Okay, this will be a bit of a lengthy post, but I searched and couldn't find a thread dedicated to this here topic. So let's get this thing going...
We recently installed a new course in Colorado Springs The Aviary DGC, and it's still pretty rough around the edges, to put it nicely. I'm involved more on thge fundraising side of things, TDing a Birdie Bash and co-TDing our sanctioned league to raise money for said course, but I've got my share of blisters doing workdays and installing the baskets. We have another course being put in this summer, so I'd like to know from the hardcore disc golfers that these forums cater to....when is the right time to open a course?
I'll expound: the property for the Aviary was given to us by the city because it had become a popular place for the homeless to live. The far end (near holes 2 and 3) butts up against the county jail's property line, while holes 3-5 are up against police property. The area where our course now sits was absolutley heinous just three months ago. There were two homeless camps, along with a level of trash accumilation that can only be described as heinous. Couple that with literally miles of overgrown weeds and we had our work cut out for us.
With help from the city and county, to include use of the jail occupants to clear out a bunch of the trash, we have been able to make clearly defined fairways and dirt teepads. The city of Colorado Springs has a huge volunteer day once a year, and we used that day to actually set in our baskets and continue the fairway clearance. Since then, the Aviar has been open for play. We do two organized workdays per month, and various club members do work on their own time as well (usually consisting of policing up the trash or using weedwackers to clear out the small brush and to really define the fairways.) Since the location of the teepads is not 100% set yet, we haven't poured concrete teepads yet, but that is on the to-do list by this fall. Our fundraising efforts have really helped in regards to teepads. The city is actually making teesigns for us, as well as a big sign near hole one with a course map, rules, etc. and we will have those shortly.
Where the issue comes in is that I'm wondering if our labor of love has blinded us to the fact that, despite all our hard work in the last few months, this course is not Hollywood ready. In fact, it's not friendly to people who haven't played it at all. Finding hole one will be tough enough when the big sign is up (you have to walk across a baseball complex as well as some soccer pitches just to get to hole one) but trying to find it now without a guide or checking out the listing here on DGCR is quite the chore. We have recieved extremley negative feedback from out-of-town players who were excited to play a newly installed course only to be dissapointed by finding a work in progress.
Our next work day is scheduled for a week from Saturday. Teesigns will be in before then, but with the workday we'll be renting a brush hog and making truly, 100% defined fairways and landing zones on every single hole. One last addendum: the Aviary was never intended to be a manicured fairway park course like some of the courses in Denver or even the nearby Widefield park in the Springs. It's meant to have a rougher feel, and because of that on some holes (8-10, 13, 15) a good deal of brush will remain as is, though we will clear some ancillary stuf out just to prevent lost discs. As such, we have taken some of the non-local feedback with a grain of salt.
So how does the dedicated DGCR community feel about new courses? Should baskets be installed right as they arrive in order to get feedback on the layotu and entice people to help out to beautify the course (as I believe was the goal of the Aviary) or should basket install wait until the course is fully complete with proper fairways, teepads and signage so it doesn't look like a bunch of rank amateurs just threw a course in the ground?
Lastly, FWIW, the city of Colorado Springs is quite pleased with what we did with the Aviary. It has been a very, very long time since a new course was installed in the area...will they be pleased if our other new course at Rampart Park gets installed in like fashion? A local ponderance for us club members, I suppose...
So let's hear some thoughts.
We recently installed a new course in Colorado Springs The Aviary DGC, and it's still pretty rough around the edges, to put it nicely. I'm involved more on thge fundraising side of things, TDing a Birdie Bash and co-TDing our sanctioned league to raise money for said course, but I've got my share of blisters doing workdays and installing the baskets. We have another course being put in this summer, so I'd like to know from the hardcore disc golfers that these forums cater to....when is the right time to open a course?
I'll expound: the property for the Aviary was given to us by the city because it had become a popular place for the homeless to live. The far end (near holes 2 and 3) butts up against the county jail's property line, while holes 3-5 are up against police property. The area where our course now sits was absolutley heinous just three months ago. There were two homeless camps, along with a level of trash accumilation that can only be described as heinous. Couple that with literally miles of overgrown weeds and we had our work cut out for us.
With help from the city and county, to include use of the jail occupants to clear out a bunch of the trash, we have been able to make clearly defined fairways and dirt teepads. The city of Colorado Springs has a huge volunteer day once a year, and we used that day to actually set in our baskets and continue the fairway clearance. Since then, the Aviar has been open for play. We do two organized workdays per month, and various club members do work on their own time as well (usually consisting of policing up the trash or using weedwackers to clear out the small brush and to really define the fairways.) Since the location of the teepads is not 100% set yet, we haven't poured concrete teepads yet, but that is on the to-do list by this fall. Our fundraising efforts have really helped in regards to teepads. The city is actually making teesigns for us, as well as a big sign near hole one with a course map, rules, etc. and we will have those shortly.
Where the issue comes in is that I'm wondering if our labor of love has blinded us to the fact that, despite all our hard work in the last few months, this course is not Hollywood ready. In fact, it's not friendly to people who haven't played it at all. Finding hole one will be tough enough when the big sign is up (you have to walk across a baseball complex as well as some soccer pitches just to get to hole one) but trying to find it now without a guide or checking out the listing here on DGCR is quite the chore. We have recieved extremley negative feedback from out-of-town players who were excited to play a newly installed course only to be dissapointed by finding a work in progress.
Our next work day is scheduled for a week from Saturday. Teesigns will be in before then, but with the workday we'll be renting a brush hog and making truly, 100% defined fairways and landing zones on every single hole. One last addendum: the Aviary was never intended to be a manicured fairway park course like some of the courses in Denver or even the nearby Widefield park in the Springs. It's meant to have a rougher feel, and because of that on some holes (8-10, 13, 15) a good deal of brush will remain as is, though we will clear some ancillary stuf out just to prevent lost discs. As such, we have taken some of the non-local feedback with a grain of salt.
So how does the dedicated DGCR community feel about new courses? Should baskets be installed right as they arrive in order to get feedback on the layotu and entice people to help out to beautify the course (as I believe was the goal of the Aviary) or should basket install wait until the course is fully complete with proper fairways, teepads and signage so it doesn't look like a bunch of rank amateurs just threw a course in the ground?
Lastly, FWIW, the city of Colorado Springs is quite pleased with what we did with the Aviary. It has been a very, very long time since a new course was installed in the area...will they be pleased if our other new course at Rampart Park gets installed in like fashion? A local ponderance for us club members, I suppose...
So let's hear some thoughts.