This Should Be A Concern

[disctildeath]

Gotta wonder if the parks department tends to overlook the softball players because they're paying to be there, and they are on a schedule. The park knows when they'll be there and when they'll be done and can send a crew in to clean up right afterwards and make it look like they weren't there. In other words, it might be a "problem" but it's one that can be contained and taken care of relatively easily.

On the other hand, disc golfers are playing every day, all day, and aside from occasional tournaments which require a permit and use fee, there's no money coming to the park from the disc golfers. From that perspective, I can see where the parks department might target the disc golfers as a "problem" while overlooking similar behaviors from softball players or other park users.

Interesting point. I believe promoting discreetness is the key (I mean those innova coosies don't cost much and people can be trained to carry out trash). The club I'm a part of helped develop and build teepads for the course in Morganton, and while it is technically no alcohol, we have an understanding that if it doesn't become an issue, it won't be made one, since we have given quite a bit of time and money to help the course (they have also been very generous in allowing us to camp or do night golf whenever we want). Also outright money can influence, the same park hosted a rally for a group of BMW motorcycle enthusiasts (mostly retirees) who come and camp, and they allowed the local brewery to come set up a trailer and sell brews in a park that is technically no alcohol, let's just say that was a nice surprise to come across when we showed up for our weekly round. LOL

 

[Grungedude42]

I'm so glad most of our public parks allow alcohol as a rule. I probably wouldn't drink on the church courses, out of respect of their wishes.

 

[Future_Primitive]

Michigan - $.10 refund on returnables :thmbup:

Sure it sucks to have fork over extra cash when you buy them by the case load, but man does it do wonders for empty cans and bottles lying around.

Was at a tourney and saw the same overstuffed garbage can full of cans and bottles, along with a decent amount of actual trash. But right around the lunch break and old lady with a shopping cart showed up and cleaned house. She went pad to pad checking the trash and pulling out the returnables, about an hour or two later her cart was filled to capacity and the trash cans had room for actual trash again.

Or during League play, always see a couple folks with the stroller/carts carrying their discs and a trash bag. Picking up their own empties and any other misc empties along the way. They almost always have enough returns to cover all their golfing expenses (dues, CTP, Ace Pool, etc...) for the entire evening while the park is cleaner for it.

Granted this doesn't stop the problem from happening, but it does do a pretty darn good job of removing any evidence of what might have taken place earlier. :hfive:

 

[BrotherDave]

Winner of a million internetz. We can post on here telling people to pack in and pack out until we're blue in the face and it isn't going to change a thing. The people that drink and litter on DG courses aren't reading this thread, most of them don't know this site exists.

Personally, I wouldn't care if Johnson St got pulled. The erosion is so bad on that course it could stand to be closed for a year or more. The only realistic way to keep beer cans and bottles from overflowing from trashcans is to build more courses nearby so the super popular course isn't as popular. Either that or have a spy cop on every course but that would be a massive waste of police resources.

People drink. No law is going to change that.

 

[rd.bittle]

A cautionary tale:

A local course recently has seen a dramatic increase in policing due to a perceived alcohol consumption issue. Public intoxication citations have been given out. Worse, the park now has a dedicated officer that shadows our league players, hiding in an out of the way area (with clear lines of sight to much of the park) with binoculars. He swoops in and tickets at the drop of a hat.

Even worse, they're seeing that because this place has no public restrooms, certain wooded areas are used as such (due to alcohol consumption or not). They are cracking down on this as well.

Any sort of increased scrutiny by law enforcement that puts disc golf in the cross hairs is bad business. Be careful of your behavior, keep things discreet and on the DL (or don't do them to begin with) or risk having your course patrolled or pulled.

I guess that's one way the city/county can see a financial return from disc golf.

Seriously if you can't be discreet, go to a course that allows it. And everyone should pick up trash as you play. It don't take that much effort.

 

[dekdo]

Unless the park or owner of the property has explicitly posted against alcohol, the real issue is the litter.

Trashy people do trashy things. As a player, the best thing you can do is set the example. Toss a couple trash bags in your DG bag, and when you see cans, pick them up.

Also, post this at the course...and mean it:

I couldn't agree more. Some people are way to sensitive about the whole drinking thing.
Not to mention most people are uneducated and also far too sensitive on the whole "smoking" thing.

 

[thrembo]

They recently banned alcohol at alot of my counties parks, including the one with a disc golf course (NPC), but not from the actions of disc golfers. They are trying to get the homeless to not hang out/live at the public parks, and drink all day/night. Bad for tourism, or something.

Enforcement at the dg course seems to be a low priority. If you can't pack out what you bring in, at least bring cans. There's no $.10 deposit on them down here, but people pick them up just the same.

 

[who-dat]

It's hard enough to get people to use a trash can instead of tossing their naddy cans in a bush.....

Keep up the good fight though!

 

[sneakytiki]

Over the last handful of years more craft breweries have been canning their beers, which is great. My small bag fits two cans alongside my discs. When I finish a can, it gets crushed and tucked away in my bag. I dispose of (recycle) them when I get home.

I enjoy a well crafted beer, especially from a can and I think it all works out. I also tend to drink them very discreetly even when alcohol isn't prohibited. It really is a shame that people litter their cans, and when people see me with a can, I don't want them to think I'm going to toss it on the ground.

