Ski hill course has been approved... now what?

[dethyr]

After playing Mont du lac I went to one of my local ski hills and asked if the owner would be into putting in a permanent disc golf course and he was extremely into the idea. 18-36 holes and more worth of space, uphill, downhill, flat land and water hazards etc.

From the get go, we want this course to be a destination for disc golfers in both Canada and the states, most notably those in the northern states nearest to us like MN and WI etc so the course has to be PDGA approved from day one.

I am working along side experienced players and experienced landscapers but there is not a ton of knowledge with regard to course design and even more so in regard to PDGA approved course design.

I am looking for some resources on course design and PDGA approval and also some advice from some designers that have tackled something similar.

 

[Aim For The Chains]

Contact Steve West and Chuck Kennedy they should be able to direct you to the right people in that area or even help themselves.

Edit: Im on my phone but maybe someone else can link their profiles or the designer website thats popular.

 

[Cgkdisc]

There's no such thing as official PDGA Approval for courses, at least not yet. You might want to contact Bryan Lagergren who did Mont du lac (if you like what he did). http://www.pdga.com/course-directory/course/mont-du-lac-white-cedar
Or Anton Tomonovich who did Giant's Ridge in Biwabik. Not sure if Anton is still doing disc golf though. http://www.pdga.com/course-directory/course/giants-ridge

 

[dethyr]

Hmmm... see I was told that there were certain guidelines that had to be met for a course to be PDGA sanctioned/approved etc.. we have a course here that apparently can't get such a title because of the fairways being too close together.

 

[Cgkdisc]

There are PDGA Guidelines but no one from the PDGA specifically evaluates a course to approve or certify it. Here are the guidelines: http://www.pdga.com/files/PDGA Course Design Guides March 2014.pdf There are a basket guidelines for the tier of a sanctioned event. But most new courses are going in using one of the 30+ Championship level models available.

 

[1Roy]

We had a cool ski hill course by us that died from lack of maintenance. How many people a day would realistically play? Does the owner really want to mow and maintain 36 holes on a ski hill for ? Is he/she around in the summer?

Also, I go fishing with a bunch of guys in ontario every summer for a week and crossing the border is such a scam that we dont plan to go next year. You cant take more than like one case of beer or one bottle of wine and then they bend you over to buy it in Canada. Potatoes? Nope. CANADIAN night crawlers? No effing way. It feels like a shakedown.

 

[Cgkdisc]

Maintenance is definitely a concern. From what I understand though, the snow cover is better for skiing in the winter if the grass is mowed a 3-4 times during the summer. The lower hill, cross country areas are sometimes better for a disc golf course that's both championship and rec player friendly.

 

[Pbmercil]

Hire an experienced course designer.

 

[Steve West]

The ski hill owner will definitely want to hire a designer. The designer will do what is best for the owner. I hate to say it, but the dream/extreme course you and some local players might want may not be what is best for the ski hill. In which case it wouldn't last long anyway.

The owner should interview Bryan, Anton, and Chuck because they have experience on ski hills. If they don't work out, I can be found at my website stevewestdiscgolf.com. I do have experience with courses that need to support themselves in ways other than tax dollars.

 

[dethyr]

Problem with course design is that money is gonna be tight. What does a course designer usually run?

 

[Steve West]

Problem with course design is that money is gonna be tight. What does a course designer usually run?

Surprisingly little.

Or, a lot less than the extra costs you'll incur if you don't have one.

Or, a fraction of the increased value from having one.

Compensation is just one of the things that should be discussed with each designer candidate in private.

 

[goosefraba1]

My advice is to get a designer... And find a bunch of guys willing to help install the course. Doing it mostly by yourself is rough.

 

[Pbmercil]

I head another thought for you. I know you said in the first post that you are wanting to build a "destination" course. This is admirable, but potentially misguided. Given that the goal will be to generate revenue for the ski hill during the offseason, the #1 group of players you should probably be targeting is the locals. The locals will show out for the right course, and hopefully put enough players on the hill to justify the investment by the owner. If you set your goal as a championship caliber, destination course you may not get as much local traffic. The number of players willing to travel for disc golf is not huge, and if that is your main market you may not get enough traffic on the course to justify the investment. The sucessful "destination" courses that I've played get a ton of traffic and support from their local scenes, I'm sure its a lot more then the number of traveling players coming thru. Just some food for thought.

 

[dethyr]

Actually we opted to make it a free course. The property owner actually just wants some help with the grass maintenance costs which we can generate via grants, sponsors, tourneys and league fees. When I said destination course, I meant as a secondary goal. Mainly we want this course to give players another option and something with more variety than the course we have now.

 

[Pbmercil]

Actually we opted to make it a free course. The property owner actually just wants some help with the grass maintenance costs which we can generate via grants, sponsors, tourneys and league fees. When I said destination course, I meant as a secondary goal. Mainly we want this course to give players another option and something with more variety than the course we have now.

Well never mind then! That's a pretty cool idea. I'm kinda suprised he's willing to let his land be used for free but rock on

 

[dethyr]

As for a designer, I have contacted Logger at MDL and he's willing to consult via phone and I have a few other designers that have reached out with the same offer. A friend from MN is going to come up and help us with the flow of the holes and such.