Hi, Denny --
I recognize this sign as Hole #9 at Steeplechase park in Kyle, Texas.
https://www.dgcoursereview.com/view_image.php?id=1871&p=8200160a
I can assure you that there was no playground there when I designed the course 10+ years ago. Nor was it there when I did a review for the City in fall of 2014. In case anyone thinks I designed a hole with a playground in play, I want to make sure they know it's not true. I take safety very seriously and would never do something so egregious.
The moral of the story is that sometimes "bad design" is actually someone else making a bad decision long after the course was put in. And it happens far too often -- a few years ago I visited a course I had designed, only to find a 20' x 20' pavilion in the middle of a par three hole, about 100' in front of the tee.
I recently did a walk-through with city officials at McCord Park in Little Elm, Texas. I was shocked to see a sidewalk running right through the middle of Hole #4 and Hole #5. For all I know, it's been there for two years or more.
If anyone reading this ever sees any crazy changes like this on a course I've designed, please send me an e-mail:
[email protected] When cities do something that endangers players or the public, they need to know that they've created that risk. There is a problem in our industry, and we all need to work together to fix t.
Thanks for bringing the Kyle situation to my attention. I'll bring it up with the parks department tonight. To be fair to the parks department, Google Earth shows something about 75' from the basket -- it's not as close to the fairway as you depicted it, unless they've added something since January -- but it's still too close.
