Gettin' Jiggy With It

As dawn broke across the Midwestern sky, my sleepy self along with my better half were already working our way southward.  She to fulfill her gainfully employed obligations; me to gain one more footstep toward my vocationally determined destination.  One more footstep to myself one day gaining gainful employ at the end of my preparatory journey.  I would be traveling much further that day.  And while my day would include painfully dreary and boring moments, others could never be considered such.

If I were to choose an hour to wipe the sleep out of my eyes, it would be the very same one in which I pulled into the parking lot of Seymour Smith Park in Omaha, over one hundred miles from where my day began.  Dew still fresh upon the ground, this is not the typical time for those of our ilk to ply our trade.  We are an afternoon-ish folk who would rather rest than experience the earlier parts of the solar cycle.  Yet here I was.  And I was not alone.  Jiggs and his firstborn would be my companions.

I had not practiced the art of the disc at Seymour in nearly a year.  I had first played the course in 2002 with the venerable SCDGA member Harky and the person who introduced us to disc golf who some here will know as the BBD.  It was the second course I had ever played.  It was the closest and most familiar course to me during my time in Omaha.  And I would now be able to play with the person I had introduced to the game at the course where I taught him the trade.

It was wet.  The fresh rain upon the ground recalling the Granite Ridge deluge of the first Cold Lampin' Weekend.  I fondly remembered it as I played with one who joined me in the experience, feet sloshing through wet shoes as we worked our way hurriedly around the course.  Unfortunately, schedules and responsibilities called us away to other things.  Things devoid of discs.  But we would have this experience.  We needed it.  Not because we required it for survival, but because life should be about more than survival.  And not because it was disc golf.  Though our compulsion to play our mutually beloved pastime is real, I would not have gone to the trouble for just another round.  But because in the act of playing with Jiggs, we were sharing all the experiences of the past year we were unable to share due to distance.  Because in that time that year was made manifest.  It is a means of reconnecting; it is empathy; it is sharing life.

I would be lying to you if I said that eighteen holes were played that day.  The clock and the schedule called to us, and divergent ways led on to ways as Frost well knows.  And telling you this with a sigh, I hope to impart that despite the imperfect throws, the incomplete round and the unfortunate weather conditions, the round was perfect.  It was perfect because we were able to play together.  And it is a perfection I wish to share with all you Cold Lampers again.

Ad Fontes!

~Diggs

To Hummel or Not to Hummel

Tis a question...

I may or may not have been lamenting the limited discing presence in the Omaha metro. Admittedly spoiled, I have come to expect more. Options are thus...

1) a 5 min drive to a rec course with ungodly wait times during non-school hours and a marked lack of etiquette. The course is decent, but not if I have to look over my shoulder at every corner for jokers throwing in to me!

2) a 20 min drive to a lakeside course that does not incorporate the lake... or teepads... or baskets in some cases. It is also the course that ate my first favorite driver, Da Bomb. The course and I have issues.

3) a 25 min drive to another state to take part in a pretty nice course. Only issue is that unless its the weekend, the distance makes the trip prohibative.

Thankfully, they are opening a new course. Hummel Park will open itself up to our brethren. While still a hike at 25 min away, it is a step in the right direction. It's much more wooded than the holes around here, and from what I can tell, they've taken quite a bit of care in developing the course. At least as much as noob designers could.

As I was warming up with a little putt-putt action, I was approached by a leader in the local dg club. He invited me to take part in the inaugural tourney to be played this Saturday. I remember first thinking, "certainly, it was not my putting that gave him the impression I knew what I was doing." After my initial reaction, I became pretty excited to hit a tourney up again. If you're interested, here's a further look at the tourney and course: http://nebdiscforums.yuku.com/topic/3547/May-14-Hummel-Park-FUNdraiser-tournament-Omaha-NE

Downside, this would also be the first day after Cammi's last final, and I'm sure she'll want to celebrate. So... do I embrace my role as her future hubby and become the always present rockstar fiance or do I forsake such things for a shot at immortality! ...at a non-sanctioned tourney ...which I'll likely lose. Hmm... to Hummel or not to Hummel, indeed!

I'll let you know what happens in this unfolding drama. Until then, keep your woman tight and your approach shots tighter.

~Diggs

In Response to Pay-to-Play Courses...

First, I want to thank MRK for the great post that broached this subject. Great stuff, my friend.

