The Community of Disc Golfers and About All Things Disc Golf

Course Improvements

Last week (November 2, 2010), I met with Army Corps to discuss several issues related to the course, tournaments and the future of the facility. Below are the highlights of the meeting.

They want to take "ownership" of course improvements this next spring. Basically, they want to "kick it up a knotch" and make sure all existing in-ground improvements are up to their professional standards! We will be GPSing everything from tees - to trails so that they will have all that information in a single, unified database. Then they will make improvements to several tee boxes, cut trails to replace the current side-sloping ones, build bridges at Holes 8 and 11 and anything else they feel necessary to make the course a worthy destination. The goal is to have all these improvements in place before the 2nd Annual Banging Chains For Charity event in May (5/7-8/2011). WOW!

Currently, making the "Temporary Course" a permanent feature is not a priority for the Army Corps as they want to focus on "fixing up" the "Regular Course". I realize that many of you will be deeply dissapointed in this decision as so many of you have expressed your approval of the "Temporary Course" design and your desire to have it installed permanently. I am glad that so many people expressed their approval of the design, and I will work on getting it permanently installed at a later date. Perhaps by the Fall of 2011? I will also work on making it available for use during tournaments if at all possible.

We also agreed to work on the tee pads to reduce the "slippery when wet" issue. The initial work will involve hand cleaning the rubber mats and applying an aerosol adhesive together with a medium to increase grip ( ie sand, ground walnut shell etc). This should hold us through the coming rainy season and give us time to address the issue more comprhensively in the future. The goal is to eliminate this issue by next year's rains.

We will also begin looking at options for secondary hole positions, with an eye on having them in place before next May's big charity event. Nothing wrong with a little variety!

Things are on the move. Stay tuned!

Tags: Black, Butte, Lake, course, improvements

Replies to This Discussion

Permalink Reply by BogieWon on January 18, 2010 at 1:24pm

Here are the basic results of the GPS adventure.

Holes Under 300' = 9
Holes over 300' = 9
Total Length = 5287 feet

Holes with potential water hazards = 5 (depends on seasonal lake level)

We will be finishing the installation of the Tee signs (with distances) after these storms pass.

We are also working on getting maps (and maybe scorecards) available out there soon (available at Course Board).

I have updated the PDGA website, and also uploaded our info onto www.dgcoursereview.com (a pretty cool site).

Permalink Reply by Senior on January 18, 2010 at 1:30pm

Nicely balanced course..... long and challenging with enough birdie ops...

Permalink Reply by BogieWon on January 19, 2010 at 4:01pm

We just got another donation! This time for $300 for more course infrastructure. We will be using these funds to purchase and install the last 9 benches and to get us some picnic tables out there. Hopefully there will be enough funding for 3-4 tables. We are looking to have the tables installed on Holes# 1, 6 and 16 so far. This work should all be completed by late February (maybe even for our next Monthly).

Permalink Reply by BogieWon on February 24, 2010 at 6:52pm

Some new developments to report. The score cards have been printed, and are available at the Course Board. I am working on maps and hope to have them available my mid-March (look for them at the Big Board). We should be installing the last nine benches within a week or two. Benches on every hole pretty soon!

Permalink Reply by BogieWon on February 11, 2011 at 10:15am

The course will be under construction today and tomorrow. The Army Corps will be cutting trail on paths of the side sloping holes and making some improvements to certain tee box areas. They will also be installing a bridge at hole 11. The work will be undertaken by the CDF ConCrews from the Salt Creek Camp under supervision of the Park Rangers. If you intend to play Black Butte Lake over the next few days, please do not interfere with the construction efforts or the ConCrews. You should just skip whatever hole they are working on. Please be on your best behavior while they are out there.

Permalink Reply by BogieWon on February 17, 2011 at 4:22pm

Just talked to Ranger Bill. He said the con crews finished their improvements on holes 11 and 13. The tee boxes were expended to 8 feet in length, flattened out and shored up with "plastic bumpers". Work will continue when the weather gets better. It should look really great when they are done!

Permalink Reply by BogieWon on May 16, 2011 at 11:52am