aardvarkious
Birdie Member
- Joined
- Jun 17, 2010
- Messages
- 277
So I have been in my town for 4 months now. The closest disc golf course is 5 hours away. There is a group of about a dozen people who play very casually on a small object course they have invented. Other than that, the only people who have even heard about disc golf are people I have introduced to the sport.
We are forming an official club this week, and talks are going good with the city in regards to getting a course built- we could get it this summer, and I am almost positive we will have it by next summer. I have an 18-hole layout in a very public park- it is the main park in town, where 95% of the city population spends time. There is very little traffic on the holes I have laid out, but TONNES of traffic around them. Meaning that there will be minimal interference between disc golfers and other park users, but that every park user will see the course and see people playing on it. About 50% of park users will also walk by the first hole and see a rules sign as well as a board inviting them to play, join the club, or contact me. They will also be able to rent or buy discs and pickup scorecards/maps at the park pavilion that is 40' away from hole one. In terms of getting exposure for the sport, this is a perfect location.
Here's the rub: the course isn't super challenging. It is more of a pitch-and-putt course. There is tonnes of variety in the drives (hyzer, anhyzer, straight, uphill, downhill, tunnel shots, wide open long bombs, and one sweet thumber hole), but every hole gives you the opportunity to pull a park job on your drive. There are certainly holes where you can get into trouble, including water hazards, but a good player is also capable of birdying every single hole. That being said, since there is such a big variety of holes, it is still quite fun. And it is perfect for beginners.
There are other parks where I could build a more challenging, championship calibre course. But these parks get very little traffic: there would be no nearby place to get discs, and hardly anyone who wasn't playing would ever see the course. These other courses would be way better for experienced and good players. But they wouldn't give the sport near as much exposure, and would make it way more difficult for beginners to pick it up.
Here's what I am thinking: for the first course in town, build it in the park that will get high exposure and be good for beginners. Get lots of people playing, THEN build a championship level course. Do you think this is the way to go about it? Or should I build the championship level course to begin with, and then build the high exposure one latter?
Before you ask "why not just do multiple tees?" I can't really. Because of the way the park is laid out, this is the most challenging safe course possible.
We are forming an official club this week, and talks are going good with the city in regards to getting a course built- we could get it this summer, and I am almost positive we will have it by next summer. I have an 18-hole layout in a very public park- it is the main park in town, where 95% of the city population spends time. There is very little traffic on the holes I have laid out, but TONNES of traffic around them. Meaning that there will be minimal interference between disc golfers and other park users, but that every park user will see the course and see people playing on it. About 50% of park users will also walk by the first hole and see a rules sign as well as a board inviting them to play, join the club, or contact me. They will also be able to rent or buy discs and pickup scorecards/maps at the park pavilion that is 40' away from hole one. In terms of getting exposure for the sport, this is a perfect location.
Here's the rub: the course isn't super challenging. It is more of a pitch-and-putt course. There is tonnes of variety in the drives (hyzer, anhyzer, straight, uphill, downhill, tunnel shots, wide open long bombs, and one sweet thumber hole), but every hole gives you the opportunity to pull a park job on your drive. There are certainly holes where you can get into trouble, including water hazards, but a good player is also capable of birdying every single hole. That being said, since there is such a big variety of holes, it is still quite fun. And it is perfect for beginners.
There are other parks where I could build a more challenging, championship calibre course. But these parks get very little traffic: there would be no nearby place to get discs, and hardly anyone who wasn't playing would ever see the course. These other courses would be way better for experienced and good players. But they wouldn't give the sport near as much exposure, and would make it way more difficult for beginners to pick it up.
Here's what I am thinking: for the first course in town, build it in the park that will get high exposure and be good for beginners. Get lots of people playing, THEN build a championship level course. Do you think this is the way to go about it? Or should I build the championship level course to begin with, and then build the high exposure one latter?
Before you ask "why not just do multiple tees?" I can't really. Because of the way the park is laid out, this is the most challenging safe course possible.
