Course Questions

[Blaaaake77]

I thank everyone for your responses again, means a lot to get a bunch of different answers coming in! To clear up some confusion I wrote question 3 kinda weird, what I meant by monthly tournaments was that we would host a tournament every month. Anyone would be allowed to at, membership or not, you wouldn't need to play in them all, just ones that fit into your schedule!

 

[Blaaaake77]

I thank everyone for your responses again, means a lot to get a bunch of different answers coming in! To clear up some confusion I wrote question 3 kinda weird, what I meant by monthly tournaments was that we would host a tournament every month. Anyone would be allowed to play in, membership or not, you wouldn't need to play in them all, just ones that fit into your schedule!

 

[KenTyburski]

1. Do you stay away from pay to play, or does it not matter?

I will absolutely play a pay-to-play course, if it is a top-notch course that is worth the money. Lake's Edge DGC in Reidsville, NC is "pay to play" but only because there is a per-car park fee of $2. That's well worth 1-2 rounds in a day there.

2. Would you pay a higher one time rate for a membership?

Yes, if the cost was reasonable and the course was close to where I live. Fortunately, I am a school teacher and have my summers off. If I had any memberships, I would spend a lot of the summer playing those courses.

3. Would you take part of monthly tournaments?

Again, if the course was nearby, yes. And, if any additional fee for not being a course member was minimal.

4. What are some major amenities you look for at a pay to play course?

Amenities aren't as important to me as the knowledge that someone's time combined with my money goes into the upkeep and improvement of the course (in addition to helping pay for any taxes or fees on the ownership of the land), and that the course itself is worth paying to play.

5. Would spend time at the "clubhouse" to eat and have a drink after or before a round? That's if we build a bar and grill on the course, which I think we are going to be ending up doing

Sounds great. This would be one amenity that would definitely be interesting. Blue Ribbon Pines had a snack shack at the turn (on a 27-hole course) with a grill open at certain times, energy bars and snacks, and drinks of all kinds; I thought that was an awesome touch. Get a snack and a drink and take a break mid-round.

6. If we offered camping, would you take use of it?

Yes, depending on the season and the reason! If you've got the land and the means, little cabins or shelters to keep wind or the elements away from people who wanted to stay would be the next step up from primitive camping.

Good luck.

 

[teemkey]

1. Do you stay away from pay to play, or does it not matter?

I personally like pay to play because those courses are dedicated to disc golf.

2. Would you pay a higher one time rate for a membership? This would be a one calendar year (just an example for now) in length besides getting a pass you will get some course gear(clothing and other apperal) as well as a discount on all pro shop purchases. Maybe even a tournament discount fee or exclusive events for members only.

The two p2p courses where I have a season pass charge roughly 20x the day rate. That's a good rule of thumb. I'd have a problem if the charge was much higher.

3. Would you take part of monthly tournaments?

Depends. I enjoy playing sanctioned events, charity events, and some other specialized fund raisers; scheduling would be an issue.

4. What are some major amenities you look for at a pay to play course?

Running water & flush toilets are great. Snacks & sodas are great. That said, a porta-potty is all I really need.

5. Would spend time at the "clubhouse" to eat and have a drink after or before a round? That's if we build a bar and grill on the course, which I think we are going to be ending up doing

Doesn't interest me.

6. If we offered camping, would you take use of it?

Probably not if you were local to me. If I was traveling, yes.

 

[BennettUA]

1. Do you stay away from pay to play, or does it not matter?

I don't stay away, but it has to be worth the price. If it's a crummy course, I'm not going to pay just to add another course to the list. If it's a great course, or even just decent, I haven't seen any place charge more than a fraction of what I'd be willing to pay.

2. Would you pay a higher one time rate for a membership? This would be a one calendar year (just an example for now) in length besides getting a pass you will get some course gear(clothing and other apperal) as well as a discount on all pro shop purchases. Maybe even a tournament discount fee or exclusive events for members only.

Yes. I would imagine this would be an affordable price to begin with, regardless of course quality, so as long as the course was local and I could play it often, I doubt it would be out of the range of what I'd be willing to play.

3. Would you take part of monthly tournaments?

Yes, so long as the course was worth playing.

4. What are some major amenities you look for at a pay to play course?

None, other than great golf. That really is all. Everything else above that is gravy. It takes a lot of time, work, effort, and money to make a course and keep it running. Therefor, in the end, if the golf is good, I can live without great pads/signage/clubhouses/foot massages/etc

5. Would spend time at the "clubhouse" to eat and have a drink after or before a round? That's if we build a bar and grill on the course, which I think we are going to be ending up doing

If the people were likeable and the course fun, absolutely! The places that I've been to that have similar hangout spots are always fun.

6. If we offered camping, would you take use of it?

If it were far enough away that I would need to camp, then yes. Especially if we could get rowdy, bring dogs, play glow golf, and again, if the golf was worth driving that far for.



I've paid-to-play at a few state parks, and each time they were worth the less-than-5-bucks to play. If I were a local, I'd definitely pay for an annual membership at those places, guessing they couldn't be more than $30-$40.

As for private courses, which I see as pay-for-play even if they don't ask for it, I've seen some great amenities(5-star accomadations, grills, stocked beer, homemade meals, golf carts). Some of those courses have no tee pads, poor signage, no trash cans, and ill-maintained areas.
But far and away, the golf and fun factor on private courses I've played have been so far above par, that I don't care one iota about concrete teepads, or pristine signage, or trash cans on every tee(PACK IN PACK OUT!), or anything else. If someone has gone out of their way(and pocket) to build a private course, chances are I'm going to love every second of it. Even Legacy Trails, which admittedly so by Moose himself is overly righty-hyzer-friendly, is so much fun to throw and be out there with him on his property, that I really could care less if it's lefty-friendly, or anything else.

