Regulars on your favorite course?

[Omega SuperSloth]

You think the trash in front of your property is bad. Try building a house in the country. While my family was constructing our place we've had dumped literally on our property: Old lumber, used tires, shingles, and various construction debris from another construction clean-up, a dog house with a dead goat inside, and a Dodge Dakota pick-up set on fire in our drive way. All separate incidents. And we've had to call the EPA on our neighbor, a roofer by trade, for using his land as a dump for his business, including burning roofing shingles.

So yeah, I hate litterers for many reasons.

i guess you never lived in the country before that , they were just welcoming you to the neighberhood with some nice gifts that would help you blend in and feel right at home .

 

[mashnut]

Well yeah, who doesn't want a flaming truck?

 

[bjreagh]

a dog house with a dead goat inside

Really? Why?! Who does that? How does a dead goat get in a dog house on somebody else's property? That must have taken some effort from somebody. That is the most disturbing thing I have read in a while.

 

[BrotherDave]

i guess you never lived in the country before that , they were just welcoming you to the neighberhood with some nice gifts that would help you blend in and feel right at home .

Born and raised, literally less than a mile from where we live now. Same road. The other day there were some good old boys who were carting off some junk left by the nastiest, redneck cougar ever we called McNasty (name was McNaughton, had to move her kids to a different school b/c she beat up a teacher). They're driving down our road with a truck load of crap and old kid's toys, etc and proceed to dump on some guy's property. Then they go to get another truck load. A buddy in the community sees these two events separately and puts 2 and 2 together and stops them en route to dumping site and tells them that if that junk isn't picked up and thrown away properly that the law will have their license plate #. Their response? "Shucks, I can't believe somebody saw us." You might be a Redneck if...

 

[BrotherDave]

Really? Why?! Who does that? How does a dead goat get in a dog house on somebody else's property? That must have taken some effort from somebody. That is the most disturbing thing I have read in a while.

That's not the best part. This was dumped in front of our property beside the road so it was technically the county's responsibility. We had to call something like 3-4 times before somebody would come out here. When they did, they brought some sort of Bobcat digging machine, dug a hole beside the doghouse, pushed the doghouse in the hole (with dead goat still inside), and buried it. That's it.

At least we can rule out Mexicans, they have the common decency to eat the goat.

 

[Geoffro]

My hobby lately is to head out to my favorite home course early, work on my round, break out the plastic shopping bags and clean trash along the way.

I applaud both the post and the effort. This has been the subject of many threads, but you've done it well, grasshopper. This is an excellent first post on a thread, and thanks for cleaning up after others.

the double/multiples - this is a head scratcher for me personally. This is when I am two or three bad shots deep in the woods and find 2 cans of the same brand within 12 inches of each other. Maybe someone was drinking a beer when they threw their disc to this point and decided to slam another when they saw their lie? - don't know. They usually leave nice plastic behind - unmarked and near new.

I've come across this as well, mystifying. Almost like, "well I'm so deep I might as well camp for awhile." I've also thought that in some demented DG party, the guy was deep in there drinking his beer, waiting for his turn because someone else was out, and looking for their disc… "Is it my turn yet? No? Guess I'll have another…"

the responsible litterbug - this is the person who left his/her empty in a spot near the teebox where it can be easily picked up. This act will often prompt others of his/her kind to follow suit - after all, a neatly piled pyramid of aluminum cans in one area look almost as good as if there were none. Perfect place for a trash can but it's expensive to empty a trash can every day for every hole on the course. Downside - sometimes the pyramid isn't so organized or maybe it grows for a week.

Maybe this guy is waiting for recyclers to come by for the aluminum? To save them the trouble of digging through the other trash? Just an optimistic thought…

Brands Found - in order of prevalence:
Keystone Light
Bud Light
Budweiser
Miller Lite
Other 5-10%
Bottles:
Dos XX

I kind of thought Keystone Ice would have won the gold – that's what I find most often.

I do want to get some ideas spurred by the dg community as how to attack this problem. A clean beach campaign in Santa Cruz, CA (Pack your Trash) was started by some surfers many years ago and is now a full on operation. They have made a huge impact - younger generations look down upon littering the beach.

