Burlington, Ma (Simonds Park)

Justin Anderson · Post by **Justin Anderson** » Fri Apr 10, 2009 11:29 am

Thanks to everyone for checking out or planning to checkout the course.
I would love to meetup tonight 6-6:30 and play a round. Permanent tee boxes will be installed possibly late next week so get your input in now!

I love the comments about getting weird looks from the public. I know I got a few yesterday. #2 might be the most publicly-visible hole around. What WILL the neighbors think of us?

So yesterday morning we walked and made white spray marks as I said above. There are 2 tees on #4 & #7. The one with a "4" and the one with a "7" painted are the preferred locations but each has its merits.

Brush will still be cleared on 6 and 8 but it might be a few weeks. I need to ask to have the entrance way to the green on #5 cleaned. The thick tree in the middle of the fairway won't get touched but the crap on the right needs to go. (Check the link below to see what I'm talking about.)

We will be getting tee signs as well which previously was a "maybe next year" item. The guy I'm working with suggested flags in the poles for added visibility which will help on #'s 1, 3, 5 especially where elevation obscures most of the basket.

Walkthru slideshow time!
PLEASE SAVE/DOWNLOAD THESE RATHER THAN TRYING TO STREAM.

I couldn't get the direct link to work correctly so goto the link below and right-click/save one of the "Simonds Park 2009 (Pre-Tees)...wmv" files at the bottom. They range in size from 1024x768 to 320x240 so download the biggest one you can stand waiting for.
http://www.smusic.org/dg/burlington

Ed Hovestadt · Post by **Ed Hovestadt** » Fri Apr 10, 2009 1:15 pm

I just got back from the course, testing the play nine at lunch theory. Total time travel and solo play 1hr 25min. (I work at Waverley Oaks & Trapelo in Waltham) Wasn't sure about the tees on 3, 8, & 9 but guestimated. Great fun muddling about and throwing a 32, high point was the "by luck" 2 on hole six. Lots of credit to Justin, Burlington and everyone else who worked this up so fast. I have seen ideas for courses struggle in town meetings so the speed that this happened was amaing. It will be a great addition to the area. I will make a point when I am in a business in the area, to say the added business they are getting from me is because they now have a disc golf course in the park.
I will also make a point to bring a trash bag next time I head up for lunch, busy park means lots of trash.

Thanks again

John Mucciarone · Post by **John Mucciarone** » Fri Apr 10, 2009 1:17 pm

Congrats Justin!

I will soon begin frequenting the course after work as the summer days extend!

Matt Muller · Post by **Matt Muller** » Fri Apr 10, 2009 1:46 pm

I played in Burlington last night with Jeremy, and I liked a lot of the course. At least the tees I could find

There were a couple where we couldn't really find the tees, so we threw from where a tee might be. Other than that, the course was a lot of fun.
I may be down there tonight if everyone else is going in. That way, I can be sure to find all the tee boxes

Justin Anderson · Post by **Justin Anderson** » Fri Apr 10, 2009 1:50 pm

Adadun wrote:I may be down there tonight if everyone else is going in. That way, I can be sure to find all the tee boxes

I'm glad you had a fun and thanks to Ed and John for your comments as well.

I will be there between 6 and 6:30 tonight (unless i get out of work earlier

) and hope to give a tour. I know that if you don't know where to look it's tricky to find white marks on the ground (especially 3, 8, & 9). Perhaps you made up a better tee all by yourself. I'd love to check it out!

Alan MacLean · Post by **Alan MacLean** » Fri Apr 10, 2009 3:33 pm

I'll be there by 6pm. Yeah local courses :!:

cheeseman · Post by **cheeseman** » Fri Apr 10, 2009 4:08 pm

just got back from another quick 9. Ran into Luke there as well. I brought some little orange flags and put one at each tee to help people find them, though I couldn't find the alternate locations.

Nice course!

