DGA Giveaway - Day 3!

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Day 2 is complete! A bunch of great answers and stories about getting courses put in. Check out the thread and no need to stop the conversation just because we're onto the next day! Choosing just one post was tough but Wood Chuk's detailed account of getting a course put in was a great read.

For those unfamiliar with how the giveaway works, here's a link to the intro post.

So on with Day 3! The prizes today are an Old Glory Cap and an SP Squall!

Much like anything in life, amassing the best resources when developing a project will help insure the best outcome.


What do you see being the most important resources needed when getting a course installed? (i.e. qualified course design assistance, funding, equipment, labor, etc.)

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[dragonlord]

I think the most important part is funding. I feel that with funding everything else can be accommodated. If yo9u have a nice park in the area with the space available Funding is THE issue. In my area we are in the process of trying to put in a course. We have approval from the city for the course to be installed, and plenty of volunteers to provide free labor.
At a premium is the money! If we can raise the money (approximately $10000 for 18) we would be ready to go.

Since that is the hold-up to getting this course installed I believe that is the most important part.

 

[PFreese]

I would say the most important part is the people you surround yourself with. You can get through whatever challenges designing a course and installing it may throw at you with the right support. Negativity gets you nowhere when trying to accomplish your goals but the right people will help you every step of the way and make it a fun and rewarding experience. Money can be fundraised and if you've been playing long enough and connected with the right people their input will help you design a course the community and you can be proud of.

 

[drblam]

Community support. Money, help designing, and property to use can all be had after the community supports the need for a course.

In some places, people even try to shut courses down because they dont want change at their favorite park.

In Columbus, where I am, there is a school course, a church course with two more planned, and many city courses. They were all funded differently, designed by pros or amatuers, and have differing ammenities, but they get to remain and thrive due to community acceptance and support.

There was a great course closed, I understand, because a local player enraged the community with upsetting demands and unrealistic requirements, and that shut a course. So getting one in may be easier than keeping one in unless you have a truly supportive community.

 

[BirdieMachine]

I would say funding is the most important. Getting the local city officials involved and on board to give up land and money for baskets/teepads/labor/machinery will be the biggest hurdle. I see many local cities without any sort of courses, then a few with multiple. So convincing the people with land and money to give it up for the betterment of local society is the biggest hurdle.

 

[Billy K2]

I would say both funding and community support, as they are very closely related. In order to get funding for a course, you have to have the support of your community. If nobody wants a course installed, than nobody will give you sufficient funds. It's also the same the other way around. If you don't have enough money to install a decent course, you loose the support of your local community.

 

[AndyJB]

Hands down, the most important aspect is having a legion if volunteers willing and able to provide skilled labor and speak intelligently on the work they will be doing to get the course in. The more people willing to help, the more the community will get behind the proposed course. The community and the local administration will not get behind two or three people's pipe dream. They will, however, support 20 to 30 people who are willing to provide the labor.

This is one of the many aspects that makes disc golf unique, and Is also perfect to use as as and selling point to local boards. As a fairly tight knit community, disc golfers are willing to go the extra mile in order to have a place to play. In very few other recreational activities will one find a large group willing to donate countless man hours to install and maintain a course. Courses, even small pitch and putts, take up large swaths of land and, to often, local Parks Departments are stretched too thin to maintain such an endeavor, much less Install it. By having people, both skilled and unskilled, willing to do all this work for free, it becomes hard for a local board to say no.

Skilled laborers that one should seek out when.installing a new course:

-Two or three masons (for tee pads)
-One or two individuals who have experience with surveying and zoning
-One person who was worked In the field of environmental conservation
-Someone who has worked with the local forest service, fish wildlife and parks, or parks department
-A graphic designer
-A few people who have worked with organized sports and can speak intelligently on how disc golf can benefit the community in regards to sports
-Someone who is well - versed in the history of disc golf, the PDGA and who can also break it down to laypeople who have meter been exposed to disc golf

Are these essential? Absolutley not. But having these folks in your hip pocket, your toolbox if you will, can almost guarantee backing from the Parks Department.

Having meetings with the volunteers regularly to pass out updates and to come up with a game plan on your pitch is essential to a smooth meeting with various boards.

Lastly...

I really, really, really want that hat.

 

[Kenny53691]

The most valuable resource in my opinion with man power. It is a lot for one or two people to do the work. With help, it is easier to raise money and get the project moving as fast as possible. Even with the course design, it is better to have a someone else help you because the guy I had help me, was able to see some lines that I looked right over and has his own take on creativity.

 

[Moose33]

Anytime you are undertaking a labor of love, the most important thing is having others in your corner ready and willing to help.

Wether it's a guy in your club who know how to pour concrete, or someone who's dad is on the city council you need to have dedicated advocates.

The labor it takes to put a top notch course in is not easy, because but with the support of people who really care about it can be done, and done well. I would put that ahead of funding, course designers or even an amazing piece of land.

Some of the best courses were designed by armatures Flip City for example. A lot of amazing courses are on unremarkable pieces of land, that can be overcome. But you can't replace passion, and passion is what gets things accomplished and makes them great.

