Designing Your First Course: Mistakes Made and Lessons Learned

[sidewinder22]

I"m not a course designer but I wanted to bring up a thought that Biscoe put in my head as he was helping us redesign a local course:

Be mindful of holes that don't cause a seperation in scores. If it's almost impossible to get a birdie and you really have to screw up to get bogie, the hole quickly becomes uninteresting. Example: stay away from roughly 350 to 425 ft open holes.

Also don't take this a blanket statement and it depends on the skill level, elevation, hazards, and prevailing wind.

 

[RKelly]

I think most of the mistakes you should avoid has been listed. One that hasn't been mentioned, don't underestimate how long it will take to build a course. If your course build is like most, you will do the majority of the work. Feel very lucky/ blessed to have any kind of substantial help. Also, know that doing some course work will not hurt your game, but building a course will.

 

[duckychucky]

Leave more space than you think in between fairways.
As mentioned before bad shots will be worse than you can dream, but also leaving lots of room between fairways leaves you more options for redesigns and adding different tee and basket positions in the future. If you leave lots of room to work with and decide to add different tee positiions you can create almost completely different fairways to the pin, but if you bunch your holes close together your only option for different tees may be to add short or long versions of what you already have.

 

[DavidSauls]

I would advise paying attention to the tree species. Cut the short lived, pioneer species and spare the potential old-growth, climax species.

And, if you are lucky enough to get volunteer labor, and they can't identify tree species, keep a sharp eye on them. Or give them the weedeater and run the chainsaw yourself. (This is an area where workers certain volunteers drive me crazy, and I drive them crazy). Not specifically over pioneer/climax trees, but trees with various degrees of desirability to us.

 

[DSmith]

First course where I was one of the main co designers was Riney B.
http://www.dgcoursereview.com/course.php?id=465&mode=ci

Hole 9 I was given pretty free reign on it's layout. It was going to be my baby. I had this kooky idea that I was going to make it a hole where you throw a 100ft placement shot to a landing zone turn right then a 250ft shot to the pin. Yeah it was a pretty awful idea but we cut the fairway for it anyway.
Needless to say it didnt work and now every time I see a hole where all you can do is throw a 100 ft layup shot then turn at a right or left angle and throw 200ft+ to the pin I get knotted up inside.
Those of you who live here in central NC know what I'm talking about.

Luckly I came to my senses after testing out the hole and scrapped it for its current layout where you throw uphill straight out of the woods to the open and then either to the left down hill to the pin with the pond behind it or to the right under some low pear trees.

the lesson was that even though you think something is gonna be revolutionary and innovative and cool, probably the reason you never see a hole like that is BECAUSE IT SUCKS .

Funny thing is that when I was working on clearing out the final layout for that hole, Lyle snuck in the short pin placement on hole 21 which was a 150ft 90 degree shot around a huge tree. :\

I honestly dont know what was wrong with us that week.

The good thing was , was that we were able to get lots of feed back before we put in pads and tweak stuff so that all the holes played well. Lyle was a very by the book designer so we really didnt mess up too much and if so we were able to fix issues, well except the flooding and drainage issues due to the beavers.
One of our main lessons with Riney was dont design a course during a drought.
Another was dont design holes using invasive species as fairway edges (Parks and Rec is going hogwild with removing Bush HoneySuckle at the moment) Alot of courses in the Lexington area have drastically changed for the worse because of this.

 

[DSmith]

And, if you are lucky enough to get volunteer labor, and they can't identify tree species, keep a sharp eye on them. Or give them the weedeater and run the chainsaw yourself. (This is an area where workers certain volunteers drive me crazy, and I drive them crazy). Not specifically over pioneer/climax trees, but trees with various degrees of desirability to us.

Oh man I've had to deal with this sooo much. I had to experience a grown man throw a hissy fit because I wouldn't let him show up 5 hours early and start trimming before I got there to supervise the workday for Parks. We all know why he wanted to get there before the rest of us showed up. He wanted to cut down some trees he didnt like and I basically said no, we are just taking out honeysuckle.
No joke he got all huffy said something about how I didnt appreciate him volunteering and jumped in his truck and peeled out of the parking lot.