Justin Anderson · Post by **Justin Anderson** » Fri Apr 10, 2009 4:26 pm

cheeseman wrote:just got back from another quick 9. Ran into Luke there as well. I brought some little orange flags and put one at each tee to help people find them, though I couldn't find the alternate locations.

Nice course!

Sweet! Maybe I'll move the flags tonight on 4 and 7 to the spots you didn't find...then you can find them.

-Justin
617-959-2647

Luke Adolph · Post by **Luke Adolph** » Fri Apr 10, 2009 9:37 pm

Stopped by the course today on my way home from work. Thanks Dan for finding me and showing me around.

I gotta say that I really enjoyed the course. The basketball players were definitely staring at us, which is kinda awkward but they will get used to us.

I was kinda speeding through the round so I didn't have much time to look around but first impression is that the tee placements are great. I am really excited to have a course directly on my route to and from work. I can see myself stopping by there for a quick nine quite often. Thanks again Justin for everything you have done to get this completed. It is much appreciated.

Erik Siersdale · Post by **Erik Siersdale** » Sat Apr 11, 2009 11:22 am

Just played a quick 18 this morning. Really nice layout, especially some of those alleys on 4 and 5. I just wondered if there could be a 10 foot clearing around the baskets. There were a couple holes where the little sprigs were intertwining with their new friends in the woods.

Alan MacLean · Post by **Alan MacLean** » Mon Apr 13, 2009 4:01 pm

To anyone going out there anytime soon to play a round, please keep your eyes open for a Tye Dye Star TeeBird (75% White, w/ blue, red, yellow swirls... probably around hole 8). This is my money disc and I can't believe I lost it at such an open course... and right before KoH.

I was playing with Justin on Friday night and it got dark on our second round. I threw on hole 8 and had it sneak behind a tree on the right and get lost. There is a large mound of leaves in the fairway (after the dogleg) and it must have fell in there, but after Justin and I kicked around leaves for 10 min, we realized we were probably burying the disc further.

I know there's a Lost & Found section, but I'm thinking no one else is going to lose a disc at this course because it's so open so why create a thread that no one would expect to be there.

If you're playing, please keep it in the back of your mind. I almost called in an Amber alert.

Ken Niu · Post by **Ken Niu** » Tue Apr 14, 2009 6:29 pm

Nice job, Justin! :thumleft:

I gotta say there was some obvious TLC in the course design. Hole 1 is just gorgeous! I'm pretty sure I found all the tees but if my commentary below doesn't make ANY sense then I obviously failed (to find them)

Got in a pre-storm round on Sat - the wind was howling pretty good, which may explain how my LF ended up in the road on hole 2

(user error? NEVER! :lol:

)

Kidding aside, that's something that will happen ALOT on Hole 2 -- Moving the teepad up and right, just in front of the bus shelter, may help keep discs off that street.

Hole 4 is a lil scary - an overthrow/bad skip/bad tree could end up in the pool -- probably not a good thing, esp when that pool fills up with day campers :wink:

Moving the teepad to the left may help, as would a net. It may be that Hole 4 is just too darn close to the pool...

Hole 5 - I'll probably catch crap for this but the teepad should be a few feet to the left in the next row of trees. I don't think I'm alone in disliking holes that force a short dogleg (under 100ft) and a long lane (over 200ft). Seemed like there was some room behind the pad if you want to stretch this one out to a par 4. :twisted:

Hole 6 should play short enough that the proximity to 3A won't matter.

There was one hole (3?, 6?) that could use a mando to avoid a 'local' right hyzer route over 3A

PS Alan, you should start that thread in L&F -- discs get lost for all kinds of reasons and some ppl seldom browse the Courses category.

Justin Anderson · Post by **Justin Anderson** » Tue Apr 14, 2009 7:19 pm

Ken,

I would love to take a walk with you. How about tomorrow evening? PM me and let me know when you're around. Thank you so much for the comments and I've been waiting for something other than "everything is great"...which is always great to hear but I appreciate your candor. I'm heading to Va for a DG trip on Thurs so hopefully we can get together soon.

