Pay to play disc golf

[cmchavis]

I just got back from Michigan (I am from NY) and I played some really nice pay to play disc golf courses including Flip City. They charge a whopping 1 dollar to play those courses. I dont know how they generate revenue for upkeeping the courses but they were all in good shape

Someone posted here a few weeks ago that a tiny fraction of people that play Flip actually pay. While that doesn't surprise me, I find it extremely rude that you cannot put a buck in the box if you use Bill's property for a couple hours. If you've been to flip - it's not like you're going to end up there w/o knowing exactly where you are going and you're probably a fairly avid disc golfer if you know about Flip.

 

[simpletwist]

Honestly I think the wave of the near future is both. And I like it that way. There is a beautiful new technical 18 basket course nearby that's pay to play. Its only $5 to play a round or $8 all day. The course is ever evolving into a perfectly maintained, comfortable, and challenging course. And there are a dozen free public park courses around here. I frequent them all. I think/I hope more and more private courses come about. I miss the amenities of a good and reasonably priced ball golf course. And those are things I look forward to in pay to play. But I also like the free courses. They are starting to get pretty crowded these days. But I go early and mid week and I can have most courses virtually to myself.

I like the best of both worlds.

 

[mackgeggie]

Pay to play courses are awesome from my experience. Excellently kept grounds and usually a nice clubhouse of sorts

 

[Razor]

My son and I payed to play at Tupelo Bay last week while visiting Myrtle Beach. $10 for 2 rds of 9. 1st rd we each threw 2 discs and played each disc so we actually played 2 rds during that 1 round. Then we played a normal rd of 9. the course was well kept but not really a challenge, more of a pitch & putt course. we had to wait for ball golfers on several tees since they share tee pads. Overall I'd give it a 7.5 on a 1-10 scale. This is the only time I have ever payed to play.

 

[Grungedude42]

A clear owner and authority on the course helps settle disputes and matters of etiquette. I consider myself a rec player, but I caddied 9 years of my youth at a bluecollar private golf club. (The members built the clubhouse themselves. No pool, no tennis course, no 5 star kitchen. Member's money was spent making the nicest course possible.) I don't like playing a group with barefoot, shirtless guys with their underwear hanging out. I also don't care for dealing with random pedestrians and leashless dogs who can't leave a disc alone. It'd be nice to not worry about chuckers and newbies who wreck things and act like punks in general. I would gladly pay $5 for 18 holes of resonably well maintained holes and etiquette standards. If people want the sport to be recognized and respected in the public eye, pay to play is the future.
Free courses, on the other hand, absolutely must be promoted and developed as well. We will not continue to grow the sport without the easy access and exposure free courses provide. They should be 'learner's courses' which will not frustrate new players with deep rough and excessive water. They should provide enough challenge as to help new players develop the skills needed to not be intimidated by a more difficult pay to play course, but without as much risk of losing discs.
If you ever want to see a disc golf tourney on daytime major TV, we have to develop many Pebble Beach caliber courses. Courses with challenge, and views beautiful enough to hold the eye. Public park budgets won't get us there. Private courses might after many years of operation and development. Of course, the viewer would need to be able to appreciate a pro's shot. Much like watching ball golf, this requires the viewer to have personal experience and a frame of reference. You won't have that without free courses and cheap discs.

 

[JLudlam]

I've paid in the past, normally I don't mind. Courses are usually wonderful. However on a road trip to Canada, Bronte Creek Provincial Park was a little pricey. They charged by the carload and there were only two of us, and it was almost $20.

 

[ReinZ_96]

As far as pay to play goes i'm perfectly fine with it as long as we don't turn into ball golf with $60 green fees for 9 holes. The two most expensive pay to plays (i know of) are Phantom Falls ($20) which is not bad at all because of the amazing course and you get the course completely to your self, etc. etc. and Selah Ranch (also $20) you get two of the best courses in the world for that cost.

 

[SirRaph]

Someone posted here a few weeks ago that a tiny fraction of people that play Flip actually pay. While that doesn't surprise me, I find it extremely rude that you cannot put a buck in the box if you use Bill's property for a couple hours. If you've been to flip - it's not like you're going to end up there w/o knowing exactly where you are going and you're probably a fairly avid disc golfer if you know about Flip.

I play Flip probably twice a year, and pay $20 every time. Same for the guys I bring.

I live near Lemon Lake, which charges $4 per person to enter the park as DGers. People complain about it all the time. And by people, I mean idiots. These same players who complain about having to pay a couple bucks to play a day of DG are also sometimes the same guys who buy CE plastic.

We're lucky as disc golfers that we rarely have to pay to play. The equipment needed to play even at the highest levels of the sport is tremendously inexpensive compared for virtually any other sport. Pony up, you cheap bitches.

 

[Pwingles]

I play Flip probably twice a year, and pay $20 every time. Same for the guys I bring.

I live near Lemon Lake, which charges $4 per person to enter the park as DGers. People complain about it all the time. And by people, I mean idiots. These same players who complain about having to pay a couple bucks to play a day of DG are also sometimes the same guys who buy CE plastic.

We're lucky as disc golfers that we rarely have to pay to play. The equipment needed to play even at the highest levels of the sport is tremendously inexpensive compared for virtually any other sport. Pony up, you cheap bitches.

Well said.

