Course Development
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Sample Fact Sheet
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The SF Disc Golf Club, a not-for-profit organization composed of San Francisco disc golf players, is proposing the installation of a 24-hole disc golf course in McLaren Park in the general vicinity of the upper reservoir. Below are some commonly asked questions about the proposal.
What Is Disc Golf?
Disc golf is played like traditional golf, only instead of hitting a ball into a hole you throw a plastic disc (similar to a Frisbee) into an elevated metal basket. The goal is the same: to complete the course in the fewest number of shots. A golf disc is thrown from a tee area to the basket, which is the "hole". As a player progresses down the fairway, he or she must make each consecutive shot from the spot where the previous throw landed. The existing trees, shrubs and terrain changes in and around the fairways provide challenging obstacles. Finally, the "putt" lands in the basket and the hole has been completed. Disc golf also shares many of the etiquette and procedural rules of traditional golf. For example, players must be quiet and still while other players are throwing.
Why Have Parks Departments Chosen Disc Golf?
There are now around 800 disc golf courses in the US and Canada, most installed by city and county parks departments. They have found that there are few recreational activities that offer the high benefit-to-cost ratio of disc golf. Disc golf has low capital and maintenance costs, is environmentally sound, is played year-round, co-exists successfully with other park uses (such as dog-walking and hiking) and is enjoyed by beginners of all ages.
Who Can Play?
The simple answer is that everyone can. In studies measuring recreational activities, "throwing a Frisbee" has consistently been a top-ten activity. A disc golf course serves a broader portion of the community than many narrower interest activities with higher cost, skill or fitness levels required to participate. Men and women, young and old, families with small children -- all can play disc golf. Although disc golf was recently included in the SF Unified School District's athletic curriculum, there is currently no course in the city. Given the density of middle and high schools in the surrounding area, a course would give youth in the neighborhood a healthy and challenging outlet for their energies. Towards this end, the Club will work with the Recreation Director and athletic directors from neighborhood schools to organize clinics and youth leagues.
How Much Will It Cost To Play? How Much Will It Cost to Build?
The course will be free to play and the equipment itself is quite inexpensive. Players use either a regular Frisbee or purchase a golf disc (which flies farther) for around $8. A 24-hole golf course with a dual set of tees, professional signs and baskets could be purchased and installed for around $30,000, less than the cost of a single tennis or basketball court.
Who Will Pay For It?
The course has been awarded (pending Park Commission approval) a $10,000 Neighborhood Park Grant from the Friends of Recreation and Parks. In addition, the Club has raised over $5,300 in pledges from local players and equipment manufacturers, while over 400 discs have been pledged for youth programs. We are hoping to raise the rest from the 1987 Bond Fund.
Who Supports The Proposal for A Course At McLaren?
Aside from the San Francisco Disc Golf Club, supporters of the proposal include: Friends of McLaren Park; Recreation Director, McLaren Park; Executive Director, Visitacion Valley Community Center; Director of Athletic Curriculum, SF Unified School District; and PE instructors from fifteen middle and high schools in San Francisco, including Burton and Bridgemont High Schools, Visitacion Valley Middle School, and El Dorado Elementary School.
How Much Land Would Be Needed? Will It Conflict With Other Park Uses?
The 24-hole course would pass through approximately 24-40 acres, depending on the final design, and for the most part follows existing pathways. One of the outstanding features of a disc golf course is its ability to successfully co-exist with other active and passive recreation uses such as dog walking and hiking. The course has been designed to avoid areas where groups regularly congregate such as the dog run areas, picnic areas, playground areas, the upper reservoir, the amphitheater and the field near Burrows St. In addition, the portability of baskets and signs would allow the park department to inexpensively relocate holes if the needs of the Master Plan dictate that.
What Would The Maintenance Needs Be?
After installation, the maintenance needs for the course would be minimal. The baskets are made of rust-resistant, heavy-duty welded steel anchored below ground-level in concrete, and require no regular maintenance. In the unlikely event that one of these baskets is damaged beyond repair or stolen, it can be replaced for around $350. The tees, which will consist of crushed gravel or wood chips, merely need a few minutes of leveling every few months. Existing pathways may need occasional maintenance, which Club volunteers would do under proper supervision, to prevent erosion caused by pedestrian traffic. The remainder of the course layout would require no regular maintenance.
What About Parking?
Parking for the course would take place inside the park on Shelley Drive, since that is where the course begins, rather than on nearby residential streets. The Master Plan states that on Shelley Drive alone there are ten times more parking spaces than would be needed in the unlikely event that both a) the course was full; and b) every single player had driven their own car to the course.
Is Disc Golf Environmentally Sensitive?
Disc golf is an uniquely environment-friendly sport. It provides the challenges of a structured sport while utilizing, but not altering, the natural landscape. Unlike traditional golf, a disc golf course does not require that trees be cut down, fairways mowed and watered, plants uprooted or non-native species planted. Rather, the course fits into the existing flora of the park. The Club has worked with the Park Department's Natural Areas Director and a representative of the California Native Plant Society, revising the draft layout significantly to ensure that the course avoids significant natural areas as defined by these environmental experts. The course has also been designed to minimize erosion and damage to trees and shrubs. To reduce concentrated foot traffic, the baskets will be regularly rotated between three positions on each hole. Before the course is installed the Club has volunteered, under the proper supervision of park staff, to undertake an initial clean-up and then maintain the entire course as a trash-free zone. Accordingly, the proposal provides for additional trash cans to be placed along the course. Finally, the course will not be obtrusive. The tees will be level with the ground and will be visible only from a short distance. The baskets are dull metal and do not stand out, and most will be positioned in the trees. Small maps at each tee will illustrate the hole layout and will be designed in terms of color and shape so that they blend in with the landscape.
How Could A Disc Golf Course Make McLaren Park Safer?
A disc golf course at McLaren would increase people presence in the park at random times during weekdays and steadily during weekends. The influx of purposeful visitors would discourage the presence of individuals who are only in the park to cause mischief and perhaps engage in crime. Testimony from parks departments all over the country has shown that the installation of a disc golf course has led to significant decreases in vandalism, litter and illegal dumping since users have a stake in keeping the course and surrounding area clean and well-kept.