Northampton Disc Golf

[Jason Johnson]

I was just informed by the treasurer of Nonotuck Disc Golf Club that we will have a meeting, but doesn't know when, because he doesn't have time. But he does have time to write up a code of conduct for all members to follow. wow, amazing.

And to whoever parked the rider up off 7's tee, I wouldn't take the riding mower down hole 7, there are enough stumps and boulders there to destroy more than the belts.

[Jason Johnson]

For those of you regularily playing the course...if you missed the 1,000 feet that 13 and 14 lost during the haying season, I put those baskets back into there regular locations yesterday. Thanks to everyone who helped out creating and improving those alternate holes from April-October. We'll see what happenns if we get a lot of snow this winter, maybe they will get relocated back to the short positions. But for the rest of fall and early winter, bombs away ! Enjoy !

[Isaac Bromberg]

Yahoo!!
Looking forward to practicing my new driving form, and the ice and ibuprofen it will induce.

Thanks, Jason.

[Pete Charron]

I feel a little embarrassed that I haven't had the opportunity to do any weedwhacking or anything at the course. I have been stupid busy and any free time is usually taken up by playing

That being said, I was at Noho on Monday and hot damn! Course looks great! It's looked great for some time now but the whack job on 1's slope, 8 and long 11 really improve play. I think I'm forgetting some recent work as well but regardless whoever hooked that work up, great job! Thanks!

[Kelly Conroy]

Aced hole 8 in the long position yesterday. By far my favorite ace to date.

[Jason Johnson]

Sure would be nice if some of you guys who play the course regularly, hitting all these aces and whatnot, would come out and do something out there, like shovel off the teepads or clear some downed branches, pick up some trash...something. Every little bit counts, and it makes such a big difference, driving off of rubber instead of an ice/slush/snowpack. I'll be out there tomorrow, clearing off some tees, for the third time this year. Anyone wants to join me, I'll buy suds.

[Travis Brougham]

We had become victims of vandalism. Someone broke our passenger window and stole purse was the only thing they took. We had someone call the police to report. The police said it was 5th time that happened in one week!!! Please do not leave valuable or purse/wallet in the car.

Good thing, there wasn't much cash and we closed all the cards which they never used it.

Just wanted to warn people and watch out.

[Patrick Harris]

Must be those broke-ass college or HS kids.

What time did you say that it happen? Is it during Saturday league round?

Should hide the valuables inside car's glove box or under seat or in trunk, not out in open on the seats for everyone to see from outside.

Sorry that it happened to you.

[Jason Johnson]

The course is in need of some help, in the way of a mow-a-thon. If you are willing and able to commit to a time, then please let me know cookjohnson@comcast.net or talk to Andy Atnandy@aol.com. There will be a workday scheduled very soon, but we are looking at trying to get the fairways mowed in a patchwork manner over a day or two, we know the weekends are pretty booked.

Holes 13 and 14 and 4 have been moved to the short positions, its fairly well marked if this is a new experience for you.
And they brushhogged the pipeline, which opened back up long 12, so some give, some take in length.

Thank you,

JJ

[Jason Johnson]

Course maintenance is ongoing, but needs more help from locals and others who use this public course regularily.

Being in conversation early this year with Andy Neal, other Nonotuck Disc Golf Club members, and other folks interested in volunteering at the course I had high hopes that this year, we were going to be able to stay on top of the course.

Three weeks ago, after several requests, I got Andy to bring out the brush hog, which despite three foot high wet grass, I was impressed with its ability to plow through the majority of 9,10,11.

BUT...After spending 5 hours out there, in intermittent rain the belt on the brush hog started smoking. I let Andy know, offerred to help pay for its repair, initially saying that I would cover what the club funds could not. I was immediately blamed for breaking it, the insinuation being that somehow I had mis-used the machine, and that "he had used it on way thicker stuff, for 20-25 hours last year, and that it only took a few hours for me to "break it".

Three weeks later, it still has not been taken into the shop, despite repeated requests, because Andy says "he hasn't had time". How much time does it take to drop a machine off at the repair shop ? With no other alternative the grass has continued to grow, I have spent another 8 hours out there with a 22 inch walk behind 5.0 horsepower mower, to get hole 1 and 18 clear enough to play. At nearly four feet high, this entails two runs through it.