 

[BennettUA]

I empty my wallet when im done at a great private course. I always feel like im stealing from Flyboy, despite dropping at least a Benjamin. Holler in the Hills, Elk Mountain, Stoney Hill, and "the one which shan't be named outside Charlotte", I would be fine with a $20 greens fee, and STILL feel like im cheating them. So much work, plus aall the amenities a private course entails, and all the money im saving not playing ball golf .

 

[jtreadwell]

If you play in Maine a lot you'll get used to paying to play. The highest rated course in Maine, Sabbatus DGC, is finely groomed with 2 championship level 18 hole courses and a nice 9 hole warm up course that is fully lit at night. They have a big clubhouse with thousands of discs, accessories, and snacks, along with a friendly and knowledgeable staff who all play regularly. All this for only $9 a day.

 

[simpletwist]

As far as pay to play goes i'm perfectly fine with it as long as we don't turn into ball golf with $60 green fees for 9 holes. The two most expensive pay to plays (i know of) are Phantom Falls ($20) which is not bad at all because of the amazing course and you get the course completely to your self, etc. etc. and Selah Ranch (also $20) you get two of the best courses in the world for that cost.

Certainly if things go like many hope for, major coverage, major sponsors, etc. $60 rounds is also in the future. And although it can be argued that the sport is already exploding, I doubt seriously that there will be such exorbitant greens fees in any of our lifetimes.

 

[harr0140]

Certainly if things go like many hope for, major coverage, major sponsors, etc. $60 rounds is also in the future. And although it can be argued that the sport is already exploding, I doubt seriously that there will be such exorbitant greens fees in any of our lifetimes.

$60 rounds for disc golf will be very unlikely, but I could see $20-25 including a cart being reasonable for nice pay to play courses. The turf maintenance on golf courses which includes daily or every other day mowing, expensive specialized equipment, a hefty fertilizer and pesticide budget, and a large staff of people, is the reason golf is so expensive. In disc golf we have to mow the grass every 7-14 days and lay mulch every year in some areas and then whatever improvements would beautify the course from pruning to building terraces and such, but the cost to maintain a disc golf course is probably 10-20% of what it would cost to run a run of the mill 9 hole public course. Taxes would also be only half of the cost of a golf course (on private land) because you can fit 18 disc golf holes into the footprint of a 9 hole golf course (or more if the land is tightly wooded).

 

[duckbutter]

I am your REC average player can only throw about 350, on a good day. Most of my play is on the weekend with maybe 1 or 2 games during the week. For the most part, I only pay to play anymore.
Reasons:
1. Running into groups of 6 to 8 around hole 4 "seems to happen" dragging 30 gallon cooler of beer and will not let any one play through.
2. Having a disc come crashing down near me, without a word said, as I'm pulling my putter out of the basket. WTF let me finish the hole before you tee off!
3. I have to get up and out of the house by 7:00am if I want to get two good rounds on a free course before it turns to ****. If it's my day off, I would like to sleep in.
4. I've had more call back on lost discs from pay courses.
5. Pay to play courses are generally nicer and more challenging. Thx, for the great hospitality at Phantom falls Paul.

All in all, disc golf is like the rest of everything in the world. It just needs some common curtesy and manners. They say nothing is free anymore, I will be more than happy to pay for curtesy.

 

[nic777]

From a totally different point of view : We only have 2 free courses in our city (in the same park) in Johannesburg, South Africa. Already im thinking that pay to play is the only future we have. We have essentially basketed our entire course as a pirate operation, using City parks bureacracy against itself (no one knows who would of granted permission to put baskets up, so they just let them be).

But whats really angered me is that we are doing a charity day for underprivileged kids. To avoid any trouble on the day I applied for permissions to use the picnic area for the 'kids fun day' (no mention of DG made in my application). the &**%#$'ers at City parks are charging us a sizeable amount to give underpriviliged kids a fun day out ...

vent over. But in a more '3rd world' situation I think pay to play is the only option. free courses need great muncipalities/local councils to be in partnership with

 

[hangwind]

Greenfield Lakes (DISC) Golf Course is awesome. Golf carts, cement T-pads that are grippy even when wet, Mach 5 baskets, 36 holes, $10 and the cart girl is cute and the beer is ice cold. The course is working well even when teeing off between stick golfers. It's here.

 

[King Griplock]

I think it should be free. However, I don't mind paying if a course is very good.

 

[General Scales]

I paid to play today and as always, Four Mounds was fantastic. The only people out there were Disc Golfers. There were no Chuckers. There were no mounds of litter. There was only peace, quiet and disc golf. I would gladly pay to have this round replicated throughout my week.

 

[prerube]

Free courses are vital to the sport. People do not often get started on pay to play. The free/low cost to play is a large draw of the sport. However. Pay to play courses are great for providing a disc golf only atmosphere with less players.
As long as it is appropriately priced I have no problem paying for my round, but I will not introduce someone on a Pay to play.

 

[pauldst]

TANSTAAFL: There ain't no such thing as a free lunch

There is no such thing as a free disc golf course. Somebody pays for it. Most of the time it is a set of taxpayers as a group, whether it be school district, city, county, state, or the whole country. I'll give that there may be a few exceptions where some private citizen builds one and lets people play on it, but otherwise we pay for it, just not directly. :doh:

That said, it is nice not to have to pay a fee every time you play, and makes this much more affordable when you don't make much. It is a large part of why I play. :thmbup: