Clean Courses

["Tiger"]

Hey guys. Really this needs to be posted on the huntsville website, but 1) I don't ever go on there and I'm not a member of the club scene up there and 2) I think its something that really every disc golfer needs to read. So if someone could forward this to the Huntsville site that would be great.

I played Monte Sano this past weekend. First and foremost I thought it was a good course. Not gonna make my top 10 list, but a nice course that, to quote my wife, is "like going for a hike and then occasionally throwing some discs". Now for the Birmingham crew who have not played this course I don't know anything about it its located in a state park, with a $3 entry fee on weekends ($2 during the week). All of this is leading up to the fact that Steph and I between us picked up well over a dozen beer cans, a couple of cigarette cartons and countless amounts of scraps of trash... just in the first 6 holes. We didn't think to bring a trash bag so we couldn't fit anymore in my golf bag. this should serve as a warning to the golfers in Huntsville that unless you guys want your course pulled either just wait til after the round to drink, or bring a trash bag or something.

If this course were anywhere else I don't think it would be as big a deal, but when the course is set in a state park, I don't care how much your city loves the sport. If you come across to them as a group of people who will come in a destroy the beauty of the park and just throw trash any and everywhere you see fit, even the most accepting of parks will ask you to leave. Even here at GW I get tired of seeing the mounds of trash that pile up on 15. Granted a lot of that is also from our homeless friends that like to leave clothes there, but I've seen beer cans and even seen from a far as golfers have dropped cans and bottles here and there in the park. Stop acting like 6 year olds and pick up your damn trash. It looks bad on ALL of us. Sorry for the rant but that really bothered me this weekend.

[Wildman Ken]

I posted it on The RCCG (red) forums so they could address these concerns Tiger.

[Matt Ambrose]

I completely agree. It's an unfortunate commentary on the decay of personal responsibility that goes right along with those lovely people who leave their shopping cart in the middle of the parking lot to ding up your car. As soon as they are done with their cigarette butt, beer can, McDs bag etc. it ceases to exist for them and becomes someone elses problem. I've picked up beer bottles 6 feet from an empty trash can at Brahan. Apparently that extra 6' was too much effort.

We will lose that course if it continues. We have a meeting tomorrow so we'll kick around some ideas. 1st priority is to get at least a few trash cans out to create a better opportunity to do the right thing.

BTW most of the miscreants are likely not club members or people who participate in organized golf but that won't keep their actions from being associated with us.

[drdisc]

Monte Sano could be the stepping stone to other State Parks in AL. It has to be a good example to the other Parks when they call for a reference.
The same situation took place in a Florida County Park. The Park Ranger banned tourney play. They had to wait for him to retire before tourneys happend again.

[discomotofish]

More trash cans helps in most situations. The fairway on 5 at GW (or MTDGC at GWP!) used to be pretty littered. With the addition of the trash cans on the concreeks, it seems to be less so.

Unfortunately, we'll probably always have the problem on Green Springs Avenue, where people throw stuff out of their cars that lands near the teepad for B, and further east toward 13 long.

What we really need are a couple of portable toilets that are serviced regularly. They should be placed far enough away from the pavilions and parking lots so the picnickers and softballers don't fill them up so fast (can you say "Go somewhere else to take a dump?"), but convenient enough for us disc golfers to use when necessary and the service trucks to get to without too much trouble. Like maybe at the dirt turnaround at the left end of 5's fairway, and at the dirt service road adjacent to the big stone bridge at the far end of 13.

[selwonk nitsuj]

Maybe we need to make some more elaborate signs about trash in the park. We have one on hole 1 that is small and half broken. Also i don't think you have to worry about the people on this forum littering bottles and cans(i would hope anyways). I do know that a lot of dgbers are not good about throwing there cig butts away. I think dgb smokers should definately try holding on to their butts until they get around to a trash can. I put all my butts in the side pocket of my bag. The bag is washable. BUTTS ARE TRASH TOO!!! THEY FLOW INTO OUR RIVER SYSTEMS and make our parks look trashy. Also abiding by the cops request to keep all beers in cups should be practiced. Or at least making sure you keep your drinking on the downlow.

On another note. Wildman, you going to hold on to that #2 tag till the end of the year??? ;););)

["Tiger"]

well for us its not quite as big a deal because we have the trash cans and in general our golfers are pretty clean these days. Really I was more disturbed by the fact that a golf course in a state park could be that littered. Thats just pure stupidity on the part of the huntsvile disc golf community.

[Wildman Ken]

Maybe we need to make some more elaborate signs about trash in the park. We have one on hole 1 that is small and half broken. Also i don't think you have to worry about the people on this forum littering bottles and cans(i would hope anyways). I do know that a lot of dgbers are not good about throwing there cig butts away. I think dgb smokers should definately try holding on to their butts until they get around to a trash can. I put all my butts in the side pocket of my bag. The bag is washable. BUTTS ARE TRASH TOO!!! THEY FLOW INTO OUR RIVER SYSTEMS and make our parks look trashy. Also abiding by the cops request to keep all beers in cups should be practiced. Or at least making sure you keep your drinking on the downlow.

On another note. Wildman, you going to hold on to that #2 tag till the end of the year??? ;););)



I have put it up 3 times since I have had it. I still have it. I will definitely play for it. I don't do the holding thing. I have been out of town 4 weeks in a row playing tournaments. I defended it 3. Start back playing on the road again ;)

[discomotofish]

Back to the portable toilets idea, I think our female players would greatly appreciate the installation of a couple of portable toilets at the course, since it's not quite as easy for them to dash off to the woods as it is for us guys!

