Any Chance HOOD RIVER course will be layed out better someday?

[Kris Hagner]

...Hood River's course is layed out crazy (it's consensus) and I'm wondering if someday it cant be fixed? The property is nice, it could be a cool course, but the baskets are all in a line and it makes it terribly hard to figure out whats up. Also, alot of safety problems, the layout requires you to walk into fairways most of the time, and hole 9 is a blind shot up the street (anyone seen Forrest's Disc in there?) I hope someday Hood River can get redesigned into a fun playable course...

[Uhlman]

Originally Posted by Kris Hagner

...Hood River's course is layed out crazy (it's consensus) and I'm wondering if someday it cant be fixed? The property is nice, it could be a cool course, but the baskets are all in a line and it makes it terribly hard to figure out whats up. Also, alot of safety problems, the layout requires you to walk into fairways most of the time, and hole 9 is a blind shot up the street (anyone seen Forrest's Disc in there?) I hope someday Hood River can get redesigned into a fun playable course...

While I agree there, are some safety issues, I disagree about this not being a fun or challenging course. I played it Friday and found that yes, it was a little confusing at first, but once I figured out where all the baskets were in relation to tee pads if flowed more smoothly. Make sure you have a map or a guide when you first play this course. I had neither but still found it enjoyable. Dogleg lefts and rights, trees, bushes, and the terrain its self make this a challenging course indeed. This is a quiet park and there was no one else on the course or even in the park on a windless Friday after noon. This park however needs some TLC to improve tee pads, remove the hated blackberry bushes, and litter clean up.

[Adam Schneider]

How was the poison oak situation?

[Uhlman]

Originally Posted by Adam Schneider

How was the poison oak situation?

They had one plant marked but it was dead and brown. The park was quite dry. My wife was with me and she didn’t have any issues with it and I may be one of those people that poison oak doesn’t bother. The blackberries however, did scratch my legs something fierce.

[k2trcs]

There is a real chance the course will be altered, eventually. I can find major improvements on about 6-7 of the holes which will make the flow better but significantly shorten the longer holes, making this a fully beginner course. This may be desirable with its location in the non-DG-addicted Hood Rats.

Also Jerry Miller has offered to help with a redesign, hopefully with planning beginning this fall. Anyone else with a designer's mind would be welcome to post their constructive thoughts here.

A few considerations:
The park is 4.63 acres with substantial portions of the park currently too thick with vegetation to play through (and nearly no volunteer base to clear it). Also, one of the four sides of this squarish park is I-84 where an errant throw could result in serious consequences to startled speeders and guarantee the end of the course. Also the stream that runs through this park was replanted two years ago and DG was instructed to stay away from it...maybe it's less vulnerable now.

Current status is certainly overgrown, but playable. Poison Oak still exists but it is WAY WAY WAY... WAY better. I saw only a handful of plants in my last round.

[Uhlman]

Originally Posted by k2trcs

There is a real chance the course will be altered, eventually. I can find major improvements on about 6-7 of the holes which will make the flow better but significantly shorten the longer holes, making this a fully beginner course. This may be desirable with its location in the non-DG-addicted Hood Rats.

Also Jerry Miller has offered to help with a redesign, hopefully with planning beginning this fall. Anyone else with a designer's mind would be welcome to post their constructive thoughts here.

A few considerations:
The park is 4.63 acres with substantial portions of the park currently too thick with vegetation to play through (and nearly no volunteer base to clear it). Also, one of the four sides of this squarish park is I-84 where an errant throw could result in serious consequences to startled speeders and guarantee the end of the course. Also the stream that runs through this park was replanted two years ago and DG was instructed to stay away from it...maybe it's less vulnerable now.

Current status is certainly overgrown, but playable. Poison Oak still exists but it is WAY WAY WAY... WAY better. I saw only a handful of plants in my last round.

If you set a date for clean up, I'll see what I can do to come and help. My dad lives in HR so it's a win-win for me to see this course become all it can be. I can mix and pour cement with the best of them. I've also done lots of brush clearing and as far as I know poison oak doesn’t bother me. Getting some material sponsors in town like Tum-a-Lum or HR supply to help with the concrete, weed control spray, ect… is a boon. I like the wildness of this park, I can however, definitely live with out the blackberry vines. Across the street is one of the nicest skate parks I’ve seen there is no reason this park cannot be as nice or better.

