Gblambert
Birdie Member
Three years ago we started work on our two private disc golf courses and finished the last hole earlier this year. We live on top of an aquifer that supplies water to a number of large cities, so our land sits in the middle of a very environmentally sensitive area. Needless to say, we try and take care of the land and be good neighbors as best we can. During these three years though, I've seen the land change dramatically and the resulting impact on the native vegetation and wildlife. The changes have been good in some cases and in others, not so much. We mitigate the negative impacts where we can. These are my observations and I'm wondering if others have had noticed similar things on their courses.
The Bad
Loss of wildlife - we used to see lots of rabbits, mice, deer, and two pair of roadrunners used to inhabit our property. As our disc golf traffic has increased, or wildlife population has decreased dramatically. I think the critters are still in the area, they just moved to my neighbors next door. We also left the areas next to fairways rough, so there seems to be more birds and other wildlife in those areas.
Loss of vegetation - we selectively cleared our fairways with chainsaws (no heavy machinery) and only removed nuisance vegetation like cactus, junipers, and scrub. Still, this left our newly cleared fairways open to ...
Soil erosion - we've had a couple of severe storms in the last couple of years that removed a couple of inches of soil from the fairways with elevation, leaving freshly exposed rocks in its place. We clear the rocks, but a new batch appears after the next rain.
Water runoff - half of the course meanders through a dry creek bed that was full of brush and dead vegetation. This caused water backups, with a lot of water soaking into the aquifer. A lot of this was cleared to make fairways, so water now flows quickly off the property. Not sure what we can do about this, other than creating a few permanent dams to hold the water longer.
Soil compaction - we are lucky to have lots of mature live oak trees on the property and many of these are located at tee pad and basket locations where the soil gets really compacted. Mulching these areas seems to help.
Tree damage - trees close to tee pads have begun to take hits and show damage. We're planning to install sleeves around the trunks of the most affected trees soon.
The Good
Grass and wildflowers - as we cleared fairways we were pleasantly surprised to see how quickly grass and wildflowers took over. And the more rocks we cleared from the fairways, the thicker the grass and wildflowers grew. Erosion is much less of a problem now.
The live oaks - the oaks are the jewel of the property and the more scrub brush and junipers we removed from beneath them, the more vines we removed from their canopies, and the more mulch we spread below them, the more they thrived.
Additional plantings - we've just started, but plan to add more native trees and shrubs with minimal water requirements throughout the course in the years to come.
Water - we haven't dug a water well yet, instead collecting water off the roofs of our buildings. We're also not connected to a city sewer system and don't have a septic system yet, so we rely on porta potties.
The Bad
Loss of wildlife - we used to see lots of rabbits, mice, deer, and two pair of roadrunners used to inhabit our property. As our disc golf traffic has increased, or wildlife population has decreased dramatically. I think the critters are still in the area, they just moved to my neighbors next door. We also left the areas next to fairways rough, so there seems to be more birds and other wildlife in those areas.
Loss of vegetation - we selectively cleared our fairways with chainsaws (no heavy machinery) and only removed nuisance vegetation like cactus, junipers, and scrub. Still, this left our newly cleared fairways open to ...
Soil erosion - we've had a couple of severe storms in the last couple of years that removed a couple of inches of soil from the fairways with elevation, leaving freshly exposed rocks in its place. We clear the rocks, but a new batch appears after the next rain.
Water runoff - half of the course meanders through a dry creek bed that was full of brush and dead vegetation. This caused water backups, with a lot of water soaking into the aquifer. A lot of this was cleared to make fairways, so water now flows quickly off the property. Not sure what we can do about this, other than creating a few permanent dams to hold the water longer.
Soil compaction - we are lucky to have lots of mature live oak trees on the property and many of these are located at tee pad and basket locations where the soil gets really compacted. Mulching these areas seems to help.
Tree damage - trees close to tee pads have begun to take hits and show damage. We're planning to install sleeves around the trunks of the most affected trees soon.
The Good
Grass and wildflowers - as we cleared fairways we were pleasantly surprised to see how quickly grass and wildflowers took over. And the more rocks we cleared from the fairways, the thicker the grass and wildflowers grew. Erosion is much less of a problem now.
The live oaks - the oaks are the jewel of the property and the more scrub brush and junipers we removed from beneath them, the more vines we removed from their canopies, and the more mulch we spread below them, the more they thrived.
Additional plantings - we've just started, but plan to add more native trees and shrubs with minimal water requirements throughout the course in the years to come.
Water - we haven't dug a water well yet, instead collecting water off the roofs of our buildings. We're also not connected to a city sewer system and don't have a septic system yet, so we rely on porta potties.