Make a great disc golf course, and you'll find that people like myself will pay your fee on the first tee and empty their wallets on the last.

For reference, the private courses I've played have been
Legacy Trails
Harmon Hills
Holler in the Hills
Crucible
Flyboy
Stoney Hill
Bracket's Bluff(new and old)
Avery's Spring

 

[BennettUA]

Also for reference, I've paid to play at
IDGC
North Georgia Canopy Tours
Hampton Park
Trophy Lakes
Sandy Creek
River Chase
Elk Mountain
Tupelo Bay
Winthrop Gold
All-Terrain
Hudson Mills
Lake Russell
Turkey Lake
Adventure Ridge

 

[scarpfish]

1. Doesn't matter
2. Would have to be close to home
3. Perhaps
4. Something out of the ordinary and a lack of riff raff
5. Perhaps
6. I'm not much into camping, but if its the only thing available.

 

[Doofenshmirtz]

1. Do you stay away from pay to play, or does it not matter?

All other things being equal, I prefer pay to play. In most cases it means that there will be fewer players to slow me down. IMO, price should be commensurate with the quality of the course and, to a lesser extent, the proximity to other courses. As long as that is true, I'd rather pay to play any course. But I'm not going to pass up a high quality course to play a lower quality course no matter what the cost to play either.

2. Would you pay a higher one time rate for a membership? This would be a one calendar year (just an example for now) in length besides getting a pass you will get some course gear(clothing and other apparel) as well as a discount on all pro shop purchases. Maybe even a tournament discount fee or exclusive events for members only.

For a good course, close to home, I would pay for a membership.

3. Would you take part [in] monthly tournaments?

Yes

4. What are some major amenities you look for at a pay to play course?

Pro shop, restrooms, water.

5. Would [you] spend time at the "clubhouse" to eat and have a drink after or before a round? That's if we build a bar and grill on the course, which I think we are going to be ending up doing

No.

6. If we offered camping, would you take use of it?

No. If I am traveling and need to sleep, I'll stay in a hotel. If it is close by, I'll sleep at my house.

 

[simpletwist]

1. As I said in your poll, I prefer pay to play.

2. I paid a one time, lifetime membership for my wife and myself.

3. At Hawk's Landing there are routinely events of all types including tournaments and weekly leagues. I do participate.

4. Pro shop, benches & signs at every tee, snack bar, places to socialize including something out of the elements, bathrooms, practice baskets.

5. In your poll I neglected to mention the clubhouse at Hawk's Landing. It has a foosball table, pool table, a dartboard, as well as tables and chairs. It gets regular use.

6. As a travel trailer owner on site camping would be a major plus.

 

[Kodachrome]

If you voted in my previous poll about snow disc golf, I thank you very much. We got a lot of great responses and our question answered! Now I just have a few open ended questions I'm hoping you guys will be able to answer pretty well. Answer all or just a few of my questions any answers help us out!

1. Do you stay away from pay to play, or does it not matter?

2. Would you pay a higher one time rate for a membership? This would be a one calendar year (just an example for now) in length besides getting a pass you will get some course gear(clothing and other apperal) as well as a discount on all pro shop purchases. Maybe even a tournament discount fee or exclusive events for members only.

3. Would you take part of monthly tournaments?

4. What are some major amenities you look for at a pay to play course?

5. Would spend time at the "clubhouse" to eat and have a drink after or before a round? That's if we build a bar and grill on the course, which I think we are going to be ending up doing

6. If we offered camping, would you take use of it?

Please leave your answers in a response and add anything that crosses your mind that I may have missed! Thank you again for your help we are very grateful!

1. only matters if i feel it's not been/is not being/will not be invested properly into the course to make it true gold level caliber (that's what i would really love to see, just personal preference playing a role here obviously) or to pay the people who run it.

2. pro shop discounts are cool, don't care about the gear though. as far as how much i'd pay it really depends on the course and its proximity. i just can't justify paying for something like that if it's more than a half an hour away. i won't go there enough.

3. i'd try, but don't know if i could make it every month.

4. the stuff you're mentioning in 5. don't really care for golf carts. in my opinion an amazing course is not navigable by golf cart unless you have a parking area to come back to after you throw the tough holes and are back in the open. of course, there's something to be said for the sheer beauty of the land, so if there were rolling hills and ponds, just gorgeous stuff, i'd def. be cool with golf carts and more of a links style. bag hangers are cool. benches/trash cans. i pack in/pack out but there are plenty who don't. try to keep their mess down. lost disc area ala brp. muck rakes to get stuff out of water. wader rental??? gotta sign a waiver and have someone monitor to make sure nobody is taking plastic that isn't their own or drowning. all discs not belonging to person have to get put into lost disc area. disc golfers helping disc golfers and getting the opportunity to get their plastic back for a nominal fee. that will never happen but i like the idea in a perfect, hippie world. circular teepads ala that one hole at brp. TEEPADS THAT ARE ALL LEVEL, PLEASE. true in/out of the "circle" measurements that are marked or if the green is defined somehow, maybe by that erosion control material that will integrate with the grass yet still be visible? iiii dunno. a biff or two so people aren't pissing in the woods so much. practice baskets, signs for tees and arrows to next tee on basket.


5. absolutely. i never play less than two or three rounds if i have to drive a significant distance, and i'll usually play two or three at the local courses anyway. almost never just one. i'm going to get hungry and thirsty, and chances are i'll want beers, brats, hotdogs and burgers to chill out for a bit during the round or after. my friends and i will enjoy our time that much more.

6. hell yeah. it's one of the only reasons i'm going to highbridge this year. camping is cheap.