Give me a email if I can help at all on the HR course! I would love to see a DG community spring up around it. email me for a round or to do some work at kinfolkfan@yahoo.com
Thanks guys.

The course is playing nicely right now. Hope some people can get out and enjoy it. Some new woodchips in tee and pin spots. There is also a new bridge to cross the creek.

Is anyone out there? Anyone in the Hood? Happy Discin' all!

[Adam Schneider]

I just played it for the first time on Sunday. I thought it was a fun little course, but it could be very dangerous if there were more than one or two people playing at the same time.

Indeed there is some cross over action. I wish there was a bigger DG community to help replant or move the course. But it is fun for now. Especially since no one plays it, I guess.

[Uhlman]

Originally Posted by The Brodys

Indeed there is some cross over action. I wish there was a bigger DG community to help replant or move the course. But it is fun for now. Especially since no one plays it, I guess.

Apparently, we are part of one of the biggest DG communities in the US. Set a work party date to help clean up the park. I am sure many of the gorge disc golfers especially the ones from The Dalles, North Bonneville and even some from Portlanders would show up to help. It’s a 2 and half hour drive for me and I would try my hardest to be there to help. I would love to see this park in my second hometown be the best it can be. I have a shovel, rake, hedge trimmers, and gloves. PM, email, or message me when you have a set a date.
On edit: from what I can tell is this park is not maintaind by HRV Parks and Rec and is not even listed as having a DGC

Thanks for the support Uhlman. I want to know what HRV thinks about moving the baskets to make a shorter less dangerous course. It would be better for the introduction of DG to this community. There are not really any options that I know of to move the course, unless the HR high school would be interested in a DG program, because there property is surrounded by Indian Creek Trail. I am not sure who has been putting the wood chips all over the course, but someone must be maintaining it. I will try to see who is in charge and see what they would allow some rogue DG'ers to do down there. Once again thank you for showing some interest in this lil' course.

[Adam Schneider]

Hood River Parks & Rec are the ones maintaining the course, as far as I know.

Thanks Adam. I guess I should talk to them and see what I can do to arrange a work party and try to do something about this course.

I have been in contact with Scott Baker at the HR Parks and Rec and he shares our concerns about the course. My question to you all is how can we fix this course? Any one familiar with it enough to make a new layout? I have thought about a few holes that could be shorter. All this course needs is some volunteers behind it, the folks that got the course installed moved or do not have time to develop it. Any input would be great.

[Adam Schneider]

If you can live with 9 holes of pitch 'n' putt disc golf (all holes under 200'), then I think there are many possibilities.

The biggest problems now are where #2, #4, and #7 come together. Off the top of my head, here's an idea:

• Make #2 shorter, but still a left hook.
• Move #4's tee area to where #7's basket is now. (This would probably become #3, with subsequent holes being renumbered accordingy.)
• Take out #7 altogether; that blind shot is by far the biggest hazard on the course.
• Either leave it as an 8-hole course, or shorten #9 and find a way to squeeze in a new final hole that starts where the #9 basket is now and finishes near the kiosk.

My girlfriend and I just got done playing a possible new layout at the Hood River course. It makes all shots less than 220 but none less than 115 or 120. Most are between 130-175. There would be limited movements of pins. I think it would play much safer and more beginner friendly. I will try to post my version of the map soon.

Oh yeah it was fun for the both of us. We just used putters and had a blast.

Morrison Park Redo.jpg

This is pretty janky but it was what I had to work with. Hope you can make sense of it if you played the other course http://www.oregondiscgolf.com/course_maps/Morrison_Park.jpg

[Uhlman]

Originally Posted by The Brodys

Attachment 415

This is pretty janky but it was what I had to work with. Hope you can make sense of it if you played the other course http://www.oregondiscgolf.com/course_maps/Morrison_Park.jpg

i like it not only does it look like it flows more smooth, it looks like you also solved that wacky two holes on one teepad idea.