Amen, good ideas, and we should follow their lead.

I think there's a huge opportunity for the PDGA to jump on this as both a cause and a means to clean up that bad DG reputation. They could find a way to offer incentive during play (such as 1 throw for picking up 5 pieces of trash - i.e. mulligan or from total), possibly +1 or +2 for littering. If adopted by clubs this could be a DG tradition that would separate it from other sports and improve it's character. A cleaner course would only be one thing that would come as a result of something like this, but there I go being naively idealistic again.

Not so idealistic, but maybe naïve. We need to take responsibility for this stuff locally: both the cleaning up and the confronting of those choosing to create the problem. The guys doing the littering aren't going to be concerned about scores.

…my ace count still remains at 1 (1993) but I feel great on almost every throw.

Good for you, bro.

King of the Douchebags
This fool wants to show all the other dbags that purposely litter that he is far more committed to the cause then they. To do this he flexes his power and makes his territory by kicking over a filled trashcan. Because it is far more impressive and time-effective to empty a trash can on the ground than to produce your own garbage for individual littering.

I've had this same experience at our local park – no disc golf – but, still. These guys tied a dumpster to the back of their pickup truck and dragged it around the park, spilling garbage from the dumpster all over and marring the park with tire tracks and dead grass everywhere. The dumpster was left in the middle of the park. Boy you guys are really cool.

...its the glass bottles that really get to me. I play barefoot for most of the summer (nothing feels better than grass under your feet) but people usually take the extra effort to break their glass bottles on the course (nothing feels worse than glass under your feet). It has gotten so bad that I fear the course may get closed soon.

Amen to this. I don't play barefoot anymore, but broken glass on the course is just so bad. Again, if it makes you feel cool to break a bottle, break it in your own living room, not where people are playing golf or walking their dogs.

How about contacting someone to see if you could try and drum up some support for a course clean up day. If you get enough of the local DGers to take some pride in the course then it might stay clean after

Yeah, local course and area clubs often take this up. Run with this!

…just want to nominate this rant as best I read of the year.

Seconded.

i live in texas where people have no taste and being cultured or thinking outside the box is gay so id say 99% of are trash is bud light (busch light same diff.) and malboro lights, if your gonna use something thats bad for you at least use something thats enjoyable to the senses not just a means of getting drugs in your system.

Just for nostalgia's sake, and once again: what the?

 

[nunez23]

At least we can rule out Mexicans, they have the common decency to eat the goat.

Yeah you should've called my dad up he'd snatch that up quick. He loves himself some goat, myself not so much.

I always end up picking up trash at our local course and the regulars that I play with are good about doing the same. We all want the sport to thrive so we try to keep the courses looking as clean as possible

 

[StymieDidIt]

You think the trash in front of your property is bad. Try building a house in the country. While my family was constructing our place we've had dumped literally on our property: Old lumber, used tires, shingles, and various construction debris from another construction clean-up, a dog house with a dead goat inside, and a Dodge Dakota pick-up set on fire in our drive way. All separate incidents. And we've had to call the EPA on our neighbor, a roofer by trade, for using his land as a dump for his business, including burning roofing shingles.

So yeah, I hate litterers for many reasons.

Wow, you've got me beat. But.... I can match you on the dead animal. Last year during hunting season I had two deer carcasses thrown down the embankment, that had been gutted, skinned and beheaded. The dog found them before I did. I also had a mattress and a bunch of huge truck tires. I'm in northwest NJ, and it just goes to show that banjo playing doesn't stop at the Mason Dixon line.

 

[BrotherDave]

Wow, you've got me beat. But.... I can match you on the dead animal. Last year during hunting season I had two deer carcasses thrown down the embankment, that had been gutted, skinned and beheaded. The dog found them before I did. I also had a mattress and a bunch of huge truck tires. I'm in northwest NJ, and it just goes to show that banjo playing doesn't stop at the Mason Dixon line.

Sorry, discarded deer carcasses is so common here that is like a Tuesday. And it's not the bluegrass aficionados but the Toby Keith fans. Littering? Git-r-done!

