Man made obstacles on the course.

[DikkaD]

Living in East Texas, the main obstacle is the wind. Most courses are flat with few trees. I have been thinking of how to add variety to a few courses locally that are pretty boring due to lack of trees and elevation. I had an idea to add man made obstacles to the course (think Winthrop Gold). This would obviously be costly, but does anyone have any ideas on the type of obstacles that could be used to make a flat, barren course more enjoyable?

Does this just add to the cheesy-ness that the sport already suffers from (from an outsiders standpoint)?

 

[mashnut]

Go check out the pictures of Brent Baca in New Mexico, they've done some of that there to make things a little trickier. They used abandoned construction materials to make some tricky lines off the tee, and some railroad ties to protect a green.

 

[zenbot]

Rabbit Flats is also a fairly flat course with few obstacles. One thing that breaks up the course is that the city uses the course as a dumping ground for mulch. It's not surprising to show up to the course and there is a new 5 foot pile of mulch next to a basket. It keeps it interesting.

The city wins and the course wins.

 

[markmcc]

Dixieland Park in Harlingen Texas had this cool "Stonehenge" looking structure in front of this basket on Hole 5. But the last time I was out there it was gone. Maintenance issues??

http://www.dgcoursereview.com/course_pics/885/a2deaa61_m.jpg

 

[Aim For The Chains]

Lots of courses could benefit from some simple additions of this kind of stuff. I would assume upkeep and safety issues often come into play though.

 

[Cgkdisc]

Some of the structures used on Old Glory at the Hippodrome might work. Not sure where you could find pics though since it appears they don't have them on DGCR.

 

[goosefraba1]

We have a local course here that was wide open... but with elevation and a few trees. The club there has planted trees the last couple of years... and they are starting to shape the course. Could maybe try planting those Leyland Cypress... or some other type of fast growing evergreen. They will help hold down the topsoil... look nice... and add some variety to the course eventually.

 

[Pwingles]

Its a fine line between being gimmicky and improving or adding difficulty to a hole, imo.

Anything from artificial OB to a giant road sign in the fairway and everything in between could be considered either depending on its use.

 

[kenjiac]

We have a local course here that was wide open... but with elevation and a few trees. The club there has planted trees the last couple of years... and they are starting to shape the course. Could maybe try planting those Leyland Cypress... or some other type of fast growing evergreen. They will help hold down the topsoil... look nice... and add some variety to the course eventually.

We have done the same at one of our local courses. Storm damage and the town had removed some of our trees so we planted new ones.

 

[luckless_pedestrian]

I vote for a giant windmill. Hell, turn it into a wind farm and the course can pay for itself.

That, put the basket for 18 in a giant clown's mouth.

Seriously, you could do some really cool things.

 

[DikkaD]

I vote for a giant windmill. Hell, turn it into a wind farm and the course can pay for itself.

That, put the basket for 18 in a giant clown's mouth.

Seriously, you could do some really cool things.

I almost used a windmill in the OP for comic relief.....

I think the mulch idea is easy and I could see getting the parks department on board.

To me it seems easier to add obstacles around the basket since objects in the fairway may need to be taller to force the lines.

 

[Aim For The Chains]

To me it seems easier to add obstacles around the basket since objects in the fairway may need to be taller to force the lines.

very small/short obsticales can make for major adjustments in how you approach a hole off the tee as well as landing areas. There are lots of tees here which use the same exact fairway as shorter ones but the area around them is tighter or blocked and forces a certain type of shot for a par over the "pick your line" and shoot style shorter tees.

Those are not gimmicky at all.

 

[luckless_pedestrian]

One of my favorite short holes, Bradford #10, uses a big rock right in front of the basket.

Ever-changing mulch piles is actually a cool idea.

If you know one of those guys who makes sculptures out of scrap metal it would be cool to place some around a course. Especially kinetic pieces. But then you're gonna get all the dip****s writing all over it.

 

[Questatement]

Along those lines, I would think if you opened the course up to artists looking to express themselves or get known via their prefered medium, as long as said art was at least _____ in size, you could get some free obsitcals out of it.

 

[Martin Dewgarita]

Where do sculptures go after they're replaced in a sculpture garden? Or start a dg themed resident sculpture garden. Artists pay for the opportunity to live and create in a community producing dg obstacles...

 

[BirdieMachine]

This is a wild idea but could be cool and not cheesy if done properly. Instead of adding gimmicky stuff how about renting a Bobcat and Excavator and moving some dirt. You can make runoffs around the greens to make putting and approaching more difficult. Around the landing area you could raise the fairway making runoffs into potential bushes or trees more likely. Maybe the city already has a hookup for equipment?

I think the sculptures would be cool though. Good idea too.

 

[Future_Primitive]

The only course I recall playing that had man-made obstacles was Burchfield Park (Devils Den, now Renegades Trail). Going off of memory when I played there last year...

Hole #2, Has a 10 foot tall by maybe 30 foot wide Mando wall from the long tees. You have to go directly over it for the Mando. (longs only). The short basket was placed inside a depression, acts more like a funnel. The top of the basket is below your feet even inside the circle.

Hole #6 is pretty open so on the left hand side of the fairway is a large circle of dirt/gravel surrounded by small rocks. Land inside the rock circle and it is OB.

Hole #7 is similar, but the rock circle is maybe 30 ft diameter and is placed directly in front of the basket. A few trees surround the back of the rock circle to shade the basket. Land short on your upshot and it is OB.

Hole #15 has two small rock circle OB's that protect the pin, one on each side.

Hole #17 is now an island green, the rock circle for this one is actually IN bounds while everything outside is now OB. Must land inside the rock circle or it is OB.

Lastly, the long basket on #18 is elevated and has numerous steps leading up to it with a waterfall on the backside. Very nice looking structure but the elevation makes it hard to run the basket for fear of blowing by it.

It is something different for sure, just not sure how much I like it. My brother refers to it as a "clown course" with all these little man-made effects. Without them it might be a pretty boring, wide open course.

 

[el siege]

Flip City - Rock walls.

 

[Questatement]

Big tractor tire, lying on it's side on a hill with the basket in the middle, inside the tire being OB.

Any island shot with a clear barrier, all outside the barrier being OB.

Any patch of ground with a clear barrier, all inside the barrier being OB.

Put fairways on side-to-side slopes then place rocks in the driving landing field (275-325') so that the rocks kick/drop discs on edge for a bettter chance of rolling downhill.

Any trees with arching limbs, place t-pads close to arch so as to narrow initial window.

Add mandies, even if just a 1" PVC pole sticking out of the ground... can be double or tripled with arching.

Dog-leg whatever obsitcals/mandies are available, especially favoring LHBH.

Utilize any urban (concrete/paving) structures available... staircases are my personal favorites.

Have a speed limit (rim diameter) on discs to be used as initial drivers off the tee with a fixed length block to hold the disc up to for comparison near the t-pad.

Lattice sectional walls at the driver landing zone and/or basket approach zone. Maybe a few small windows to tempt you if close enough.

 

[Disc Fiend]

Have the town, county etc., drop off logs from trees they have removed from their properties and make walls with them. You can put them in key places to make holes more challenging. Here is a picture from my home course for an example: