Mapping a disc golf course - Zephyr Cove

[Kenny53691]

I like Google Earth because you can see multiple years of imagery and add your own stuff.
Imagery is expensive. Depending on where you live, who paid for it, if it is public record, etc, it might be hard or easy. And when there is the situation where you can get the image but it isn't georeferenced.
See if there is a GIS data clearinghosue in your city/county/region. Lots of universities host that kind of information.

I work shoulder to shoulder with the County GIS guy. We outsource a "fly by" aerial photography group because I live in a pretty small community. Our latest aerial map was done early last year, but the is a bad shadowing problem in the area that I'm looking at because of the sun location. I honestly don't think that I'm going to find any better mapping because I've checked almost every site that I can think of, including google earth.

 

[pineappaloupe]

I work shoulder to shoulder with the County GIS guy. We outsource a "fly by" aerial photography group because I live in a pretty small community. Our latest aerial map was done early last year, but the is a bad shadowing problem in the area that I'm looking at because of the sun location. I honestly don't think that I'm going to find any better mapping because I've checked almost every site that I can think of, including google earth.

Shadows are a big problem with most ortho imagery. Satellite imagery is usually better. Have you taken a look at the LANDSAT-7 imagery for your area? You should be able to find a non georeferenced version of it. Otherwise the GIS person will have to take care of it. What kind of data repositories do you have available publicly? If all you need is a clipped full color image, I can help you out if you send me to the data and give me an idea of what I need to clip it to.



What do you guys think about labeling the holes on the tee pads instead of the midpoints of the hole lines?

 

[Steve West]

What do you guys think about labeling the holes on the tee pads instead of the midpoints of the hole lines?

I like that, because the players is always looking for "Tee Pad N", not "The Middle of Fairway N".

 

[Kenny53691]

Shadows are a big problem with most ortho imagery. Satellite imagery is usually better. Have you taken a look at the LANDSAT-7 imagery for your area? You should be able to find a non georeferenced version of it. Otherwise the GIS person will have to take care of it. What kind of data repositories do you have available publicly? If all you need is a clipped full color image, I can help you out if you send me to the data and give me an idea of what I need to clip it to.



What do you guys think about labeling the holes on the tee pads instead of the midpoints of the hole lines?

I've looked but all I can find is from the 2007 aerial. It's not as bad as the 2012 aerial with shadows, but I guess I'm just asking for more detail than what if offered for a "po-dunk" town.

 

[Kenny53691]

I like that, because the players is always looking for "Tee Pad N", not "The Middle of Fairway N".

^^^I agree

 

[pineappaloupe]

I like that, because the players is always looking for "Tee Pad N", not "The Middle of Fairway N".

Agreed.
I can always save my old lines if that ends up being the way to go. It might take me awhile to label based on the tee pads because the auto labeling will be an issue. There are a few areas on the course that are crowded with features on the map.
And the mid line labels obscure the important vegetation data.

I will get around to putting in the update 1m cell size base image this weekend.
Still looking for a high end GPS unit to borrow. I need it for accurate elevation information.

I've looked but all I can find is from the 2007 aerial. It's not as bad as the 2012 aerial with shadows, but I guess I'm just asking for more detail than what if offered for a "po-dunk" town.

Might want to ask about LANDSAT. There might even be LiDAR for your area. I doubt it will be the stuff I am fortunate to use. But you could get a surface model that shows trees. Then get someone to draw on it.
I really prefer the course maps that are 'hand drawn'. That I am doing is going to be close, but what you see under the trees is the most important. A giant tree with high limbs is no more of an obstacle than a large telephone pole.

 

[pineappaloupe]

So I've been busy.

I finally got out there with a highly accurate GPS unit. After processing it is accurate to 15-30cm with the trees and terrain. And it made a big difference it the usefulness of the map. The distances are spot on. And because of that, the elevation change is as good as it can possibly be. The elevation as measured by the GPS is not reliable. But when my points are good, I can put them over my DEM that is accurate to 20cm. For a course like Zephyr, elevation change is everything.

