course navigation-importance and things you can do

[Innovadude]

- This is supposed to be a family-friendly sport open for all to play. If a course is so poorly layed out or unmarked, a family, new players, new-comers to that course, can't just go out there and enjoy a round of disc golf because they can't find the holes (often the park or the #1 tee due to horribly written directions).

- Spending half the time out there searching for the next hole or the hidden basket is frustrating and detracts from a good experience or fun round.

Things you can do, yes you:

-Go to your home course (s) on here and on pgda.com and fix the bad directions! Chances are at least 50% they are wrong or confusing/lacking. Use proper street names (Johnson Ave SE is not Johnson or Johnson Rd.). Input how to find the actual course once in the park.

-Have Discatchers/Number platers? Whip out a Sharpie and make an arrow pointing to the next tee, or at the least the hole # facing the tee pad or fairway.

-Have cement tees? Nice spray painted stenciled hole #'s on the pad go a long way.

-Wooden cheap hand made arrows up in trees, or hanging from the basket to point to the next hole.

-Paint a bottom rung of a basket that points at the next tee.

With these few things done, your course's avg. rating could jump 0.5-1 star, easily.

[NEWBY1151]

Nice post Innovadude. There's nothing worse for me than wasting time walking around a course. I played Wagner and Jaycee today in Royal Oak and they were both nice courses but dual tees for each basket was a cause for confusion. I hate using a sharpie and adding to the excess vandlism but it's a good idea. Maybe I'll get some arrows and keep them in my bag.

[Innovadude]

I was glad to play Wagner last summer after not playing it since 1999 (and only once). It is sweet with those dual tees now, but yeah impossible to figure out.

Think like this: would you rather see "Let's Poke Smot on hole #10!" or an arrow pointing to hole #10? cover up stupid graffiti with a helpful arrow.

[ERicJ]

-Paint a bottom rung of a basket that points at the next tee.This is the most unobtrusive way of conveying the info. MacGregor Park (http://www.dgcoursereview.com/forums/../course.php?id=646) was the first one I saw do that, so of course I noted that in my review (http://www.dgcoursereview.com/reviews.php?id=646&page=1&mode=rev#1318).

ERic

[Donovan]

Great ideas, simple, and well worth the short time to do it. Thanks for this thread bro!

[hycard]

Great advice - All should try to follow.

[peabody]

Paint the bottom rung.................
Great Idea, I will bring that up at the next club meet.

[Innovadude]

Paint the bottom rung.................
Great Idea, I will bring that up at the next club meet.

Thanks. Even if you are the only one to get it done, it was worth spreading the idea!

[Geoffro]

Thanks for the thread - really good ideas. I would just add that it is relatively easy and inexpensive to develop and print a course map, copy it and provide it in a waterproof box at the first tee. A scorecard is nice on the opposite side with distance and par listed. This is a cool thing for first time course players to both have while they play and take home with them.

Of all the things that "make" a course and its resulting rating, a club that takes ownership/responsibility for that course goes a long way.

[REDARMY]

Thanks for the thread - really good ideas. I would just add that it is relatively easy and inexpensive to develop and print a course map, copy it and provide it in a waterproof box at the first tee. A scorecard is nice on the opposite side with distance and par listed. This is a cool thing for first time course players to both have while they play and take home with them.

Of all the things that "make" a course and its resulting rating, a club that takes ownership/responsibility for that course goes a long way.

agreed on both counts. here in the st.louis area, lack of signage to the first tee/the next tee is the single biggest gripe i have. noone in the entire county seems to have the wherewithall to put the effort in to do it properly.

and yes, i would do it myself, but the county frowns upon people toting hammers and nails and cans of spray paint through public parks...

[Three Putt]

Clubs a lot of the time have this on a very low priority. They are made up mostly of competitive guys who are worried about when the tournament schedule will be out and how much cash added there is going to be for the PDGA events. In St. Louis, the Club spends a lot of time and manpower devoted to course maintenance, but it is maintenance intended for those courses to be in outstanding shape for PDGA events. There is little attention paid to items like finding your way around because...well, quite frankly because the people in charge of that maintenance already know their way around. It's hard for them to put themselves in the perspective of the new player who has no idea where the next tee is because it's been a long time since they were that guy. Painting a bottom rung is a very easy quick fix to the issue, and I've always been amazed at how few places do it.