By the way, I've never seen the bathrooms at the parking lot to the left side of the fairway on hole F open. What's up with those? I can imagine they'd be a big drawing card for the wrong kind of park visitors, but it still seems a big waste (pardon me!:rolleyes:) that they're not being utilized.
Kerry

["Tiger"]

occasionally they're open... its better if they're closed :p

[drdisc]

If they are left open at night, the bums will move in. I had a key , but they changed the locks.
Sometimes the city unlocks them for Special Events, like the Southside Reunion.

[Fallenrock]

The restrooms were locked because homeless people were calling them home and vandalism issues; Tom having a key would be a solution but it would place a responsibility on him he should not have to bear. We need to lobby the Park Board on this issue, and I do feel the best solution would be contracting for two Port-o-lets (M&F) to be placed between holes 1 and 10 and two placed in the parking lot near the existing restrooms if it can't be worked out to have someone open them in the morning and lock them at night, and maintain them. (I could never support a Port-o-let placed near the bridge at 13, and I don't think the neighborhood association could either). That leads to the question of who would pay for the contract, and while it really should be the PRB responsibility, it may take a combined offer from DGB, and perhaps Friends of GWP, and possibly the Glen Iris Neighborhood Association to bring this about. I believe the first step may be to appeal in this forum whether anyone knows anyone with authority at a port-a-john company who will give us a good price on a yearly contract, and then once we have a reasonable number, we can approach these groups for funding.

[discomotofish]

All of what you stated sounds reasonable. Is there anyone in DGB who has a direct poop line with the poop pros?

[drdisc]

I can't remember how I got that key. IT was years ago and I think the person who let me "borrow" it is not there any more.
On another Clean Note. We are planning another Work Day tomorrow. Actually , it is only a work hour or so. There are some bad erosion problems we are trying to fix. If you would like to help or have some input , we will get started about 8:30 - 9:00 in the morning.
Thanks to John Howerton for bringing out the wood that we will use.
There is also some more of the rubber pad material in the woods off 11 near the path from the tee pad. Could be of use in the back 6! That pad on "B" is holding up pretty good.

[Jebb]

just need some decent-quality office carpet large enough to wrap around the rubber.

[drdisc]

Anthony can hook us up.

[twan2420]

Just let me know what you want and i will get it for you when I get back next weekend or I may be able to set it up to be picked up if you want it before then.

[drdisc]

What a geat work day. Thanks to Jebb for the new bullentin board. John, Ben, Alexis and David did a wonderful job on the steps going between 15 and 16. They also put in a retention wall behind 15 middle so it will stay there a few more years. We are slowly getting a handle on the erosion out there. Thanks a lot everyone. Good work !

[Fallenrock]

Just so everyone knows, the "Friends of George Ward Park" organization and the Glen Iris Neighborhood Association, as well as the Park Board, Public Works, Botanical Gardens, and a group of Garden Clubs of America members will be using a small area above the parking lot and hole 10 tee as a collection and transfer point for clean organic waste (brush, leaves, limbs, etc) so that we can begin the process of controlling erosion and building up the soil for the forest restoration effort. We are planning a work day on Oct. 24 to begin planting small seedlings grown from acorns collected from the area of 10, 11 and 12, in an effort to have younger trees growing to replace the older trees as they die off and fall. We will be trying to restore natural growth in areas that border the fairways of these holes, so we are going to need everyone's help and understanding in dealing with the additional obstacles you may encounter in this area. It's important that everyone understand that we are not trashing the course or trying to create hardships for you, but that we are trying to maintain a forested area for our future generations, and we will need your help to do so.

[MAJ DG]

We appreciate the effort of all the groups listed. We like to consider ourselves stewards of good arborculture management. You can probably count on DGB volunteers on the 24th to assist in the reforestation project. Thanks, Rock.

[Jebb]

Thanks, Rock.
http://i105.photobucket.com/albums/m217/beautifuldisaster87/rocky.jpg

:p

[discomotofish]

Bob,
Outstanding! We will be marking and cordoning off the newly planted oaks when we plant them to help protect them from damage, right?

You know, it would be fun if we could make some tags with the names and affiliations of each of the members from the FGWP, GINA, DGB and others who personally plant a seedling and attach it to a seedling, so each tree, as it grows, could be called the "Bob Mead" or "Jeremy Drake" or "Jebb Long" or "Kerry Shapiro" or "whoever" tree. We could even let my godson Chief Knowles help to plant a seedling and call one the "Chief" tree! As the trees grow larger, the tags could be replaced with a larger marker with our names on them. Whaddya think?
Kerry

[Fallenrock]

Assuming we get the restroom issue resolved, that may be a good idea. Otherwise, it's possible certain trees may get urinated on more than others. Seriously, we discussed possibly doing this with the local school children because most everyone loves kids and dogs, but the truth is we are open to anything that can foster respect for the new seedlings. I will let everyone know when we have our next meeting about reforestation and will certainly bring this idea up, as it is a good one, and we will definitely welcome volunteers on Oct. 24.

[discomotofish]

Placing tags on the seedlings with the names of the children who help plant them should really be exciting for the children! We might also get a chance to turn them on to disc golf! Good for the future of the trees and the kids!