Want a new course at LORY STATE PARK?

[lngbrdnpwdr]

Well, I sure do! I was talking to Bill at Wright Life yesterday about how I had read in the Coloradoan about the 3 new mountain bike courses at Lory put in to try to boost revenue and he said there are already people working on getting a Disc Golf course put in there. He also said that anyone who wants to help make this happen can e-mail or call Lory and let them know how much demand there is for courses in the area, and how great a course at Lory would be.
Their e-mail is: [e-mail]
phone: [phone]

Bill also said that most of Lory has so much natural vegetation and weeds that course maintenance would be difficult, BUT that the old motocross track north of the north Horsetooth dam would be a good site. And I'm thinking since that area is already disturbed from it's natural state, we'd probably be allowed to landscape or bull doze etc.

Well, I just wanted to spread the word and hope everyone else does too, so e-mail and call Lory, and let your friends know to do the same. Hopefully there'll be a new course soon!

Thanks,

Peter

[patfcollins]

I sent an e-mail this morning to that address about how good of an idea a course would be up there to help Lory build some revenue and received a not so friendly reply that stated "this rumor is false," and that she wants to know where it started so she can "nip it in the bud"

Who did Bill talk too?

[lngbrdnpwdr]

Well, nothing surprises me when it comes to government employees...I'm not sure Bill talked to anyone, I wrote that he told me "there are already people working on getting a Disc Golf course put in there".

So, I'm guessing she'd like to "nip it in the bud" before this all turns into REAL work for her...

I'm sorry you got the "not so friendly reply", but thanks for trying and letting us know.

Anyway, the squeaky wheel gets the grease, so lets keep letting Lory and Larimer know the demand for courses is real and maybe we'll eventually get more courses.

Thanks,

Peter

[Michael-Tuohy]

Isn't there a forum just for new course ideas?

Anyway, I think it would help if the club got a lot more organized with things like this. I could be wrong, but it seems like good intentioned motivated people acting somewhat independently with mostly verbal pleas to very structured entities.
If you know anyone in Rec Management they'll know all about writing up official looking proposals for things like this. Governments and corporations like to see numbers and plans, not guesses but figures acquired in the field. Sit at Edora for a weekend and count the number of players and groups. Survey demographics, level of play, willingness to go to other courses, willingness to pay for other courses, etc.

Try not to see disc golfers as anything remotely similar to bikers. Mountain biking is a multi-million dollar industry in Colorado. There are tens of thousands of participants and they have a reputation for being upstanding folks who are willing to PAY and follow rules. They don't throw hard plastic things at other park visitors that could result in a lawsuit against the landowner. They generally only hurt themselves. A disc golf plea would have to be entirely unique and convince the park it would be an asset rather than whining about how its not fair if we don't get a course too.

-Michael

[dave]

Rich Knowles put together a very nice powerpoint presentation including exactly what you describe. We have 2 or 3 weekends of data from Edora displaying the age, place of residence, etc. We have already given a presentation to the Parks and Rec in Ft. Collins. We received good feedback but no concrete developments as of yet. They were however impressed with the popularity of the sport and the demographic variety of players. I have talked with the Larimer County Parks and Open Space and we are getting on their Sept. or Oct. agenda so we can give them our presentation as well.
Please post any ideas concerning possible locations for a new course in the city or county. The land available for a new course is definitely the biggest challenge we face. The city and county are on our side if we can just come up with a location that we would both be happy with.

[Michael-Tuohy]

I'm suitably impressed. I fully understand the problem of land, especially with the idea of an 18 hole course. I see a lot of little green space plots that look ideal for like 5 or 6 holes and maybe sqeeze 9. There's also big parcels like around the football stadium, but not much for terrain or obstacles. I'm sure everyone with a pile of discs on the passenger floor of their car is constantly on the lookout.
In my mind, the trick would be to make the find, do a bunch of course plotting, prove that it'll work, make comparisons with other "start-ups" like Boltz, and offer to do as much as possible of the work for the city/county so they essentially get an asset with minimal effort on their behalf.
I'm a rote amateur on many levels here. Just a very hyperactive opinionated one with extra time on his hands.
Cheers to all!