[tick]

Three Putt is on the money! Two weeks ago, I played St.Louis' Sioux Passage, and Jefferson Barracks first time, with no maps out at either. I was on my own. There are two things we have recently done at our new Eau Claire course. "Next Tee ---->" stencilled onto a 4" thick concrete block burried flush into the ground and a hole length and direction arrow stenciled onto the concrete tee. Cheap, easy, and nearly vandal proof. (Right now those are under the snow - LOL!) I do like the painted basket spoke idea.

[craigd]

I have played a a couple of courses with multi pin placements. I have seen some good signs/maps of the holes but nothing telling you which placement the basket is in. No problem if you can see the basket but if not it is a little annoying. Any ideas or things you have seen that might help.

[DWill]

Codorus State Park (http://www.dgcoursereview.com/course.php?id=37) is southern central Pa, puts the next tee signs just underneath the basket.

It's hard to see in this picture, but just below the basket, you can see an arrow pointing to the right
http://a397.ac-images.myspacecdn.com/images01/41/l_eb50192128f8ce6bab4b1fb04b05a17c.jpg

In this picture, a lower budget approach
http://a523.ac-images.myspacecdn.com/images01/17/l_7a8d4f4e292bbf31c15cc6525d2ffff2.jpg

[The Valkyrie Kid]

Thanks. Even if you are the only one to get it done, it was worth spreading the idea!

This is the most unobtrusive way of conveying the info. MacGregor Park (http://www.dgcoursereview.com/forums/../course.php?id=646) was the first one I saw do that, so of course I noted that in my review (http://www.dgcoursereview.com/reviews.php?id=646&page=1&mode=rev#1318).

ERic

I agree this is a great idea. Especially for a course like Riverside here in Sumner, WA , which has about 12 layouts going every which way. The painted spokes would really help first time players with some navigation issues. At least with 4-5 of the main layouts, red, blue, green, orange, black...

[Olorin]

Rankin Lake (http://www.dgcoursereview.com/course.php?id=903&mode=ci) in Gastonia NC has some very simple, but highly effective navigational arrows. I don't have any pictures, but all they are is a ~2.5 inch piece of wood with point on one end. They look kind of like this >==> (if the equal signs were at the top and bottom.) I don't know if you can picture it.

But it you just had a 2.5 inch wide, 1 inch thick piece of wood you can make a bunch of them. The tail > of one is the point > of the one behind it. Paint them bright yellow, nail them to trees and you're in business.

[borndasaur]

If they are like many of the ones used around Charlotte they are wedge shaped and many have "NEX-T"
painted on them.

[Midnightbiker]

One thing we did at my local course was to spray paint one of the spokes on the basket that points to the next tee . It really helps because my home course can be really confusing for first time players.

[Olorin]

If they are like many of the ones used around Charlotte they are wedge shaped and many have "NEX-T"
painted on them.

No, they're not wedge shaped. The tail looks like > and the front looks like > and the top and bottom lines are parallel. It's a rectangle with the front and back cut in a sideways V. The nose of one is the tail of the one in front of it. Totally simple to make.

Are there any Gastonia people on here who can post a picture from Rankin Lake?

[The Valkyrie Kid]

I have played a a couple of courses with multi pin placements. I have seen some good signs/maps of the holes but nothing telling you which placement the basket is in. No problem if you can see the basket but if not it is a little annoying. Any ideas or things you have seen that might help.

This is from my review of Seven Oaks Course in Tennessee.

Each hole has from 3-6 basket placements. Their placements are represented by screws w/red washers on the metal tee signs. There are screws marked A, B, C, etc. The washer over the screw in the B slot means the basket is currently in the B position. And the A, B, C pin positions are clearly marked on the tee signs. These A,B,C layouts can sometimes range from 200' to almost 700''. This makes playing this course a totally different experience each time you play. The basket placements can be in some extremely difficult positions, tucked away deep in the wooded rough.

[solomon.trenton]

in southern new jersey the courses are all poorly laid out and few have the proper idetification to navigate to the next hole. great ideas and i will talk to the local course runners to see what can be done.

[thenamesben]

Olorin, I'm guessing it looks something like this:

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v129/shadow_realm3d/arrow.jpg

ALL HAIL MS PAINT!

[Innovadude]

Yes, drill into the tee signs and put a bolt or wingnut where the pin is right on the map of the hole, ifpossible. If not, 'a' 'b' and 'c' holes in the tee post and a bolt in the current placement. If no signs, why did you bother with another pin position in the first place? Make a sign instead.

