Colorado Springs Disc Golf and the Local DG Scene

In the hopes that there are other Colorado golfers on here that can help with this topic I felt I needed to post a response to a previous thread that has been closed by the author. I do not want to start a flame war but this is very important to the future of golf in Colorado Springs and should be heard.

As Jim stated before, there is a newcomer in town who made a fantastic presentation to the the Parks and Rec Board about the congestion on current courses in the area. He was able to convince the Board to approve 5 new courses, a vital first step in the pursuit of new courses anywhere. The City has not offered funding at this point but many in the local club have expressed intense interest in organizing fundraisers to acquire the necessary money to install new courses. There was a tournament in the Springs last weekend and everyone was excited about the prospect of new courses and the bright future of disc in the area. My son and I rented a room from non-golfers through www.airbnb.com ( a whole different topic, check out the website) and the first thing they asked when we entered their home was if we had heard about the approval of new courses for "frisbee golf?" They went on and on about how nice it was that the city was going to give us new spaces to play what seemed to be a fun sport. The checker at Safeway noticed my disc golf shirt and mentioned the article in the paper too. So, Jim, the newspaper coverage has had just the opposite effect of what you are thinking. The whole town now seems to be aware of disc golf, the growth it is experiencing, and the need for more courses.

I do not understand your reaction to this achievement of approval from the Parks Board? When you say you want to have your voice heard, I am truly hoping it is not to present an argument against new courses simply because you were not included in the process? Noone at the tournament seemed to know who the new guy is but everyone praised his dedication and hard work to accomplish what he has already. The disc golf community needs to present a united front to the City as a whole, not a fractured and disorganized mash up. Wouldn't it be better for everyone if the Springs got 5 new courses? Why not find out who the new person is and ask how we can help instead of trying to undercut his efforts? That was the consensus amongst those at the tourney last weekend.

As for your comments about Widefield being used for the State Championships? I am worried you may not exactly have your finger on the pulse of local disc golf? Widefield, along with Pueblo, hosted the event in 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, and 2007 before the state finally decided other worthy venues should get a shot at hosting. The event became an A tier in 2004 as well, attracting lots of nationally known players. Please Jim, use caution if you decide to "have your voice heard" and realize this can only have positive outcomes if we all work together.

Thoughts from other golfers around the country experiencing similar growing pains?

[Jim Coonradt]

I stand corrected if that is the case with States.

 

First of all Rob, I would like to invite you to come down to Cottonwood this Saturday and see the hard work that is going into getting Cottonwood cleaned up and ready for Spring. It is going to be a large work day and we need people to be involved. Cottonwood is still a very relevant piece of the puzzle here in Colorado Springs, whether people want to admit it or just go around and complain that it isn't the ideal course. Many of our local pros have honed their skills at Cottonwood and it has stood the test of time. And even when and if new courses go in I will not be turning my back on a course where I have honed my skills for the past 17 years.

 

I also think that you should understand that there are tensions under the surface here and "presenting a united front" may not be so easy when there are 100 different ways of looking at the situation and how to achieve a goal. There is going to be a meeting on April 12 with this guy Nick Kittles and I have already looked into who he is and what he does. He is a guy who works for the City as some kind of facilitator. I have no issues with moving forward and trying to get new courses in. In fact, I am looking into getting a nine hole course in at Quail Lake, a centrally located piece of property where we have had approval for some time in getting a course there but nobody has taken the initiative to do so. The ball has been dropped and never picked up again. I will be calling the Parks Department today about that.

 

I think that it is easy for an outsider to come in and just see everything as rosy when we all agree on the goal but have differing opinions on how to get there. The very first issue is of course money and there has been no mention at this point of any way to pay for new courses. I hope that we can work that out. The second issue is of course maintenance. We have a hard enough time getting maintenance done at one course let alone six courses. We need people to step up this Saturday and show that we can pull people together when necessary. But maintenance requires a lot of things and needs people who are willing to go out every so often to fix a problem. The city does not maintain our courses. That is our responsibility.

 

I am still optimistic about the possibilities that are being presented to us. I do think that it is a chance to get some new courses. Just be aware that right now I am seeing more of a "disorganized mashup" than an organized front. Rumors are flying because  of the way this is going down. That is the reality and as someone who doesn't live here I wouldn't expect you to understand that. This meeting on April 12 should be a good step in the right direction. And hopefully it will dispel some of the rumors and put us on the right path.

 

Also Rob, have you had a chance to go to Fountain and play their new "course" that they put in. It is never used because it seems they rushed the whole thing without consulting any of the locals and what you get is a piece of land with some baskets. That is not what we want or need. We need good quality courses, IMHO of better quality than either Widefield or Cottonwood. We need to do this thing right because we may not get another shot at it.

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[Jim Coonradt]

I would definitely agree with you that we are having growing pains at the moment. Count me in as cautiously optimistic. Also remember that if you want something to happen then you should include those people who have been hard at work behind the scenes for the past 15 years. I (and some others) have been at every single work day and also go out in our spare time to do maintenance work. I hope to report back that our work day on Saturday was a huge success and that we accomplished a lot. And I hope that our meeting goes well and that we get closer to a true united front, not just a made up one.

 

Edit: I just made a call to the head of the Parks Department (left a message) inquiring about the status of Quail Lake. We will see what happens. 

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[Jim Coonradt]

Also, I just spoke with a friend of mine who is the other person organizing Saturday's clean up project. He will be putting in a bridge in a muddy area and told me that he emailed this guy (Nick Kittles) to urge him to come out to the cleanup day at Cottonwood on Saturday. I also believe that is important and would go a long ways to setting us on the right path. This should also give him a chance to see what goes on behind the scenes.

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[Jim Coonradt]

Just got an email from Nick Kittles saying that he will try to show up on Saturday. I also got an email from the club president explaining how this all came about. It seems that things are going in the right direction now.

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[Rob Liebman]

Glad to hear things are moving in a positive direction. I hope everything goes great with your cleanup day, I'm afraid 2.5 hrs each way is a bit too far for me to make it. Good luck with the meeting and when it comes time for fundraisers we will do our part.

BTW- couldn't agree more on the Fountain course. Maybe a decent spot to work on short game but not much ore than that. Would it be a possibility to move those baskets to a more favorable location?

[Jim Coonradt]

Would love to do that. I never really heard the story about that course. Something like there was an offer of design from someone local and then they didn't listen to suggestions and just threw baskets in. It's too bad because it seems like an opportunity wasted.

 

Now looking forward to the work day and I hope that our contact shows up. That would be a great opportunity. I announced it at league and some people have said that they will show up. I think that for the first time in a while things seem to be heading in the right direction. I am definitely more optimistic today. There are starting to be some more productive discussions happening. 

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