The Nonotuck Disc Golf Club who owns the brush hog, really needs to ask themselves, "Does it make sense to entrust the responsibility of club equipment to someone who doesn't have TIME to ensure that the equipment is available during the height of the season that it is most needed ?" I can understand if that person's health is not up to the task of doing the work, I can understand that people get to busy. But if you are the leader of a disc golf club, isn't it your responsibility to delegate/organize those tasks ? I cannot understand why ONE person gets to dictate the tempo of maintenance on a course where 1/3 of it needs to be mowed on a monthly basis between May and August. I have been asking for a meeting to discuss the maintenance schedule since March. There have been no meetings. Where is the club, what is the club, who is the club ?

So, while I will continue to plug away at things as I can, I'm TIRED of having to do it all. I make copies of the scorecards and ensure that they are available, I've chainsawed the downed trees, gotten down the hangers, kept it safe to play. I don't need the acknowledment, I'm used to having to put out considerable effort to ensure that this course is playable each year. However, I need some help, there needs to be some better organization, some better leadership, and a better plan for dealing with the maintenance of this great public course, where when it is playable and the weather is nice you will find 100 people a day using it.

I'm asking for club members, or potential club members or any of the locals and players who want to see the course alive and thrive, discuss with the treasurer, also the individual who houses the equipment 30 miles away from the course, to seek some solution to the inaction that is why we are in the situation we find ourselves in. If he doesn't have time to take it in to be fixed, then he should allow someone else who is willing to do so. Lets figure this out.
Let him know...ANDY NEAL 413-636-5638 Atnandy@aol.com

[Patrick Harris]

Just curious...

Since this course is on a town-owned park. Can they send park dept. crew to do some grass cuttings to reduce the spread of bugs that may carry various illness??

There's bunch of dogs and walkers/joggers all over the park, I'm sure they would agree with you that this park needs frequent mowing (once every two weeks?) to prevent the spread of bug diseases. You think?

Also it would be a lot easier for the dog-owners to able to locate and pick up the poops from short grass. I have noticed that most of them don't bother to pick it up from tall grass area. They hoped that no one will notice the poops except for disc golfers...

Just an alternative solution to your situation.

[Titan_Bariloni]

JJ,

I know you have had past plans for a western MA org/club..I have had plans to get this portion of western Ma up to par and expanded...we seem to both be buried at our respective home courses in regards to work..and often sharing frustration in lack of others efforts...

My time is slipping soon..but will be regained in the future...that said I think moving forward on something to unify this current shart show called western ma DG would be awesome on many levels

At this point I am not sure where to start even..I have theories but need all of us who seem to be interested exchanging ideas to make something more solid in terms of a functioning western Ma club

what did we all do wrong to be in this position
how do we change the situation
how to then sustain successful model once reached

I think would be the top issues to dissect

of course this is not directly in regards to the Noho current problem..more a majority of the courses in WMA problem

well anyways been wanting to meet up with ya...will have to try harder..hope to cya soon..keep up the hard work..people do appreciate it! TY

[James Sicard]

There's bunch of dogs and walkers/joggers all over the park, I'm sure they would agree with you that this park needs frequent mowing (once every two weeks?) to prevent the spread of bug diseases. You think?

Being at this park several times to play, wether the grass is long or short, the dog owners could care less about cleaning up after themselves I can assure you, and consider us a nuisance.

However this could and should be a course that everyone should be able to enjoy. Where I am new to the sport and therefore am only starting to see some of the issues that haunt these courses and the people that care for them, what I do know is that many hands make the work easier as well as faster. I know that Titan has a goal of getting people together to develope new courses, as well as take care of the current courses. And I see so often posts about courses that need help and people are frustrated that the proper care is not taken care of, and unfortunately in some situations cannot be taken care of if they are on property that is controllled by government agencies. Now I also see that sometimes the courses are well taken care of by the local people, and those are not an issue. Where I wonder if there could be some relief is by creating some type of organization as Titan has mentioned, or strengthening some that are already out there, or to have some type of maintenance crew that could travel to help upkeep some of these courses. I do not pretend to know what it takes to upkeep these courses or how many disc golfers even care, but it seems to me in my travels most do and if given the opportunity would help. Again, being new maybe this has been tried and failed before, but instead of posting about a certain course, maybe a thread should be posted with a calendar that asks who can help and different dates with a different courses that will be maintianed on those dates. If 6 people sign up and you only get 3, plus the regulars that already help, you still have more than you have now. Feel free to tell me why I am an idiot and why this would not work, but IMO it seems to me that enough people enjoy the sport, that a couple of hours on a weekend maybe once a month is not a big deal, especially if they get to reap the rewards of being the first to play on a freshly groomed course!