For my part, I have played three courses that are pay-to-play and another couple that had a suggested donation. The first one was a course in Orlando, Florida (forget the name) in January of 2006. The reason it was pay-to-play was that it was a part of a state park that required an entrance fee. They did not charge directly for the course, only for entrance to the park. I feel this is what pay-to-play has been in the past for the most part. Beautiful course, by the way. The one I played in New York was similar to the park in Orlando. I payed to get into the park; playing the course was merely a part of the park.


The third pay-to-play was Blue Ribbon Pines, an amazing course located on a sod farm in East Bethel, MN. The fee was (if I remember correctly) $5 for the whole day on a 27 hole course. URBWes, MRK and myself played through it twice, giving us a fair assessment of what the course had to offer. Verdict: Sweet!


As far as the free-to-play courses, I've played a couple dozen or so. The game grew up around free courses. It owes its success to it being primarily free-to-play. Living in Omaha, I've come across an interesting fact about our local course. It is the most used park in the area by far, owing a great deal of interest to the disc course. The pay-to-play model will drastically change the economy of the sport, both financial and functional aspects.

In attempting to approach this question, we must first look at the demographic of the affected group. Most discers land in the 15-25 age range, a group that tends to have less funds, though tends to have a much larger percentage of disposable income. Needless to say, an increase in cost of the sport will hinder its growth.

But we also seem to have hit a critical mass here. We have 151 registered courses in Iowa right now, 148 in Minnesota. We have a great number of courses, but I question the quality. Most of these courses are of simple design and offer little more than a family-style putt putt course. Other courses (such as Seymour Smith here in Omaha) represent the sole accessible source of disc golf in an area. With a burgeoning community, it is replete with golfers constantly. This creates a great deal of course degradation and litter. And I believe we are all familiar with the more disrespectful of our ilk who show poor etiquette. All these are exacerbated by the immense population these courses see.

The reason I bring up these two points in relation to critical mass is this: How is the sport to progress? We have courses; we don't have many good ones. Good courses are becoming deteriorated and are dependant upon infrequent upkeep by parks and rec staff. As fortunate as we are to have them for upkeep, the amount of maintenance these courses require is beyond their capacity. A critical mass has been reached. We have maxed out our capacity with the state of the sport. We must move on. We must become more sophisticated. In order to get beyond beginner level courses and explore the possibilities of what our sport could be, we must invest the time and money towards that end, an endeavor that exceeds public possiblities.

This lends credence towards the pay-to-play option. These courses will benefit from proper upkeep and development (ala BRP or even the course development of a Renny in Charlotte). A nice side effect is the muting of those who are disrespectful towards the game.

For my own part, a reasonable (and I stress reasonable) cost is worthwhile and could only serve to deepen my appreciation of the sport. Yet, this is personal in scope. For those of us greatly invested in disc golf, this makes a great deal of sense. A problem arises when we compare these with the rest of the disc golf population, a large percentage of whom would be dissuaded by a rise in cost. Furthermore, our sport, while growing, is not self-sustaining. We would reduce our attraction for newcomers if pay-to-plays ruled the roost.

A nice compromise has recently been struck in the Twin Cities. I number of the nicer, more technical courses have gone to a pay-to-play format, increasing their value. Yet, most area courses remain open to the public.

Three areas of concern remain.

First, the governing bodies better put a great deal of thought into which courses they turn to pay-to-play and how they do it. While turning a course to pay-to-play will increase that course's value, this also means an increase in traffic at neighboring courses, lessening the experiences they can offer. We must be comfortable with such transitive possibilities.

Prices cannot be unfeasible for a typical patron. If a college kid can't afford it, it is too expensive! And we can't ignore this rule of thumb as the pay-to-play model evolves.

Finally, this model is context related. Not all markets are appropriate for the pay-to-play model. For instance, any area that has just one or only a couple courses, should ignore this as an option. To turn all possibilities for an entire area to pay-to-play would be digressive for the proliferation of the sport. Only those areas with a vibrant community, having several course options, should look towards this option. Perhaps a suggested donation could be appropriate in these instances to increase the quality of these courses.

This is enough for now. It's 2:30 a.m. I'm tired. I'm going to bed.

~Diggs out!

Song of the Week: "Crane Wife 1 & 2" and "Crane Wife 3" by The Decemberists. Appropriate for the conversation me thinks.