Super quick reactions to your comments:

#2 - There is a possibility of ending up in the street. The P&R guys are ok with where we put the tee and a righty in a strong headwind could certainly end up there. If we end up with 2 tees I would certainly go for somethign on the right but of course we don't want lefties hyzering into the street either.

#4 - I think you mean #3 and a net isn't a bad idea. I would really need to see some people try to throw into the kiddie pool area. I'm not saying it couldn't happen but we ned to see it.

#5 - It's actually an RHBH or LHFH anhyzer shot. If you're a backhand lefty then yes it could mean a shot then long shot. Let's play it together and I'll show you. Even my unskilled rear has landed on the green twice in 5 rounds. I don't know about par 4 but if it weren't for 1 tree in particualr this would be 75-100' longer

#6 - Mando? Yes, you're right. Though I think it would be crazy to try a hyzer over 3A we might as well post a mando sign. Great suggestion.

Thanks a lot Ken. I really do appreciate it.

Alan MacLean · Post by **Alan MacLean** » Wed Apr 15, 2009 9:50 am

Yeah, Ken, I thought of starting the Burlington L&F thread, but since the course is so open, I feared that no one else is losing a disc there. Also until Burlington becomes more well known, this really is the main thread everyone that plays the course sees.

I went out looking for the disc this week to no avail. However, I did play a few holes and did think of that Hyzer bomb over 3A on #6. Though it's there, you'd have to be really skilled (or a hack) to think you can throw over passing cars and not land in the road. Either way, I completely agree that a Mando to force you back into the woods is the best idea. We don't want to lose a course because someone was seen by dozens facing 3A, throwing straight into traffic, and shattering some old lady's windshield.

boru · Post by **boru** » Wed Apr 15, 2009 9:56 am

Hey Justin,

I played with Ken Saturday morning. First off, great job. Even on a nasty day, that course was a lot of fun.

As far as critiques, Ken pretty much said it. The only thing I wanted to add was extra support for moving Hole 2's tee closer to the bus stop. I think righties trying to reach a long pin will very frequently end up flipping into the street from the current location. Long lefty hyzers could end up there too.

Moving the tee closer to the bus stop would virtually eliminate those possibilities. Even though the tee would be closer to the street, you'd be throwing away from the road, rather than along it, as you do now. It would take a very extreme hook to end up in the street, and longer shots would have to travel farther to reach it.

Other than that, great work! You really managed to pack a lot of variety and fun into a small space.

NOTE TO PLAYERS:
If you're going to Simonds Park, bring a trash bag. There is a lot of litter in the woods, but a regular stream of disc golfers could have it looking great in no time. Let's make a positive impact on this park from the start.

Alan MacLean · Post by **Alan MacLean** » Wed Apr 15, 2009 10:04 am

Brian, I'd even take it a step further and see if we can organize a clean-up day there. Holes 1-2 are pretty clean obviously, but hole 8 is like a dump. If we can get a bunch of us together and tackle some of these holes (maybe get some publicity out of it

) we can make a real good name for us being there and improve the course we play on.

Justin Anderson · Post by **Justin Anderson** » Wed Apr 15, 2009 11:07 am

Alan MacLean wrote:Brian, I'd even take it a step further and see if we can organize a clean-up day there. Holes 1-2 are pretty clean obviously, but hole 8 is like a dump. If we can get a bunch of us together and tackle some of these holes (maybe get some publicity out of it ) we can make a real good name for us being there and improve the course we play on.

Great idea guys. One of the pluses of adding the course in the minds of the Park & Rec dept was cutting down on the unwanted elements which means kids consuming alcohol & drugs and leaving trash everywhere. I'm hoping to get at least one trash barrel in there around the #5/#9 tee if they're willing to empty it.

I won't be able to get up there until next Tues or so but I'll take some looks at #2. I hear what you're saying eventhough I personally would really would like to keep the tee where it is.