 

[jedwards]

I applaud both the post and the effort. This has been the subject of many threads, but you've done it well, grasshopper. This is an excellent first post on a thread, and thanks for cleaning up after others.



I've come across this as well, mystifying. Almost like, "well I'm so deep I might as well camp for awhile." I've also thought that in some demented DG party, the guy was deep in there drinking his beer, waiting for his turn because someone else was out, and looking for their disc… "Is it my turn yet? No? Guess I'll have another…"



Maybe this guy is waiting for recyclers to come by for the aluminum? To save them the trouble of digging through the other trash? Just an optimistic thought…



I kind of thought Keystone Ice would have won the gold – that's what I find most often.



Amen, good ideas, and we should follow their lead.



Not so idealistic, but maybe naïve. We need to take responsibility for this stuff locally: both the cleaning up and the confronting of those choosing to create the problem. The guys doing the littering aren't going to be concerned about scores.



Good for you, bro.



I've had this same experience at our local park – no disc golf – but, still. These guys tied a dumpster to the back of their pickup truck and dragged it around the park, spilling garbage from the dumpster all over and marring the park with tire tracks and dead grass everywhere. The dumpster was left in the middle of the park. Boy you guys are really cool.



Amen to this. I don't play barefoot anymore, but broken glass on the course is just so bad. Again, if it makes you feel cool to break a bottle, break it in your own living room, not where people are playing golf or walking their dogs.



Yeah, local course and area clubs often take this up. Run with this!



Seconded.



Just for nostalgia's sake, and once again: what the?

Wow -- I know it is only June, but I think you are in contention for 2009's most quotes in a single post.

 

[milow369]

Thanks for the great responses/feedback. I did spend some time on the original post, it is an issue that is near and dear to my heart. Initially, I was a little hesitant in submitting it and haven't really checked back until now because I was a little worried that I came off "higher than thou". That wasn't my intention. I guess I just needed to vent at the time and wanted to get some ideas about what could work to improve the situation, I am glad I wrote it.

I went out early today, same course, and did my thing. I am usually toting a plastic Target or Randalls bag when I am on trash duty.

One group let me play through and one member of the group sees my bag and says "Thanks for being part of the garbage clean up team, we do it too" - I thought that was cool and it gave me a sense of optimism. I happened to actually play the hole beautifully - which never happens when you're trying to throw through - I don't have to tell you. Threw my favorite roc a little left but dead on a line. Kissed a tree at the end and parked it at the basket. The group was impressed - I told them that "everyone gets lucky sometimes".

I only filled 2 bags today which is a couple less than usual. Went around twice and didn't have to break any out for round II.

I have come to figure out that there's no one demographic of folks who do this, it's important not to paint any group with a broad brush. It's just a cross section of lazy and non-caring, but often sneaky idiots. I think some valid points have been made about adding trash cans at every hole isn't necessarily the solution to the problem, I find lots of garbage on holes where cans wouldn't be located. Even having a park employee go around and do a walkthrough isn't the answer because then people figure this out and just drop their can and "let them do their job". I've seen this phenomenon at another local course in a city park. The answer, I hate to say, is to clean up after them like their mother.

This is about DG'ers who love the game, respect their home course, and want to give back. I've got to say as much as it pisses me off to have to do it, it makes me feel great when I leave the course looking better than when I got there. It actually makes me want to do more for my local courses and for disc golf in general. I think the best solution is to set a good example and hope it rubs off on others who want to do their part. I think that getting some heads together in the local clubs to do a trash/tournament is an idea with some traction.

I find that If I hear a good song before my round (I.e., The Seeker by the Who), I am able to adapt the lyrics to picking up cans/trash and it alleviates some of the pain normally associated with tromping through cedars/brush/stickers in the dead of summer (sorry... in the start of summer). So, if you see some nut case whistling or singing a pseudo Who song while he picks up cans, you'll know it's me. (I've looked under bran-ches, I've looked in the trees, I keep find-in' garbage, Use the can if you please...they call me the Seeker, I keep searching low and high...)