[Olorin]

Unfortunately my filtering software won't allow me to see the picture, but i discovered that the shape is called a "chevron". (It's like a sergeant's chevron on it's side.) In MS Word do this:
Insert/ Picture/ Auto shapes/ Choose the Arrows shapes/ choose Chevron.

P.S.- can you post a thumbnail pic?

[thenamesben]

See it now?

[Olorin]

See it now?

That's exactly it! Thanks.

(Whew! So much work for such a simple thing.)

[ERicJ]

At Freedlander Park (http://www.dgcoursereview.com/forums/../course.php?id=1291):
http://lh3.ggpht.com/_PkLiobixfto/SVHrJlODJSI/AAAAAAAAkIM/g1z2sZm8Mak/s400/IMG_1025.JPG


At Circle R - Circ Hill DGC (http://www.dgcoursereview.com/forums/../course.php?id=612):
http://lh4.ggpht.com/_PkLiobixfto/SCmyOn_IqXI/AAAAAAAASCM/s-2DsBDXh4U/s400/IMG_7852.JPG
(Three different tees (blue, white, red) in this case all are in the same direction)


At Crosspoint Community Church (http://www.dgcoursereview.com/forums/../course.php?id=356):
http://lh5.ggpht.com/_PkLiobixfto/SAtuTi8nCjI/AAAAAAAAQPQ/4hOZpCWcvJU/s400/IMG_7703.JPG
(Kinda tiny sign in the ground, back and to the right of the basket)

ERic

[t i m]

At Tyler State Park, ever sign has a knob on the bottom that has three positions for A,B,C. They just point the knob at the right letter and you know where the pin is. Incredibly simple; incredibly easy to change. I don't have a pic handy, but I took one when I was up there because I was so impressed by the signage. Works great and saved tons of walking -- especially when you consider it's a 27 hole course with three pin positions on most of the holes.

[disc-o maniac]

yea i've noticed that too its such a great idea almost like a spinner that i guess the course worker changes. it does have flaws though such as someone just going up to it and changing it but i haven't had that problem yet

[t i m]

Personally, I really like the idea of the bricks in the ground with the stenciled "Next Tee >>>" on them.

The problem with painting spokes on the basket is that for many courses, where baskets change positions, it's not going to work well. The other challenges I see are that many people may not know to look for a painted spoke, and even those who do, it seems more likely to wear off than many other forms of marking.

The great part about the stenciled brick idea is that you can have a brick next to every pin position pointing to the next tee. If you've got two or three different tees, just put in two or three different bricks, color coded, each pointing in the correct direction.

Bricks embedded in the ground won't be mowed over and seem really cheap and simple. Great idea.

[scarpfish]

-Have cement tees? Nice spray painted stenciled hole #'s on the pad go a long way.
Make sure you use non-slip paint.

-Wooden cheap hand made arrows up in trees, or hanging from the basket to point to the next hole.

-Paint a bottom rung of a basket that points at the next tee.

These are good too, IF you have fixed placements for your baskets. If you have movable placements, your painted rungs or arrows might not make sense when the baskets are in the alternate placements. This is more complicated yet if you also have multiple tees. What I think is a better solution is if you have a cement base around your placements, paint the arrows on there. If not, get some bricks or patio stones and put them in the ground there (bury them where they're at grade level so the mowers don't get them). Realize that after a year or two, anything you paint is going to need repainting.

I also highly recommend everybody get an online map of their course made and put it up on their club's website, their parks department's website, and on DGCR. That way first timers and out of towners can print off a copy at their leisure and be ready to go before they even get to your course.

[Lewis]

I also highly recommend everybody get an online map of their course made and put it up on their club's website, their parks department's website, and on DGCR. That way first timers and out of towners can print off a copy at their leisure and be ready to go before they even get to your course.

Now THAT's a great idea! :D

[olydiscgolf]

I came up with a very easy way to make number plates for our baskets.
I got a 10' piece of 1 1/4 metal fence pipe, cut it into 6" lengths, bought 18 metal electrical box covers and welded the two together(you don't have to weld them, you could just screw them).I painted them all yellow, I bought number decals and labelled them all. It only took a couple hours, $30 bucks, and a couple of cold ones! Oh yea, then I had to take them to the course and screw them together.

We have Mach V's and the 1 1/4 fit nicely into the top.