We should meet up for a round. I'd love to walk and talk.

boru · Post by **boru** » Wed Apr 15, 2009 12:48 pm

Justin wrote:I won't be able to get up there until next Tues or so but I'll take some looks at #2. I hear what you're saying eventhough I personally would really would like to keep the tee where it is.

Definitely a nice hole the way it is. I didn't have a problem keeping my shot on the fairway, but you get enough loose cannons like Ken out there and it's only a matter of time before we cause a major accident.

I should add that he went OB the other way on his second try.

I'd be down to meet up for a round. I'm nursing a shoulder injury at the moment, but should be back in action before long.

Justin Anderson · Post by **Justin Anderson** » Thu Apr 16, 2009 7:54 am

boru wrote:...but you get enough loose cannons like Ken out there and it's only a matter of time before we cause a major accident. I should add that he went OB the other way on his second try.

Nice burn Brian

I'll be up there Wed morning for another walkthru with the crew while we measure hole distances with one of those wheel contraptions. I'll take a long hard look at #2. It seems that when there is wind on that hole it's usually a headwind (like Sat when Ken ended up in the road) and I am concerned that moving it closer to the road will make it even easier for righties to end up in the road if they don't keep their shots down.

If the hill leading down to the road wasn't there #2 would have been even better by placing the basket to the right of those pines and 30' further back.

I'm out of town the next 3 weekends.
Any chance of meeting up some night next week?
PM me with your email address if you're interested.

Maybe Ken should read this one:
(Seriously though, everyone should read it.)
http://discraft.com/res_wind06_p1.html

jamie vinsant · Post by **jamie vinsant** » Thu Apr 16, 2009 11:20 am

I'm going in for my second, and maybe third round at Burlington today at 5ish. Anyone else?

jamie vinsant · Post by **jamie vinsant** » Thu Apr 16, 2009 12:37 pm

Anyone happen to know if Simonds allows dogs on site?

jamie vinsant · Post by **jamie vinsant** » Fri Apr 17, 2009 9:25 am

Justin,

Any chance we have go ahead to do some brush clearing? In particular I'd like to help by clearing a putting area around number 6 and number 8.

Thanks,

Jamie V.

Alan MacLean · Post by **Alan MacLean** » Fri Apr 17, 2009 9:37 am

Anyone happen to know if Simonds allows dogs on site?

Almost everytime I've been there I've seen someone walking their dog so I think it's fine.

Alan MacLean · Post by **Alan MacLean** » Fri Apr 17, 2009 9:50 am

...oh and if anyone wants to shoot a lunchtime 9-holes today, I'll be teeing off around 12:30 - 12:45. It'll be about 63deg by then 8-)

Ed Hovestadt · Post by **Ed Hovestadt** » Fri Apr 17, 2009 1:47 pm

Great to get out on another Friday for 9 but then did another nine, along side Alan for some of it. 30 and 30, with a birdie on hole #9 . Trash collection soon.

Ken Niu · Post by **Ken Niu** » Fri Apr 17, 2009 2:12 pm

boru wrote:you get enough loose cannons like Ken out there and it's only a matter of time before we cause a major accident. I should add that he went OB the other way on his second try.

hehe I've had the flu the past few days but unglued myself from the couch yesterday -- On hole 2 I teed off one tree closer to the bus stop and fired an Eagle-X over the bush [doinked the 30 footer tho :roll:

]

There should be some sticks in the ground to give you a look at the proposed tee location -- I think the player will have a slightly better angle on the pin and the righthand tree will help guard against severe griplocks.

After a 2nd look, Hole 3 should play just fine. I take back what I said about 5 too -- and as it plays right now it may well be a par 4. Very nice hole! :twisted:

Hole 6 is the one that may or may not require a mando -- it is the shortest hole but as always, safety first! :mrgreen:

Alan MacLean · Post by **Alan MacLean** » Fri Apr 17, 2009 2:55 pm

I went out there and played a lunchtime-9 and ran into Ed. He had a really good idea but I don't know the feasibility of it. I think there's a consensus that Hole 8 is the hole that is in the most need of improvement between putting-area cleaning, and overall fairway generation. It also leaves a large gap to #9's tee.

