself (with help from some friends)... but, I'm fair, so here goes:
- Fairly Wide Open. There weren't a whole lot of trees on the school's property to work with. We did what we could to make them come into play (because after all, it is a Nature Trail Disc Golf Course and trees are an important part of nature), but still... It's not a Woods Course.
- Long Walks. After Hole 4 there is a 800' walk to the tee-pad for Hole 5 (to get there, walk between the baseball and softball diamonds. Tee 5 is behind home-plate). And then, after Hole 5 there is a semi-long walk to Hole 6's tee (walk to the other side of the driveway and up the hill).
Other Thoughts:
- Keep Your Shirt On. This course is installed at a High School, so keep your shirt on. No smoking, drinking, cursing, etc... Let's keep the course in the ground.
- Course Hours: The course is open during non-school hours. 3:30-Sunset Weekdays. 8:00 - Sunset Weekends. Closed during school and major sporting events.
- My First Course. This is the first course I have ever designed from scratch. I wrote the grant, met with the school staff, coordinated the removal of a mountain of debris, designed the tee-signs and scorecards... and designed and installed the course. Putting courses in the ground is hard work, this experience will definitely change the way I view courses.
- Why Nature Trail Disc Golf? Seeing a trend in families spending more time indoors connected to electronic media, and less time in the great outdoors connected to nature... and seeing a relationship with childhood obesity (1 in 4 kids in NC is overweight /obese)... the Blue Ridge Parkway, the Blue Ridge Parkway Foundation and the Blue Cross and Blue Shield of North Carolina Foundation created a program called Kids in Parks, of which I became the Director. Seeing a need to reach out to the teenage population to try to attract them to the outdoors, I decided to try to build Nature Trail Disc Golf Courses at three of the areas local high schools.
- Shout Outs. I have to give a "Shout Out" to the people who worked with me to make this possible: Buncombe County Parks, Greenways and Recreation Services for giving us the grant funds; James Nichols for helping with the design and installation of the course; Don Johnson and Darin Chaplin of Owen High School for seeing the vision; Asheville Arborists, Landmark Landscapes, GDS Waste Management and the Buncombe County Landfill for helping dispose of the mountain of debris at no cost to the project; my boss for letting me explore this new concept in outdoor recreation; my girlfriend for putting up with it; and everyone else who volunteered time: Nate Kellar, Kevin Vinez, Thom Williams, Paul Smith, Brett Moore, Mike Rush, Lee Reading, Craig Fender, JohnThelen, Don Wallace, and Alan Ward.
- On a side note, if anyone wants to convert their course into a NTDGC, please contact me... I'd love to be involved.