Thanks everyone

Today's report:
Keystone Ice
Bud Light
Icehouse bottles
Gatorade - No Excuses??
Water bottles
3x 18 pack Bud Light containers
...

 

[Guurn]

I used to pick up tons of trash every round. On some courses you could even see a long term benefit, when the park gets clean people seem to be a little more hesitant about throwing a can in the woods. Now just picking up a can here and there seems to be enough on most courses I play. Maybe it is the area I live in or maybe kids are getting more conscientious or maybe the parks are getting better about having more trash cans or maybe it is some mix of those, but things are getting better around here.

 

[fifteen]

Playing at Morley Field regularly, I see my fair share of litterbugs. When I have a few drinks with me, I always take my trash with me and dispose of it properly. The worst part, there is a trash can at 3/4 of the holes. I see more cigarette butts than cans but even a cig butt irritates me because its littering our nature.

There's one guy that is always at the field, picking through the trash cans for recycling. I gotta give him props for actually digging through the cans because I don't even want to know what is in there. He usually leave the course with trash bags FULL of cans just after a day's work.

It's not even that hard to do our part by disposing our trash the right way or even taking it with me. I guess those douches think they're badasses for not following the rules.

 

[DGtourist]

When I played Lake Arcadia in Edmond OK I was amazed by the amount of cans I saw, seriously, a bag could have been filled per fairway side. Its like they just clear the fairway for mowing and deal with the cans at some other time.

 

[NDABRUSH]

RURAL IS RURAL

Wow, you've got me beat. But.... I can match you on the dead animal. Last year during hunting season I had two deer carcasses thrown down the embankment, that had been gutted, skinned and beheaded. The dog found them before I did. I also had a mattress and a bunch of huge truck tires. I'm in northwest NJ, and it just goes to show that banjo playing doesn't stop at the Mason Dixon line.

Rural America is pretty much the same. The North and South's only difference would probably be crop variety which is determined by the terrain and weather patterns. Besides that,each state is identical in the country. I now live in A rural area. All of the farmers take care of their property and the environment as they depend on it to feed their family. But the guy that owns and operates Jaspers roofing or Earls sheet metal don't give a crap. Just think about saving money. But they keep their yard mowed perfectly and won't "take kindly" to you messin it up. On the way to playing dif courses I see stuff in the country that each state has, examples are old closed down gas stations with boards on the front and the old gas price still posted. Flea markets or "Antique stores" will commonly litter the state highways roadside. Along with an occasional home with everything known to man in their front yard along with the traditional broke down rusted car or preferably truck, that way you can still put stuff in the back. In the country people let their dogs run free and many of them wander off and wind up getting lost starving to death. I could go on forever but I don't wnat to go on a rant.

 

[billnchristy]

The county finally put cans out at our new park...clownsos didn't secure them to anything, but they are there...none the less there was a freaking water bottle right next to the trash can...

Close enough? is that the thought? Makes you want to whack them in the head with your drive and call it an ace because it was "close enough"

 

[mashnut]

At a tournament yesterday, there were temporary trash cans throughout the entire course. There were also 90+ people playing on a 21 hole course, so there were people on every hole throughout the entire day. Despite this, there was still new trash showing up on the course, often within a hole of where a trashcan was. Sigh.

 

[billnchristy]

Not DG related but it kind of blew my mind. My wife and I went to a Dead show at SPAC in 2003ish and sat on the lawn. At the end of the show everyone leaves and the place is a sea of trash...

I told her if the friggin hippies can't get their crap together and pick up trash we are all doomed...and it damn sure hasn't gotten any better.

 

[80playedin10states]

i keep trying to tell people having cans on a course isn't the solution..people will still litter..our local courses are clean because i carry bags with me every round...i am still waiting to catch someone dropping litter..talk about an ass reaming

 

[jdggna]

I don't think it will ever be "solved." It seems to me that there will always be people leaving their trash behind. I take out my own trash and some, or at least carry it to the next trash can I find, but there seems to be more trash every time I head out to the course. I wouldn't find the situation so bleak, but I'm out there almost every day. The rate the trash builds up is unbelievable.