Worried about losing courses?

[timj5304]

Are there any courses out there that people currently feel are in danger of being pulled if something does not change?

I hate to say it but one of the most popular courses in the nation, Acorn in Roseville, MN which has been around since about 1981 has to be getting close. The past year the hole 18 basket has been taken I believe 3x and also recently #8 was taken in addition to 18. Currently after a month or so, they are still missing a basket on hole 8. The fairways are not often mowed and vandalism is everywhere. With all that I heard about renovation, it would not shock me if they just said F@ck it and pull the course. I hear that they only have a total budget for the park for year of about 4000 which might sound like alot but it is not.

To anyone out there, please stop any wrong doing you see out there. I know many on this site have played there forever, I have been playing there close to 8 years now and hope to see it not only renovated but improved. Any other courses out there that were once a great place to be but now a toilet?

 

[mashnut]

Not necessarily great courses, but I've seen a lot of smaller courses in city parks that have a ton of safety issues with walking paths and conflicts with other park uses. As the sport grows in popularity, those issues are going to grow, and we're always going to lose when it comes down to pulling a course or pulling a walking path/playground/pavilion.

 

[MNcyclone]

Acorn park has a $150k renovation budget that would convert it into a 4+ rated pay to play course managed by Fairway Flyerz.

But no, oh no, the taxpayer groups wouldn't hear of making it sustainable so they are holding the funding up in committee. Jerks.

 

[jtreadwell]

Gowen Park in Sanford, ME. It's a nice little 9 hole park course witha surprising hole variety, but it's not being taken care of. Not only did someone absolutely maul baskets 4 and 5, someone keeps putting dog crap on the teeboxes. It's a real shame because there is potentially room for 9 more holes but I can't see whoever paid to put in the first 9 bothering if their brainchild keeps getting literally sh!t on...:thmbdown:

 

[Adontalis]

Beauties!

Acorn, in my opinion, is still a wonderful WONDERFUL course! It is one of the few remaining of it's calibor in the twin cities area that is yet free to play. As a frequent player of this course, I am outraged by the theft of the baskets. I'm not a fan of throwing at a stick instead of a basket.

I too am fearful of them closing Acorn down, which would be terrible. I am not opposed to it becoming a pay-to-play course either. I don't think this would solve the problem of basket theft though.

Another option for the park. Choose one location for the baskets and cement them permenantly in the ground or getting the locks that can't be cut with a bolt cutter.

Finally, if you are reading this and you are one of the basket theives, shame on you!

 

[timj5304]

Cementing them into the ground does not always stop them such as the case on hole #6 at Silverview last year which is right next to a busy road of all places. Pay to play is a positive answer and runs the scum off. How many times has Kaposia had baskets ripped off? How about North Valley? I am talking before they became pay to play.

Have Cottage Grove, CP Adams or Lakewood had basket thefts before? Maybe being so close to the city is part of the issue with Acorn?

 

[Three Putt]

Cementing them into the ground does not always stop them

Yeah, I had a lock cut so I cemented a basket in place. The next time somebody pulled up in a pickup, chained up the basket and pulled it out concrete and all. So I was getting smart and we put down a huge lake of concrete to anchor the next basket. Somebody took a sawzall and cut the sucker off. If they are going to take it, they are going to take it.

 

[dashiellx]

Yeah, I had a lock cut so I cemented a basket in place. The next time somebody pulled up in a pickup, chained up the basket and pulled it out concrete and all. So I was getting smart and we put down a huge lake of concrete to anchor the next basket. Somebody took a sawzall and cut the sucker off. If they are going to take it, they are going to take it.

Seriously, who would want a basket that much? That's a frack load of work to take and you still got a ton of work to make it usable for yourself.

 

[mashnut]

Not that much work to sell it for the metal.

 

[Three Putt]

I found one of them later. It was before Endicott Park had baskets. Whoever stole it thought they could move it around from place to place on the old object course there. When that didn't work, they smashed and bent the Hell out of it and threw it in the creek.

 

[rosevilledg]

acorn really needs to be fixed, i would be fine with pay to play. it would get rid of the rude groups of 8+ but unfortunately would change what makes acorn great. i think someone tried to dig out the basket on hole 13, and 8 being a stick is really lame.

 

[timj5304]

Your sources are correct. I saw the dirt mounded around hole 13 basket and my friend who plays there and is a local Roseville player said they tried digging it out and it was actually out. In addition with 8 still being a dang stick, does not look good for Acorn. Your right, what makes it great is it is a quick 18 hole course, even if packed it doesn't usually take more than a hour and a half. Problem is multiple dangerous tee pads(such as hole #2), blind shots(almost threw on a walked 3 days ago on hole #3), vandalism, stolen tee pads and a small budget overall do not sound good for the courses future.