The good thing is the right stuff was cut and Parks and everyone else was happy with the work.

 

[Menacewarf]

And, if you are lucky enough to get volunteer labor, and they can't identify tree species, keep a sharp eye on them. Or give them the weedeater and run the chainsaw yourself. (This is an area where workers certain volunteers drive me crazy, and I drive them crazy). Not specifically over pioneer/climax trees, but trees with various degrees of desirability to us.

This is one of the things that makes me glad I am doing all of my work myself. When it's a Red Maple with dieback on the top or a Beech I'm all about smoting it but if it's a nice Oak or Pine I think long and hard about if it has to go and what other options I have.

Other opinions I have are to use tone polls or movable baskets to test things out. Also think hard about how you are going to balance your course, taking into account the large amount of variables including dogleg direction, dogleg severity, trees which further define the dog leg, slope of the land, the severity of the slope, punishment, reward and trick shots. Try to get a vision, clarify that it is the best through exhaustive checking, and then trust the vision.

 

[dandaman]

Lessons I learned after designing my first (only) course:

1.)Be very thankful for ANY help that you get along the way. Whether it's people dragging branches off the fairway, Park's department helping install teepads, or any friend willing to meet you to share in the work, any help should be appreciated

2.) Be careful what you cut and how much you cut. Once it's gone it cannot be replaced. There is no issue having a hole play tough as nails before you decide what the next steps should/could be before you start removing again.

3.) Holes in the woods are time consumers. Unless you're lucky enough to get some heavy machinery to help clear fairways, most work is done with chainsaws, lopers and such. It can take quite awhile before a hole is finished in the woods. And the more holes you have in the woods the longer it's going to take.

4.) Finances. Unless you have lot's of expendable income, building a course can be quite expensive especially if the supplies are coming out of your pocket. If you're working with a local or state municipality definitely hit them up for the things that cost the most money. Concrete for pin placements, locks on the baskets, directional signs, etc, etc. The other day I spent $46 on galvanized screws to hang up new signs for example.

5.) Patience. Got to have lots of patience. Sometimes things go quickly, sometimes not as fast. If you're waiting on supplies from the Park's department it could be a month or longer before you get what you really need.

6.) There are many, many other factors to take in consideration. Most importantly the golf course takes your time. be cognizant that you are not neglecting other parts of your life for the sake of the disc golf course. The course is not going anywhere. Be mindful of your other responsibilities.

 

[DavidSauls]

Good post.

2.) Be careful what you cut and how much you cut. Once it's gone it cannot be replaced.

I've stated the same thing, but there is another side to the coin. When you chainsaw a small tree, you've lost the value of the tree as an obstacle to flight. But you're not done with the tree---it will resprout from the stump in a very fast-growing, bushy obstacle to walking and finding discs. When you remove many such trees for the fairway, you may be spending years contending with the regrowth.

 

[DavidSauls]

This is one of the things that makes me glad I am doing all of my work myself. When it's a Red Maple with dieback on the top or a Beech I'm all about smoting it but if it's a nice Oak or Pine I think long and hard about if it has to go and what other options I have.

I laughed because here, it's the opposite. We'll keep the red maple and beech, do away with the pine. As for the oaks, we have dozens of species, at least one of which, the water oak, is fair game for cutting anywhere found.

The lesson: If I show up to help you, even though I recognize tree varieties, supervise me. And vice versa.

 

[DavidSauls]

the lesson was that even though you think something is gonna be revolutionary and innovative and cool, probably the reason you never see a hole like that is BECAUSE IT SUCKS .

Good enough to bear reposting.

 

[DavidSauls]

Another tip: Depending on the course, surveyor's tape, or whatever you call it, can be your friend. And landscape flags, too.

You think you remember where the tee or basket location you chose was, but when you view it from the other end of the fairway, you're not sure. In more open areas you can test-throw to a landscape flag; even though you can't putt, putting isn't the part you're testing, anyway.

