Castle Hayne, NC (Wilmington)

[BrotherDave]

I couldn't find a comprehensive thread actually talking about this course so here.

So, I was talking to my buddy the other day and he informed me that some dude from the city or county or something came by and decided that the extremely well done wall that was built to maintain the fairway on hole 12 and keep it from eroding into the drainage ditch was a falling hazard and had the park rip it out. This "falling hazard" had steps built into it every 15' or so, including wooden stairs at the very end with rails and everything. So now, they've got little signs warning people to not enter the ditch and retrieve the discs they are inevitably going to throw in there because it's part of the hole.

What is this political correct, bureaucratic nonsense and what can those local disc golfers do about it?

 

[Bamm]

Hey Bro Dave, me and my buddies played Castle Hayne 3 times since Tuesday. We questioned the signs as well. I remember the wall/steps from before and thought they were fine. We needed clarification though. What does the park expect you to do if you overthrow the teeshot and end up in the ditch?

 

[BrotherDave]

I guess they "expect" you to heed the sign and not enter the ditch but there is no way that's happening. Go get your discs. Just try not to tread on the slope unnecessarily and cause more erosion than you have to. :\

 

[Bamm]

We went in down at the far left to get the disc we needed and exited the same way. I don't think we hurt anything but there is going to have to be a way to enter and exit to retrieve a disc.

 

[BrotherDave]

Well apparently the geniuses in risk management thought that a well-constructed wall complete with steps is more of a falling hazard than an eroded slope. New Hanover Parks and Rec sounds like a bloated mess of bureaucratic mess.

 

[New013]

yea it's all ****ing bull****, that hole is doomed. eventually it'll be a big ass slope and ruin the entire area for disc golf, they'll have to stick a hole in somewhere else to make up for it.

 

[Mattallica]

yay bureaucracy!

 

[mack.calhoun]

i mean, if you get hurt, theres a sign, so its your fault

 

[DiscJunkie]

May I interject some facts into this well-intended but factually-challenged discussion??
First, the county was hit with a lawsuit a few years ago that arose from an accident at a county-owned but bike-club sponsored bike trail. The kid broke his neck. They settled for an undisclosed monetary amount and that triggered a yearly review of all park properties by a Risk-assessment expert at their insurer.
Castle Hayne Park's turn was this year. The reason that the wall was removed (along with some bridges and steps) is this:
If you fall due to a natural feature (root, slope, branch, ditch, etc) the county is not liable because it is a natural feature. If you fall on a man-made object no matter how well-intended then the county is liable for injury and damages.

Frankly, they don't like it any more than we do, because they realize that safety is decreased. They had no choice, the insurance guy made the decision.

 

[DiscJunkie]

Let me also state that I hate the new hole (#12) without the wall. The club realizes that the hole will change over time and they will deal with as well as they are able.

 

[Bamm]

Castle Hayne, wall or no wall is still my favorite course. Whoever keeps the course up does an excellent job in my opinion......

 

[BrotherDave]

May I interject some facts into this well-intended but factually-challenged discussion??
First, the county was hit with a lawsuit a few years ago that arose from an accident at a county-owned but bike-club sponsored bike trail. The kid broke his neck. They settled for an undisclosed monetary amount and that triggered a yearly review of all park properties by a Risk-assessment expert at their insurer.
Castle Hayne Park's turn was this year. The reason that the wall was removed (along with some bridges and steps) is this:
If you fall due to a natural feature (root, slope, branch, ditch, etc) the county is not liable because it is a natural feature. If you fall on a man-made object no matter how well-intended then the county is liable for injury and damages.

Frankly, they don't like it any more than we do, because they realize that safety is decreased. They had no choice, the insurance guy made the decision.

How is the erosion wall a man-made object? You're still falling off of dirt. None of that makes any sense.

 

[DiscJunkie]

The boards, the steps, all man-made.

Another point is that the wall was higher than 16".
They're also going to put a dirt slope behind the basket wall on #4, I hear, because it's higher than 16".

Doesn't really make sense to anyone but the insurance company's risk-assessment guy. Unfortunately, he's in charge of the county's insurance rate.

 

[DiscJunkie]

Castle Hayne, wall or no wall is still my favorite course. Whoever keeps the course up does an excellent job in my opinion......

Very active club, very unhappy with the county's new policies.

 

[BrotherDave]

Wouldn't it just be easier to have a sign saying that the county isn't liable for any injuries sustained on the disc golf course? Skate parks have man made half pipes taller than 16", they're not getting sued into the stone age?

 

[DiscJunkie]

Can't argue with your logic, certainly.
I'm hearing from a different parts of the state and nation that some Parks Dept's are cracking down and some are not. We seem to be in the former category.
Look at Charlotte/Mecklenburg Cty. Serious man-made structures all over places like Renny, and they're being left alone.

 

[BrotherDave]

Did the club pay for the wall/steps that got torn down? I also heard that the club wasn't allowed to use power tools anymore, what's that about?

 

[GordEzo]

Y'all live in the states where it's your right to bear arms and sue everyone you want ....Can't imagine why yer not all millionaires shooting at ..... don't understand why you need to bear arms ? Yeah ,200 years ago but... I'm not going to see Batman down there

 

[DiscJunkie]

Don't know about the power-tool restriction, but I'm not sure that's anything new.

Yes, the club paid for all the materials - and they didn't get them back.

 

[BrotherDave]

Don't know about the power-tool restriction, but I'm not sure that's anything new.

Yes, the club paid for all the materials - and they didn't get them back.

Um, lawsuit maybe?