I recently visited two courses I hadn't played before. I printed off the directory page for each of them before I left. After I was alternately mildly peeved by the directions of the first one and then almost hopelessly lost on the other, I decided to provide a little lesson on writing directions for people new to the courses.
Hint: You're writing directions to benefit people who have never visited your town before. Don't do this from memory. Actually drive the route you're leading them down and put yourself in their shoes.
1. Begin with the likely point(s) where people will enter town. Start with the major highway that leads to town. Be sure to include the Exit # if applicable.
2. Indicate the compass point direction to head when you exit the highway. All turns after this should be "left" or "right" for simplicity.
3. Indicate the distance between turns. Give the driver an idea of how long to drive before they need to look for the next turn.
4. Give landmarks as well as street names. Sometimes it's hard to see those street signs when you're driving at speed, especially if you're the only one in the car.
5. Once at the park, give any further directions for negotiating inner-park roads.
6. Tell us where to look for the first tee. If it's not right by the parking lot, I don't want to have to mount an expedition to find the right place to start.
7. If your town has more than one major highway that serves it, give a separate set of directions for each.
Here's an example of a good set of directions:
I-35 to U.S. 30 exit (111B), west to 3rd Ames exit (University Blvd-Exit 146), north 0.5 miles to a left at 1st traffic light (Mortensen Dr.), 0.3 miles to a left on Gateway Hills Dr. (south of high-rise dorms), follow road to park sign and take left fork to lot. 1st tee south of sand volleyball courts.
Hint: You're writing directions to benefit people who have never visited your town before. Don't do this from memory. Actually drive the route you're leading them down and put yourself in their shoes.
1. Begin with the likely point(s) where people will enter town. Start with the major highway that leads to town. Be sure to include the Exit # if applicable.
2. Indicate the compass point direction to head when you exit the highway. All turns after this should be "left" or "right" for simplicity.
3. Indicate the distance between turns. Give the driver an idea of how long to drive before they need to look for the next turn.
4. Give landmarks as well as street names. Sometimes it's hard to see those street signs when you're driving at speed, especially if you're the only one in the car.
5. Once at the park, give any further directions for negotiating inner-park roads.
6. Tell us where to look for the first tee. If it's not right by the parking lot, I don't want to have to mount an expedition to find the right place to start.
7. If your town has more than one major highway that serves it, give a separate set of directions for each.
Here's an example of a good set of directions:
I-35 to U.S. 30 exit (111B), west to 3rd Ames exit (University Blvd-Exit 146), north 0.5 miles to a left at 1st traffic light (Mortensen Dr.), 0.3 miles to a left on Gateway Hills Dr. (south of high-rise dorms), follow road to park sign and take left fork to lot. 1st tee south of sand volleyball courts.