[Rippert Toffe]

Let him know...ANDY NEAL 413-XXX-XXXX XXXXXX@aol.com

Wow. You're having a dispute with someone, so you publicly post his personal contact information on the web. Is that supposed to help resolve the dispute? It seems more like harassment. No wonder he doesn't want to answer to you.

[Titan_Bariloni]

and said person is a public course rep.
so what is the big deal if they are called out..and if contact info is posted..

many don't go to Noho cuz of issues with course..maybe it is time they explain why to the course clubs pres direct

and when I first got interested in NE DG Noho was a strong fierce club for the area..that has all but went extinct from my POV

when is the last time the course had an event there that nefaland in general attended..oh yeah the one JJ ran

not sure what the real deal is down there..or the he said stuff I hear through the grape..

I for one would just like to see all of western Ma'ers come together and crush it..and every local club start stepping up

How IDK


JJ TY for your hardwork and dedication to the course..

[Jason Johnson]

Sorry to not have been checking up on this thread.

Patrick, this is not a park, which is why its not maintained by the city. And the dogwalkers don't help and don't care.

Someone got out to the field and did a tiny bit of mowing, and weedwhacked on 7, thanks for that.

After still not hearing back on hog repair, and still aware that there are no meetings going on and nothing done, I don't feel at all self conscious about posting the guys contact information up, since he's taken $1500 of club money, he deserves harassment. After you deal with the same problems for years, alternative methods must be taken. Sorry if that offends anyone, my goal is to get it done, and have it playable.

However, rather than wait for that, I have hired someone to come up and mow whats left with a tractor. I will be out there tomorrow morning mowing some of the short greens. Anyone who is interested in coming out to help, please feel free. 7 or 8 to noon.

And Titan, yes...its about organization, maintaining a volunteer list, calling people up, and most importantly MEETING ON A REGULAR BASIS to figure out how to share the load. I cannot make your Tully workday, though I did see it, sorry, keep trying me, I like the ideas...just overwhelmed by one course, at the moment.

[Steve Marcil]

Maybe its time for a leadership change at Noho? What's the purpose of joining a club if they don't want to take care of the course?

[Jason Johnson]

Here's what went down today...
5:30 am-Weedwhacked 15
6:30am-weedwhacked 16 selectively and 17 selectively. 17 still will need some work, though in thfairway and landing areas you can now find your disc. There is some healthy PI through the fairway, and I was hesitant to vaporize it with the weedwhacker having had very bad cases on all exposed body parts in the past.
8:00-weedwhacked then mowed 6 and 7
9:15-mowed 10-15 meters around the pins of 9,10,11. And around the rocks in the field.
9:45[b] Nic Willard (disc golf course helper par excellance!![/b]tractor mowed 18, full landing zone and put some wings on the edges of the rough, cut 12, worked the gasline (long 12), mowed the remainder of 9,10,11, and rehit 1, which had been mowed two weeks ago by yours truly.
Done at 12:45. Fed Nic, got him a twelve pac of his favorite brew. Paid him $100. THANK YOU NIC !!

That is how things get done. That being said, there is still some to do, the alternate 13,14 can use weedwhacking. 17 will have to be gone through carefully , and 8 could use weedwhacking and mowing. But, what was an unplayable, nightmare, is now totally playable, you may even have fun. And with some more rain and sun, I'm sure in two to three weeks it will look like it needs to be mowed again, and if we stay on TOP OF IT, then it will remain playable and manageable for the rest of the growing season. If you want to help, you can always contact me (413)320-3386, I have a few mowers, and weed whackers, pole saws, hand trimmers etc. I still don't know what the status is of the brush hog yet, nor the 48 inch walk behind used for when the grass is less than a foot high. I do hope the club will meet,that maybe some new members join, that we get re-energized about having a functioning clubb, and that these things will get figured out. This is a free to play, public course, started with funds from NEFA members, and 12 years old this year. Hopefully we can have an event here in the fall, it is long overdue. With help it will not slip into overgrown unplayableness again. With the amount of people who use it and care about it, it shouldn't...

[Isaac Ebert]

Someone got out to the field and did a tiny bit of mowing, and weedwhacked on 7, thanks for that.

Jason, the mowing and weed whacking on 7 were done by Glen Talbot and myself on the 20th.

thanks for the recent work you've put in. Hopefully I'll have the chance to get out there in the next few days to check it out.

