Crowle Hole DGC - Kiwanis Park - Harbor Springs, MI

[deBebbler]

We submitted our proposal to the city council tonight, and after encountering some inital resistance from a member concerning safety (and some scary talk of tabling the discussion), the council unanimously agreed to let us proceed installing an 18 hole course at Kiwanis Park in Harbor Springs, MI. We must have made a good impression, because the member that was questioning us was the one who ended up calling the vote. :thmbup:

In addition to permission to install, we recieved a $10K appropriation for baskets and materials, care of the Harbor Springs Electric Company Fund. The meeting was more than we dared hope for. While not the total sum available to us, this is the only hard data I have available to me right now, and I don't want to post inaccurate info.

We have some more measuring and finalization, and then we will remove the saplings necessary. Once large scale work has ended, I will post upcoming times for volunteer efforts if anyone is interested in doanting their time.

I have included a topographical map of the park, as well as rough approximations of the holes. Some are spot on, and others are not exact. There are also two rough shots, one of uphill hole 4, and downhill hole 9 (510'). The course is fairly wooded, so the holes will be tight, but the healthy changes in elevation makes even the shorter holes a challenge. There is a fair amount of wind from the bay, as well.

For anyone intersted in the name of the course, Crowle Hoel was the man responsible for the design and creation of the park many years ago, and we wanted to honor his memory as another generation benefits from his labor.

I will post more, but right now I'm too excited to type.

 

[deBebbler]

The Written Proposal

I used the Course Proposal Template that can be found at DiscLife.com to create our written proposal.

I wanted to provide a link to our proposal here so that anyone wanting a successful finished proposal, can use it to compare it to their reworking of the proposal template, in order to see an example of professional formatting, and editing for brevity and clarity.

Remember, you need to email DiscLife if you are successful, and thank them!! :thmbup:

 

[deBebbler]

Well, we finally got some press. I dont know, but it seems to be more real when you see it in the paper.

http://www.harborlightnews.com/atf.php?sid=10516

We initially designed the front 9 of the course to utilize existing trails and minimize the amount of cutting, as we didn't have any infrastructure or financing behind us. Now that we have a small budget, we returned to the course and utilized more of the land and stay off the trails. We increased some distances, lost an uphill (my favorite), gained a great side hill shot across a couple ridges, and reordered it to have the big bomber start it all off.

On the back 9, we made some small changes to even the left/right/straight balances, cut one unmanageable hole into a great upshot/downshot pair of holes that help end the course, but mostly left it alone. Many thanks to Tom Pluister for his fresh eyes and well-seasoned ideas.

Although we all had to sacrifice one of our favorites, we all agreed we gained so much more. We hope to go in this weekend and begin carving out fairways by cutting small growth. Large trees that are going have been tagged, and are awaiting scheduling with the city for removal. After the holes have gained some definition, I will upload pics with one of our practice baskets in the permanent position.

As the course takes shape, the two halves are developing a very different character. The front 9 has less elevation changes (aside from the sledding hill) and the trees are young, and abundant. The back 9 has a much more carved-out peaks and valleys feel with elevation playing heavily into 6 of the 9 holes. The trees are much thicker, but sparser, and there is an "older" feel to it. . . it is difficult to quantify.

This is the best summer ever.

 

[deBebbler]

Our Signage

Well, we missed out on being ready for a Labor Day opening, but our signage is done, and we expect it to be playable September 1st.

Just wanted to give you a taste of our signage.

Hole 1 is our big bomber down the hill.

Hole 2 is coming back up the sledding run up the hill

Hole 12 is a sheer hill face upshot with an obscured basket.

Hole 15 is a tight corridor dogleg left.

66 days since our go ahead, and we're almost there....

I will be adding the course to the site shortly.

 

[deBebbler]

And one more...

 

[deBebbler]

Our course is officially open. Happy Labor Day. :thmbup:

 

[DirtyMittenDG]

Nice. From the pictures it looks fun and challenging at the same time, good job!! And I like how it looks like no one was scared to make some true "technical" holes, lol. I can't wait to get up there, hopefully this year. I still need to hit up a few courses in that area, this course might be what tilts me to another up north trip. Props again.

 

[Pluister1]

SO, I've been involved with designing (almost) every course in Northern Michigan and am Proud of all of them (regardless of what Greg Hosfeld thinks)... Each project had it's own set of restrictions such as: keep all holes within view of the dining room, keep all holes ON the trail, etc... The restrictions at Kiwanis were obviously: the lack of acreage and the existing trails. I am proud of "Pluister's Ridge" and grateful to have been a part of the creation of, yet another recreational resource for, yet another community.

 

[DirtyMittenDG]

Each project had it's own set of restrictions such as: keep all holes within view of the dining room, keep all holes ON the trail, etc...

So then your talking about Shanty Creek & Avalanche Park? lol. Those restrictions would be pretty tough to deal with. I will definitely say nice job on both those courses if those were the guidelines given to you.