One day I was playing behind a group of two guys (I was throwing like 4 discs per hole, so I elected to stay behind them when they offered to let me play through). I noticed they had some cans, I also had a can in hand. Later on in the round I notice the beer cans they were drinking left behind on a bench of the last hole they played. This didn't make me very happy. I picked them up and when I caught them again I said "Oh, I think you guys forgot a couple cans a few holes back. Do you want them or can I dispose of them?" They gave me some very annoyed looks and said "you can keep 'em buddy" with a smirk... Pissed me off so bad. That when I found out I play better while pissed off. Birdied the next two holes and finished the rest out with par and set a new personal best. It was a bitter sweet day.

 

[Jukeshoe]

One last thing to keep in mind:

Drinking culture differs from state to state and from region to region. Utah is damn near dry, whereas Wisconsin's drinking culture is very open and many (most?) public parks allow drinking.

Hell, I used to walk a 12 pack down to the local park and play whiffle ball for hours with my friends (equally as tanked). As long as we walked home, the only thing the cops would do when they drove by was smile and wave.

Other areas of the country and I would've been in jail for public intoxication.

So, if you travel and play dg, keep in mind that what might fly at your home course could bring the wrath of law enforcement officials down upon the local dg community someplace else.

Don't be that guy. :hfive:

 

[the_lung]

Interesting that I just spent an entire weekend working inside the park office at Cedarock Park and working directly not just with the park underlings but also interacting directly with some of the middle level employees in Alamance County Parks Department. I didn't hear a single thing about alcohol consumption, removal of the Wellspring course, a potential new disc golf course being vetoed, or anything to that effect which the OP describes. They had nothing but great things to say about the tournament, disc golf in general, and the positive social & economic effects the sport brings.

I certainly agree with some of the setiments OP expressed, but it's obviously not as much of a current problem as it may have once been...or I surely would have heard something about it.

 

[coupe]

Interesting that I just spent an entire weekend working inside the park office at Cedarock Park and working directly not just with the park underlings but also interacting directly with some of the middle level employees in Alamance County Parks Department. I didn't hear a single thing about alcohol consumption, removal of the Wellspring course, a potential new disc golf course being vetoed, or anything to that effect which the OP describes. They had nothing but great things to say about the tournament, disc golf in general, and the positive social & economic effects the sport brings.

I certainly agree with some of the setiments OP expressed, but it's obviously not as much of a current problem as it may have once been...or I surely would have heard something about it.

The temporary closure of Wellspring was quite a few years ago: IIRC, 2005-2006. Yes, alcohol consumption, in direct violation of park rules, and broken bottles and empties strewn hither and yon were primary factors in the closure; another "heritage activity" contributed to the closure as well.

The possibility of closure was also broached in 2010: http://www.digtriad.com/news/local/story.aspx?storyid=145325]

Much of Cedarock's park staff has turned over since the earlier closure. And most of the current staff actually play disc golf, which hasn't always been the case.

Also, relations between P&R and the local disc golfing community are much better than they were in the early to mid-00s due, at least in part, to the club going out of its way to "self police" and encourage adherence to park rules, which has gone a long way toward improving the county's attitude toward disc golf.

For at least a couple of years in the mid-00s, P&R stationed an employee at the park entrance all day on the Sat of the Sneeky Pete to check cars entering the park for alcohol. Those days, thankfully, are gone; but, as the story linked above suggests, the activities that occasioned to them haven't completely gone away.

 

[Stankyjahnke]

My home course has a garbage can on every other tee so as long as the course isn't full of litter I could careless if people drink n play. I personally don't drink beer and I thought taking shots while playing sounded like a bad idea.

 

[JRW III]

That's why you carry mixed drinks in a nalgene bottle. It's discreet and you leave no litter behind.
Drinking in public 101.

This.

My home course allows drinking but we carry mixed drinks since it is lighter and easier to carry in and out of a disc golf course.

 

[New013]

i luv America....

WE WANT YOU TO DRINK

but once you have we don't want you driving, walking or socializing in public

WE WANT YOU TO DRINK

but only in your home or a bar, don't bring your disgusting habits out in public where non-drinkers might see you

WE WANT YOU TO DRINK

but once the disease that drinking doles out takes hold were going to label you and do minimal efforts to help you regain control of your life while also pumping more ads of WE WANT YOU TO DRINK in your face.

WE WANT YOU TO DRINK

but we're also going to create all kinds of legal situations where if you had a drink at the wrong time it could **** you for life

BUT WE STILL WANT YOU TO DRINK

because we can tax it and control it much easier than all those drugs we keep illegal even though they're much safer

 

[thrembo]

*Thrembo climbs on the soapbox with New013.

 

[plastic cannon]

Post of the month: New013.

 

[joshuajames]

Thumbs up New!

 

[coupe]

The possibility of closure was also broached in 2010: http://www.digtriad.com/news/local/story.aspx?storyid=145325]

Sorry: extra ] at the end of the url. Correct link is:

http://www.digtriad.com/news/local/story.aspx?storyid=145325

 

[wake_rider]

Well, just refer any naysayers to their city councils and legislation in order to pull all municipal ball golf courses as well. I've seen far more beer consumption on municipal ball golf courses than I've ever seen on disc golf courses.