The map is now in its final version. It is more accurate than any map out there. And the base imagery is really unique. The map can be adapted to anything. A big course map at hole 1, or score cards, or just passed around the internet.

Here it is:

Here is a link to the repository for all of the mapping. PDFs, jpgs, printer friendly maps, and once I get around to it there will be numerous KMLs that you can play with on Google Earth.

https://sites.google.com/site/zephyrcovedgc/maps

As always, feedback is welcome. I know how to make maps to GIS standards.... aesthetics, graphic design, etc, is not my strength.

 

[pineappaloupe]

The table needs some work. It is just that, a table. I can't format it like Excel, and wrap text, change alignment, etc. I want to change 'Name' to 'Hole'. But all of that comes straight out of the data and updates nicely. Except for the field aliases. I could put a better formatted table in as a graphic, but that would cause problems with making the map larger or smaller. The values in that table were rounded to the nearest 5 or 0. No one cares if a hole is 322.8ft. I was going to make everything in meters to torture people who don't like the metric system...
The jpg compression also sucks and the colors are off. The best view of the map is with a PDF. The yellow basket icons might need to be tweaked.
There is also a Douglas Adams reference in the map.

 

[Js_TechX]

Wow pineappaloupe! That is some nice detail. Obviously I've been busy over the summer & missed out on the timing of this thread. That aside, I can share something I did for further ideas (see link).
https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B-xRleCZYzDsc1lZYTJWUUhVVjQ/edit

I have done similar for other local courses with the thought to see what layout detail works best. I find courses w/ lots of trees as per 1st 9 holes of the example have too much forestry if using a satellite view backdrop. Thus, I use representative shapes for tees, baskets, trees/obstacles, and rough or off-fairway areas. The flight path detail is the typical although each person will choose their own once at the tee.

The idea is to give the user the "lay of the land" for the DG course enough to play the game more so than finding the tees & baskets. And, its really aimed at those unfamiliar w/ the course. I would love to be able to get the terrain/elevation detail into the maps and will have to look into that a bit more.

For my maps, I essentially take the GPS-points while playing a game, maybe a few pics for obstacle detail, then bring them home to show on Google Earth or one of the map apps. I'll take some screen shots to stitch together a JPG/backdrop in MS-Publisher or other graphic app then draw in the graphic items of tees/baskets/etc over the backdrop as per GPS-points as shown in GE. Then remove the backdrop & export course detail as JPG-file. The JPG-file can then be printed as PDF/etc or imported to a KMZ-file to GPS-enable it.

If you wish to GPS-enable any map made to scale (so users can see their location on the course), you import the JPG-file to a KMZ-file using freeware app "Kml Builder" (lets you move it in position over the land & add other details). The above link is example of this ability. The JPG-file can be extracted using any compressed file reader (like WinZip/7zip/etc). With the map posted at hole-1 or wherever, the user can download the same via the QR-code.

There's a lot here for those not in the know of the GPS world or some of the file types but a few Google searches can help there. Those w/ GPS-enabled phones playing an unfamiliar course can appreciate the ability to use a GPS-enabled course map as a course guide.

 

[chain_ape7]

Thank you for your work - it's amazing. I love Zephyr Cove and really appreciate we have a map now.
More people should experience how great this course is and your map will help. Thanks again!

 

[pineappaloupe]

Russ has been busy adding more positions to the course. I will get out and map those soon.
I also mapped Bijou and North Tahoe DGC. All of the maps will be out in a month or two. Same look as the Zephyr map, unless someone gives me input.

Here is a 3d point cloud view of hole 15, looking up from the basket.
On my laptop, I can fly around the course, through the canopy like a bird.

and here is hole 10 from across the ridge.