[Isaac Bromberg]

Jason,

Thanks for you tireless efforts to keep the course playable. I hope you and Andy can find a way to work together, because he also expends a lot of personal time and energy on the course.

Getting some new blood involved and setting a reliable meeting/workday schedule would go a long way toward making the course enjoyable year round.

I look forward to being more helpful with the course/club after my voluntary exile in MD.

Keep up the hard work.

Isaac


Isaac Bromberg
ibromberg@me.com

[Jason Johnson]

What do you get when return Hole 13 and 14 to the Long Placements at Northampton State Hospital ?
a) at least 2 strokes to your score
b) 1,057 feet
c) a lost disc
d) happy to be able to crush some drives in freshly mowed fields
e) [b]all of the above[/b]

Long placements went back in yesterday, the original long 13 (617 ft.) will be back in play as soon as I can get a sleeve in for the basket. Been a long time coming, the last hay mowing just went down and its as short and clean as it ever gets. SO get it while you can !

There will be a MEETING of disc golfers interested in helping out at the course, and planning for maintenance, events, fundraising and ongoing positive support for this public and free to play course. YOUR HELP IS NEEDED TO KEEP THIS COURSE PLAYABLE THROUGHOUT THE YEAR. IF YOU PLAY HERE FOR FUN, COMPETE IN TOURNAMENTS, OR ARE SUPPORTING YOUR BUSINESS OFF OF PLAYERS WHO DO, PLEASE COME AND OFFER YOUR SUPPORT AND HELP KEEP THIS PLACE GOING.
[b]NORTHAMPTON BREWERY 5-7 PM FRIDAY NOVEMBER 15TH[/b]

Big thanks Andy Neal, who has in the latter part of the summer and fall spent a lot of time and effort mowing, repairing equipment and taking care of the course. We need to organize a volunteer base and develop a schedule so that the work that gets done does not rest on the backs of a few.

[Isaac Bromberg]

JJ,

I won't be able to make the meeting (I'm living in Baltimore for the year), but I'm glad to see that you're having one, and I wish you the best in your efforts to keep the course and club in shape.
I look forward to helping out when I return to MA in July.

Isaac

[Pete Charron]

Hey JJ, thanks for organizing this and crushing the course work man. Per our talks in person, I'll be there tomorrow. I'm trying to rally up a few more people who are users of the course to partake as well.

[Jason Johnson]

We have had two successful meetings, one better attended than the other but nonetheless, progress. It is fairly nasty out there, frozen ground overlaid by a 2 inch layer of muck.
Plenty of plans, if your interested in helping PM me...or call.

[Titan_Bariloni]

how are the course conditions..

gonna be in NH thursday for a few hours..gotta kill some time..

? and ty

[Isaac Bromberg]

Hole 13 and 14 are CLOSED.
Please use the alternate holes.
There is a sign for Alt 13 on the left side of the path to regular 13.
After playing Alt 13, walk back towards hole 1 on the main trail until you get to the second trail intersection.
You'll be at the corner of the big field.
Enter the woods on the right to get to Alt 14 tee pad.
To get to hole 15, proceed to the basket position for regular 14.

[Isaac Bromberg]

Holes 1, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12 & 18 have been mowed and look great, thanks to Jason Johnson and Andy Neal.
Alternate holes 13 and 14 are in play until the end of the growing season.
These holes and others will need repeated upkeep throughout the summer to keep the course playable.
If you enjoy playing this course please consider lending a hand or contributing a little cash for gas and upkeep of the mowing equipment.

[Isaac Bromberg]

Fairways for hole 1 and hole 18 were just mowed again today.
Big thank you to Andy Neal for providing the machinery.
Still plenty to do to keep the course in shape for anyone who wants to pitch in.

[Steve Marcil]

Went out to enjoy a round yesterday, not to impressed. Holes 1 and 18 were the best on of the course. What can be done about pushing back some of the shrub, tall grass on 6,7,9,17. Also inprove the walk between holes from 7 to 8, 8 to 9, 17 to 18 and the walking path for hole 4. I would be more then willing to give a hand where needed to help maintain the course.

Also on a side note, is there anything that can be done about the dog walkers? Is it really that hard to pickup dog poop, trash bags are even provide at the parking area?

[Ryan Sabin]

http://www.masslive.com/news/index.ssf/ ... rt_m-rpt-1

Does anyone with more knowledge on this subject know what the status of disc golf will be here going forward?