Marking Trees for a Target Course

[esdubya]

Our club is working with a town gov't on a permanent course in an existing city park. All signs point to this happening in the next 1-2 years. In the meantime, we have started two leagues that play in the space where the permanent course will eventually go.

Here's the problem. The town has given us permission to be there every week and operate the league, but not to affect anything in the park on a permanent basis. We need to mark trees and teepad locations. So, for the teepads we have been leaving a mark in the grass and will make a point to rub it with our feet every time we play so that it doesn't fill in with grass. Not ideal, but it works.

The targets are more of an issue. Lately there has been a 'local grumpy old man' that is taking down our tape that we have been using to mark the trees. Basically it is two bands around the trunk, and you have to hit your disc between the two bands to hole out. We have been using the relatively inexpensive plastic landscaping tape in a bright pink color. Issue is that it's really easy to take down as the tape is not very strong.

I wanted to solicit this forum to look for other ideas on a non permanent way to mark the trees. Ideally we are left with two bands that show a top and bottom. The town will not allow us to nail or screw anything into the trees.

 

[DougCrawford]

If you have permission to tape the trees from parks and rec, then I would talk to the old man about taking it down. Try being polite and see how far that goes. I'm not sure legally if theres anything that can be done, but it seems that if you have permission and hes taking the tape, that is some form of theft.

 

[ihatepickles]

Could you install fence posts for the purposes of making tone poles? I'm not sure what leeway the park will allow you, some would see that as permanent while others would not.

You could mount tone poles on the trees too, secured with chains to prevent theft.

 

[Aim For The Chains]

give the old guy a disc and invite him to play the "course"

 

[Lewis]

Would the park allow you to mark the trees with spray paint? It won't hurt the trees, and will wash or wear away over time, especially on pine trees, which shed their bark all the time. If you go this route, choose a relatively neutral, inoffensive color.

Another option might be to tie a length of rope tightly around the trees. The grumpy old guy might not be willing to make the effort to cut strong rope.

 

[prerube]

I put PVC pipes in the ground to serve as tone poles for one of my courses until the baskets arrived. I will post a picture later.

 

[kenjiac]

What about placing object targets? We use a 5 gallon bucket on a 4x4 when designing a course. They are easily moved/removed to keep the town pleased with non permanency. Not sure if the old man will pull up your poles but they are rather inexpensive to replace.

 

[KGroff25]

Have you had someone from the city or parks department talk to him? He may not listen to disc golfers if he has a perceived problem with them, but a good talk with a neutral party may be a simple solution.

 

[KGroff25]

There was an old lady that was cutting the chains at a course where I used to live and the parks department finally had to confront her and threaten to press charges against her. She wouldn't listen to anyone from the disc golf community, but a representative from the parks department was able to get the point across.

Hopefully you wouldn't have to be as severe, but when a nimby sees you as the problem and thinks they're protecting the park there's a decent chance they're never going to listen to you. A representative from the park however can explain to them why disc golf is a good thing for the future of the park.

 

[esdubya]

We can talk to the town again about tone poles, but in the past they were not OK with that.

I like the idea of the rope, that would be more natural looking, and more difficult to remove. Would need to secure it down maybe with something like a large staple in the tree bark, or a metal band crimped over the rope if we wanted to avoid going into the tree.

 

[djcadence]

I wonder if the "grumpy old man" knows what the tape is for. In my experience, that tape is used to mark trees that you want cut down. Maybe he is an old hippie trying to save some trees?? I wonder if you attaced a note or sticker explaining that they are to temporarily mark a disc golf course, if he would chill out.

 

[Cgkdisc]

I suggest you play a "different" game for awhile. Paint circles on the ground maybe 24" in diameter. You've holed out when your disc is touching the paint or inside the circle.

 

[cblanch4]

How many people do you have in your league, We have only about 13 but are still able to round up 6 portable baskets and play 3 tee pads to each for our 18 hole course. Another option would be pvc that you cut to a sharp end and pound them in the ground each week.

 

[mattc]

what kind of trees are they?
could you hang something from a branch?

 

[esdubya]

I wonder if the "grumpy old man" knows what the tape is for. In my experience, that tape is used to mark trees that you want cut down. Maybe he is an old hippie trying to save some trees?? I wonder if you attaced a note or sticker explaining that they are to temporarily mark a disc golf course, if he would chill out.

This is funny, because a small worry in the back of my head is that someone actually will cut down all of the trees that we marked. The park currently does have a lot of work being done there which is partly why we haven't been able to put a course in there yet. For now, we will try out the rope marking and see how that goes. I'm not crazy about the look of the bright pink tape even if the old man didn't exist.

Thanks everyone for the suggestions. We are all probably too lazy to setup portables, and we are doing our best to play the 18 that will eventually be there as a permanent course, so we would need 18 portables.

Chuck - I appreciate the suggestion. Maybe we will try that on one hole to see how the members respond. One issue with the paint is that stuff is expensive, and doesn't last more than a few weeks.

The gumpy old man has been a slippery fella so far. We have been trying to find him so we can charm him with our positive vibes. We think that he knows what we are doing.

 

[ru4por]

I wonder if the "grumpy old man" knows what the tape is for. In my experience, that tape is used to mark trees that you want cut down. Maybe he is an old hippie trying to save some trees?? I wonder if you attaced a note or sticker explaining that they are to temporarily mark a disc golf course, if he would chill out.

HEY! I resemble that remark. If not for old tree hugging hippies, many disc golf courses would be far easier....and less fun.

 

[ihatepickles]

We are all probably too lazy to setup portables, and we are doing our best to play the 18 that will eventually be there as a permanent course, so we would need 18 portables.

If you play the holes in reverse, you can get by with less portables.

Place the portable at 18's pin, walk to the 18th tee, play the hole, carry the portable to 17's pin position, repeat. It triples the walk but helps you keep your girlish figure.

Each card needs a portable.

 

[BogeyNoMore]

Dogs are great at marking trees. For the price of a box of Milk Bones, you could probably get every stray in the area to help.

 

[discoriented]

How big around are the target trees? I've seen zip ties about 20" long that might work for you.

 

[Lewis]

I like the idea of the rope, that would be more natural looking, and more difficult to remove. Would need to secure it down maybe with something like a large staple in the tree bark, or a metal band crimped over the rope if we wanted to avoid going into the tree.

I'm sure a local boy scout could show you a knot that would let you avoid using any metal. If the park won't let you drive nails into the trees, don't expect them to let you drive staples into the trees.