 

[pineappaloupe]

I have been busy today. Finished first draft for the final 2 courses I have data for.
Maps can be found here:
https://sites.google.com/site/zephyrcovedgc/maps

Bijou

Tahoe Vista: I like the way to contour lines came out, and like the dark red for the lines. label density is high in some places.... not much I can do about that unless I leave some out

 

[joedunc]

These are absolutely amazing. Can you describe how I could do this, possibly with an android phone? If I just got pointed in the right direction, that would be enough, I don't want to take too much of your time.

 

[pineappaloupe]

You can collect points using a phone and an app called GPS Averaging. You still have to write down the coordinates manually. I don't know of any way to collect points on a phone in a way that would create a shapefile/kml. There might be a way. The point averaging is the important part. Even with averaging points will be off by 7-20 feet, even when the app says it is much less.
I imagine one of those modern hand held GPS units could average and collect points that you could export as a text file, which could then get you to a kml easily. Which could then go into google maps.
tl;dr: To collect points, yes you can use a phone, but it is not the best tool. The imagery is a whole different set of problems.

I updated the base imagery again, using a transparent intensity image. It added more texture to trees and shows roads, paths, etc, so that I don't have to digitize them

 

[sansho]

Are any of the new positions/holes playable yet? Wasn't Russ adding some extra holes after 6 or 7? Any update on those?

This CRAPTASTIC snow season in Tahoe is getting me ready for some serious DG this summer. Still gotta recover a bit more from a shoulder injury in Groove Park, then it'll be ON!

 

[pineappaloupe]

Russ has been busy this month. New basket positions already added to 2 (right) and 5 (left). Tees on 6 and 7 are going to be moved up hill. He is doing something with 8 that I didn't quite understand, maybe moving the basket back to take away the right hyzer line. And as far as I know 3 more holes will be added before 9.
I am going to be bugging the south tahoe DGA for money to get some 'next tee -->' signs for zephyr.
And www.southtahoeDGA.com is live. We are adding content and will have the maps hosted there.
I got in a few good days this year on the mountain, but I am completely over it now. I've been buying new discs, so that is where my mind is.

 

[sansho]

Thanks man! Appreciate the update.

 

[KniceZ]

These maps are amazingly accurate. My only comments are :

- Show the actual paths from tee to basket rather than straight lines. Like you did for Tahoe vista.
- increase the visibility of the contour lines. They are getting lost behind all the foliage graphics.

 

[pineappaloupe]

I was showing someone the map earlier today and noticed that the contour lines are not pronounced enough. Now that the vegetation has 2 black and white transparencies over it, it has taken on a darker shade. It looks better than when it was bright green, but now it hides the lines too much. I might go to a 10ft interval, like I did with Zephyr, and make them more of a light gray , maybe even go with brown/tan. What I learned from this is that contour lines are hard, I didn't even try to label them. Cartography is an art and a science.
I found a new add in for ArcMap that allows for bezier curved lines and figured out how to force them to be straight and branch out at good points. The curved lines on the tahoe vista map were me trying to do this without the add in, and I didn't like it at all so I stopped. All maps have been updated and they look so much better. All distances are still based on line of sight.

I just talked to the guy who runs the South Tahoe DGA and he fully supports the 'Next Tee' signs. I found some for $8.50 each when you order a lot of them, left or right arrows.
http://www.compliancesigns.com/PKE-17166.shtml
I will have an order in for 40 of them on Monday. This will be such a massive and simple improvement to Zephyr, making it more friendly for the people who visit.

Here is Tahoe Vista with the updated hole lines. I have one person looking over the map to make sure the lines make sense, and welcome more.

 

[pineappaloupe]

Cleaned up the maps, got them all up on the website.

Tahoe Vista was changed for 10ft contours and the colors were adjusted. It is hard to find the sweet spot with too visible and cluttered and visible with contours. The change to 10ft helps.

The South Tahoe DGA site is in its infancy. More content will be added. Input is welcome (adding content even more so).

http://southtahoedga.com/maps
Go there, click the links for the high res pdfs.