I a also kind of interested in knowing how you guys think this new course ranks with everything else north of Grayling?

 

[volklgirl]

Our course is officially open. Happy Labor Day. :thmbup:

Nice job!! I'm excited for you and can't wait to come up and play!! May have to make it a weekend with some lift-served downhilling at the Highlands :clap:

 

[deBebbler]

SO, I've been involved with designing (almost) every course in Northern Michigan and am Proud of all of them (regardless of what Greg Hosfeld thinks)... Each project had it's own set of restrictions such as: keep all holes within view of the dining room, keep all holes ON the trail, etc... The restrictions at Kiwanis were obviously: the lack of acreage and the existing trails. I am proud of "Pluister's Ridge" and grateful to have been a part of the creation of, yet another recreational resource for, yet another community.

Thanks again, Tom. I learned a WHOLE lot in this process, and much of it came from you.

Remember, we used different colored markers when we signed that Gazelle for you so it would look cool in flight. Throw that suckah! :thmbup:

and who the eff is Greg Hosfeld?

So then your talking about Shanty Creek & Avalanche Park? lol. Those restrictions would be pretty tough to deal with. I will definitely say nice job on both those courses if those were the guidelines given to you.

I a also kind of interested in knowing how you guys think this new course ranks with everything else north of Grayling?

This question is why I am not going to review it for some time to come. I'm too close to the course to be objective.

First of all, we have the dubious distinction of being the shortest course in Northern Michigan. There is a bit of land we didn't use which may be available for some alternate tees to lengthen it a bit, but only on 4-5 holes, so the impact will not be monstrous.

18-22 acres of land encompass the whole park, which if you look at the course map, includes two massive brush dumps and the top of the park/clubhouse, which were off-limits, and the big hill, which even containing 2 holes is still under utilized space.

That left us with 12-15 acres for the rest (estimations from memory.) The city was adamant about maintaining the park's trails for walkers, etc, so we had to work around those, leaving us with even less space. The result is a lot of <200' holes. Normally that would cause me to dismiss the course entirely, but we have a saving grace...elevation.

Fully half of the holes incorporate significant elevation changes. Whether throwing across a gully, along a ridge with death to the left, bombing down the hill, or ascending a sheer hill face, the elevation is what makes this course enjoyable and challenging.

The back 9 had been looked at previously as a 9 hole course when the city thought they might dip their toe in the water, and had a tentative layout. When we set out to make this happen, we started mapping the front 9, without having a dime's worth of money, and designed it to follow the trail in order to minimize the cost of cutting. After we had approval and some funds, Dr. Pluister, Esq. helped us redesign the front 9 to maintain the trail walker's safety. Before, you entered on the left and exited on the right, crossing from the front 9 to back 9 at the bottom of the hill. Now you exit both the front and back 9s at the top of the park, making a choice of quick 9 hole rounds possible. A big plus when compared to many area courses.

It complements the other area courses well. This course will definitely service all the area players who get their asses handed to them *ahem ahem* at River Road & Avalanche, and probably will be their goto course. Better players may shy away from frequent rounds, but maybe not. There is something at this course for everyone.

A 94' cross gully shot that can be an easy ace, or a painful par.
A wide open 400+' bomb starts each 9.
Winds from the bay whip across the park.
The Ironwood trees don't absorb impact and cause discs to ricochet with distance like a pinball.
No mud holes for your dog to wallow in.
and a lot more...

My first comparison when I saw the land available was "Log Lake Park with elevation". Co-designer Alan was thinking of Cold Brook in Kalamazoo.


But that doesn't matter. Now it is just The Crowle Hole. Now people compare themselves to us!!!


.....damn.....I think I just reviewed it.....:doh:

 

[Pluister1]

restrictions

Yes - I am talking 'bout Shanty and Boyne. I'd say this course will rank as short and challenging. On par with Log Lake (Kalkaska). Reminds me of a (much) smaller Hickory Hills.

 

[deBebbler]

Yes - I am talking 'bout Shanty and Boyne. I'd say this course will rank as short and challenging. On par with Log Lake (Kalkaska). Reminds me of a (much) smaller Hickory Hills.

I was thinking of hanson hills if it were pitch and putt. The upshot holes reminded me of it.

 

[jhgonzo]

Nice! Great job! I'll probably check it out on my next voyage through da U.P. going from Highbridge to Flip.

Congratulations! :hfive: :thmbup:

 

[billnchristy]

I wish this was in GA, my kind of course...short and technical.

 

[deBebbler]

For anyone intersted in the name of the course, Crowle Hoel was the man responsible for the design and creation of the park many years ago, and we wanted to honor his memory as another generation benefits from his labor.

Wrong, wrong, wrong! This is completely false. This just goes to show you that any info posted on Facebook is highly suspect, and should not be quoted.

The man's name was Ed Crowle, and the sledding hill has been named "The Crowle Hole" for many moons.

And now our course is, too.

[Set Record Straight ----- check]