 

[goosefraba1]

I will say that after helping put in Jacobson Park in Lexington, KY, and now trying to get the Portsmouth, OH area's first course in, that surrounding yourself with a great team is the most important factor. The course that I am trying to get in at Shawnee will require a great designer (Johnny Sias), somebody willing to talk to parks and to raise money (me), and people willing to put in time working on the course. This isn't something that magically happens. It takes the right people and teamwork to get the job done. Most people that play disc golf just want to do that, play... and that is fine. The team that puts in the course often doesn't get praise, but they get to enjoy the fruits of their labor.... and they get the course that they want.

 

[ManUtd]

Getting an entire club to put in/maintain a course is huge. Too many courses are put in, and then left to grow out of control, sometimes to the point where the course becomes unplayable.
Funding from the community is also very important as this allows the course to have the necessary resources to make a good course great.

Thanks DGA for the cool giveaway!:clap::thmbup:

 

[squashbuc]

The most important aspect in a new course is a long term plan. How can you keep the promises you made the community/park people when you were getting it approved. It can be something as simple as having recycle bins put in to discourage littering, to something as big of an undertaking as a large tournament that brings in people and money for charity. A well executed 1,2 and 5 year plan can turn a basic course into a destination

 

[fykeadelic]

Whats most important

Funding is HUGE!! But, before you can get funded, you have to have a site to transform. Once you have a site, you raise the funds. I honestly think that having your local disc golf club design the course would be really cool! Then, not only did you raise the funds for the course, but you designed it and built it!

 

[wkelly42]

I would have to say that having a quality designer is the most important thing. Everybody thinks they can design a course, but it takes some talent and a good eye to be able to lay out a course that will be safe and challenging. I've seen far too many courses that were put in parks that were too small, or too crowded, or things like that, and that had a design that was forced just for the sake of getting a course in.

A poorly designed course can impede future course installation. All it takes is one injured bystander, one damaged vehicle - and the course is pulled and disc golf has made some enemies who will campaign with all they have to keep any other courses from being put in. You're never going to win everyone over, but a well designed, well thought-out course can go a long way in preventing unnecessary confrontations.

 

[Fntsygamr]

The most important resource to have for getting a course up and running would have to be passion for the sport. Without passion, there is only mediocrity. Many of the championship courses in the country have been designed with passion involved. You can't make the course too long or too short. The most common element being how much land is involved in the design. When I play a course, I look to challenge myself. Do I want to play all the holes at 200 feet, no. Do I want them all to be at 500+ feet, no. For those that have designed courses that scatter our beautiful neighborhoods and rugged woodlands, skill and precise thought goes into each and every hole.

Passion for the growth of the sport will allow you to make the best decision on what needs to happen. Passion will also allow you to go out and get sponsors, funding, materials, labor, etc to make the dream a reality.

Great ambition is the passion of a great character. Those endowed with it may perform very good or very bad acts. All depends on the principles which direct them.
- Napoleon Bonaparte

 

[Cards-fan]

The best resource is the knowledge to know what the main purpose of the course is going to be. Everyone has their own "favorite hole" design, so even if a professional designs the course, you still may be lacking the "use" factor. If the course is for a camp, you don't want to have all 300'+ holes, or you will lose the interest in disc golf faster than a jackrabbit running to shade on a Texas Disc Golf Course. But if the purpose is for the course to be a Championship course which will host the USDGC in 2015, you don't want to have short "easy" hole locations and no flow. Having one 'awesome' hole surrounded by 17 crappy holes doesn't set up for a good course. You also need to take funding into consideration. If you are expecting to build a Champion course, but have no backing from sponsors, park and recreation departments, or empty pockets, your dream may be just that, a dream. When building a course, funding and a vision reasonable with that funding are the most important resources needed when starting a new course.

 

[Wood Chuk]

The most important resource

The most important resource when getting a course installed is land. Not all land is appropriate for disc golf. The land chosen directly influences the type of course that can be installed. A championship level 18-hole course cannot be installed in a 2.5 acre park with an existing jogging path and playground. Likewise, a state park may not be a good venue for a course designed for middle school aged disc golfers.
When assessing the land for a course, the first issue is access. How will people get to this course? If access is by car, will they be able to park safely when they get there? The next issue is where are the bathrooms? A course that expects family usage has mighty fine bathrooms. Once parking and bathrooms are dealt with, then the issues associated with actual installation of a disc golf course can be dealt with.
Disc golf can transform waste areas into recreational showpieces, help people to get out and interact with nature, or simply provide another way to fight childhood obesity in a neighborhood park. As we try to get courses installed, we need to be respectful of the land. Courses should celebrate the land resource utilized and not create environmental degradation or human safety issues. Land is the ultimate resource needed for getting a course installed and is a finite resource that should be respected.

 

[maxhz]

Course Layout

It's gotta be layout, right? To get course installed, only thing you really HAVE to get are baskets. So it is important, but it shouldn't be terrible. People will love or hate a course based on design and how well it's maintained. Concrete pads are not required at all. You only fall in love with courses that have brilliant design and the perfect amount of challenge. And you don't care so much about a course that's not as challenging and/or has poor design. Get a great designer, get a great course!