Ed just threw it out as an idea about the basket location being about 20-30 ft going up the hill towards the baseball field/skatepark (away from the tee). I looked at it and thought it would be a fantastic idea.

First off it would lengthen the hole which is always fun. Second, it would make the dogleg a little more defined as you'd know to aim between those two large trees about 150' straight up from the teebox and then hope for some left fade. Third the pin placement would be in a very cleared area which would be great for the following shots. Finally it would get you walking towards hole 9.

Justin, give this one a look. I don't want to walk in there and say "hey this basket should be moved here", nor do I want this to come off sounding like that. It's fine where it is... especially with you saying that they are going to clear some of that junk out. I'm just making a suggestion for you and others to check out. And I don't know how willing the Parks & Rec crew would be to moving a basket, but if so it could really make hole 8 fit in with the flow of the course while saving all those little trees from being cut down.

Ken Niu · Post by **Ken Niu** » Fri Apr 17, 2009 3:23 pm

Can't answer for Justin or the Parks dept but I think moving a basket that wasn't planted in a sleeve can be problematic

I kinda like hole 8 where it is but it certainly is hard to spot...

Matt Stroika · Post by **Matt Stroika** » Tue Apr 21, 2009 1:47 pm

Had the chance to play three times around yesterday with my son. Overall it is a fun little course. I thought that some of the buckets looked to be placed lower than regulation. Some cleaning around the greens and taking down dead pine limbs will really help. There is a lot of potential cross over of fairways with errant shots, but it won't be an issue unless it becomes more popular. Hole 8 needs the most help. I couldnt figure out what do do there other than pump a high Firebird hyzer and hope it made it somewhere near the bucket.

Highlights of the rounds. Starting with three straight 4s and finishing one under after birdies on 6, 7, 8, 9. Matthew progressively getting better shooting 32, 31, then 29.

My favorite hole is number 5 once the little crap in front of the pin is cleared to let the drive turn and sail right down to the pin.

Nice work Justin. Thank you!

Justin Anderson · Post by **Justin Anderson** » Tue Apr 21, 2009 3:21 pm

Matt Stroika wrote:Had the chance to play three times around yesterday with my son. Overall it is a fun little course...

Thanks so much for taking the time to play and then comment Matt.

The clearing on 6 and 8 is coming (including clearing a small path from the back of the green to the path upto #9. It's the Highway Dept (not the P&R Dept) that's going to bring in the machine to do that clearing so it seems there is little control on scheduling that. Just like you said, we're going to get the little trees taken care of on #5 as well.

The baskets are going to get pulled up a few inches. I was happy to hear a few weeks ago when they said that was possible. I'm sure they won't do that until the day they put in the permanent tee boxes so no one should hold their breath. I'm not going to set any expectations as to how much higher they'll end up if at all.

Alan/Ed,
I'll be up there tomorrow morning and I'll look at some of those other suggetions but I can't imagine they're interested in moving a basket. I'm not 100% certain they got the deluxe (locking collar) baskets so if they just got the permanent "no frills" poles then those things are never moving. Also, the clearing I think you're talking about on #8 to move the basket back would include cutting down trees as opposed to tall brush and that would break the no-tree-cutting agreement. That said, I will look at it tomorrow.

I do appreciate everyone's comments but please keep in mind that this course is not complete, it simply got the baskets installed as the first step. No clearing has been completed and even once it has been there is a lot more coming. I think there should be a few unexpected niceties showing up before we call this finished.

NEFA DISCussion

Burlington, Ma (Simonds Park)

Kudo to Justin and Burlington!

b-ton

Re: b-ton

Round today (Thursday)

Dogs

clearing brush

Yes 18 at lunch is fine too