In the woods you can very quickly and temporarily mark trees with surveyors tape (that stretchy, easily torn, neon-colored ribbon, usually orange but available in an array of colors). Mark trees to save, mark trees to cut. Mark the line of play through the woods. If you're designing a hole through the woods, you can even mark both edges of the fairway by marking a tree every 30-40', and the fairway becomes magically visible (especially in winter). Use different colors of tape for different purposes.

(Caution: in a public park with a local NIMBY constituency, marking anything in advance can set off alarms)

 

[Janbobbo]

Try to get the perspective of both lefties and righties in your design. It's not just about trying to have an equal amount curves to the left and right, but consider also where the curve is and how easy it is for the lefties and how hard it is for the righties and vice versa.

Avoid overdoing things at first. Start out with basic hole designs and develop it with lengthening some holes if needed. Extreme hole designs might be tempting but tend to be hard to design and quite often don't work so well. Be very cautious with designing fairways with sharp turns that basically forces placement shots. Rather consider less sharp turns that allows players to decide wether to play safe or "go for it".

 

[Menacewarf]

I laughed because here, it's the opposite. We'll keep the red maple and beech, do away with the pine. As for the oaks, we have dozens of species, at least one of which, the water oak, is fair game for cutting anywhere found.

The lesson: If I show up to help you, even though I recognize tree varieties, supervise me. And vice versa.

That is funny. I like red maples but they are our most common trees and also many seemed to have got damaged when the land was logged. the beech do t get old enough befor the disease mangles em up. I mostly like the pine and oak because they will get tall and old. Do the beeches not get as dieasesed down there ?

 

[biscoe]

In the woods you can very quickly and temporarily mark trees with surveyors tape (that stretchy, easily torn, neon-colored ribbon, usually orange but available in an array of colors). Mark trees to save, mark trees to cut. Mark the line of play through the woods. If you're designing a hole through the woods, you can even mark both edges of the fairway by marking a tree every 30-40', and the fairway becomes magically visible (especially in winter). Use different colors of tape for different purposes.

this is a good one- lots of surveyors tape is essential for designing in the woods.

 

[Jukeshoe]

Thanks to everyone who's added to the conversation!

Surveyor's tape, huh? I'll have to check that out. We used spray paint to mark trees to take out, but something more temporary seems legit.

Several posts touch upon another general area of importance in my estimation: working with and not against nature. Being able to confidentially and easily identify native species, understand the cyclical nature of water levels, and avoid areas with problem species all help make the design and installation processes easier beyond belief. It also leads to less redesign/tweaking later on down the line.

 

[DavidSauls]

Surveyor's tape, huh? I'll have to check that out. We used spray paint to mark trees to take out, but something more temporary seems legit.

.

Sometimes you want to mark trees that are to be saved, but don't want the spray paint remnants. You can snap off a foot of surveyors tape and tied it in about 5 seconds. You can later pull it off in about 1 second.

If you're marking potential fairways with spray paint, and you change your mind, you've got an issue.

I've used it with volunteers thinning out woods, to mark trees I don't want them to take out (see species discussions). After the work's done, I can come through and pull off all the strips of tape, very easily.

 

[DavidSauls]

That is funny. I like red maples but they are our most common trees and also many seemed to have got damaged when the land was logged. the beech do t get old enough befor the disease mangles em up. I mostly like the pine and oak because they will get tall and old. Do the beeches not get as dieasesed down there ?

No, the beech trees here get majestic over time, and are rather attractive. We have a couple of majestic ones, including one that's about 10' circumference or more. They do, however, drop a lot of branches.

We don't have sugar maples, so red maples are our best fall color, along with chalkbark maples. The real treasures we try to save are dogwoods, and a few rare plants (for this area).

Our land was clear-cut before we bought it, so much of it is regenerating and we have the freedom to select what we want from what's coming up. It's not just a disc golf but our home, so we value beauty more than other places might.

 

[RKelly]

Use different color surveyors tape to mark fairways and transitions, and even tees and basket locations, so it's easier for you and others working can tell what's going on. It's a lot easier to use when you change your mind on a hole than paint.

 

[DavidSauls]

When this thread winds down, someone please edit it and post it as a reference somewhere.

There are plenty of sources for hole design philosophy, many of which I read before we embarked on building a course, but not a lot on these nuts and bolts.