Bandemer Park

[terrycalhoun]

Sheila and I attended another parks planning meeting last week and things are looking very good for a new course - soon - in that park, which is very, very close to downtown Ann Arbor!

We're 100 percent certain after that meeting, that there will be a course in Bandemer, probably some time this spring still. I think they really want to get a move on it. (We'll keep everyone updated.)

The question will be if we can fit 18 holes in there, which I think is possible, as the two other major recreational opportunities going in there (besides walking/jogging and picnicking) are BMX biking and rowing, both of which are going to be located at the extreme southern end of the park; pretty much leaving everything inside the two walking trails to the east and west, the pavillion at the north, and to the southern edge of the woods, open for disc golf.

The other potential park users (listed above) plus the environmental watchers, were all very supportive.

[wander]

Thanks for the news, Terry.

I remember walking thru the park when they first started talking about this awhile back. Some nice potential, and close for so many folks.

Joe

[DSproAVIAR]

Nice!! That is great news!! When/who is designing the course? That's great stuff Terry. Unrelated--I've always dreamed about a course at Nichols Arboretum. I love that place. There could be some sweet holes out there.

[scottcwhite]

Yes, great news! Terry, please let the community know when and to what capacity you will need volunteers. I would happily donate a weekend or two or three to get a course installed. :) :)

Here's a map I found of Bandemer Park:
http://www.ci.ann-arbor.mi.us/CommunityServices/Parks/Parkdescriptions/pdfs/argoandbandember.pdf

[dwridener]

YES! I'll be happy to donate some of my time and effort also.

Dustin

[terrycalhoun]

Nice find on the map.

If you look at the big area in the middle, defined by trails around it, which has "Bandemer Park" mostly inside it, that's approximately the area we have for disc golf.

It's heavily wooded with tons of buckthorn. Quite flat.

I've approximated that its longest length, north to south, is about 1,200 feet and its widest width, east to west, is about 800 feet.

There is parking at the north end for about 40 cars, and that is where they want our official Hole #1 to be; but they will be adding parking for 60 more cars at the south end, and the course should be designed so that you can pick it up at either end.

For people who don't know, the north end of Bandemer is pretty much where you enter M-14 from Main Street. An easy trip from most downtown locations.

[DSproAVIAR]

Whenever volunteers are needed, please post!!!

[terrycalhoun]

Some people are meeting at the north end of Bandemer Park Sunday at 10:30 to walk it and look at potential course layout. We will be joined by Pad Timmons, of Discraft, and hopefully also by Gunars. Pad, Gunars, and Steve Peck were instrumental in bringing about Brown Park 15 years ago.

All are welcome.

[j_d]

Having attended the walk-thru on Sunday, my take (and I believe, the group's take, but I don't want to speak for others) is that there is room for 18 holes. The course has the potential to be a short but technical layout with a handful of longer holes, some of which will be more open. Elevation changes are minimal but there are a lot of trees including some rather large ones. I think it will be a great addition to the Ann Arbor disc golf scene and it can't go in soon enough given Brown Park's impending closure.

[terrycalhoun]

Update 02.27.06

Several of us met at the north end of the park and walked around it counterclockwise. Then we did it again, but in the woods to either side of the paths.

We were pretty convinced that there was enough room for a nice 18-hole course.

But today we learned that we are only allowed to place 9 holes, and that there are some areas we thought available which are going to become unavailable.

It will be a good course, perhaps tougher than Brown Park, since fitting in only 9 holes will allow longer holes, most of which are wooded. Think of a hybrid of Rolling Hills and Willow with a complete lack of elevation change.

The city wants to move fast. Bandemer might be in place by the end of May.

[terrycalhoun]

Rob Loechel, Mike Frame, and I, and several others, met with the city parks landscape architect and an engineer from the county at a meeting last night about Brown Park and Bandemer.

With regard to Bandemer, we now have a clear map of where we can and cannot put the nine holes they are probably going to let us have.

We also got a little pushback from the city for the club's failure to invest much time and energy into Brown Park - they see that as indicative of not caring, and in a time of short budgets for their maintance staff, they are looking for more commitment from the club to help out. This could get to be an issue if the club insists on keeping its resources focused on Hudson Mills.

With regard to the course timing, it looks like the parks system will be removing the baskets at Brown Park and using nine of them to put in Bandemer, *if* we get final approval. (I've got to make a presentation at the Parks Advisory Council about that in a week or two.)

It would be really nice if the club can commit to fund raising for 18 new baskets to go back into Brown Park in mid- to late-2007.

At any rate, we now have until the end of March to come up with plans for the nine holes while, on a parallel track, I've got to make that presentation.

[kwilliamson]

So is it the thought that this year's Ace Race will be at Bandemer? Or are there other idea's?

[terrycalhoun]

I attended a meeting of the Parks Advisory Commission at City Hall yesterday afternoon and gave a 15-minute presentation on disc golf, touching on the Brown Park closing and the desire for a course in Bandemeer Park. Also tried to plant seeds for additional parks.

Most of the members had little knowledge of disc golf and seemed to enjoy handling the discs I passed around, and the two PDGA promo videos that I showed them portions of.

What I did not know ahead of time was that I would be on TV :( so those of you with cable might spot the presentation on the public access channel(s) at some point.

Tim Berla, a disc golfer who is on the commission was there, and another disc golfer, Steve Masten, used the public commentary to make a nice family-related statement on the value of disc golf.

[terrycalhoun]

The Parks Advisory Commission has asked for a slight reworking of the Bandemer Disc Golf Course plan. I won't know for sure until I meet tomorrow morning with a city landscape architect, but it seems as though the PAC wants us to reroute a couple of holes that currently would use the open space at the NE corner of the area we were told to design in.

If anyone wants to join me tomorrow morning at 3 pm at City Hall on Friday, April 21, feel free to contact me: 883-4407. It has nothing directly to do with the approval (or not) it's just to find out what we have to reroute.

[terrycalhoun]

I met this afternoon with City of Ann Arbor Landscape Architect, Jeff, and we went to Bandemer Park. Things are looking pretty good for the new disc golf course there..

At the Parks Advisory Commission (PAC) meeting earlier this week, the PAC voted to authorize $20K for a 9-hole disc golf course in Bandemer Park, with some contingencies.

I could not attend that meeting, but at least two disc golfers did, and their statements plus those of Jeff and Tim Berla, a PAC member who is also a disc golfer, carried the day. Kudos to them all!

The budget for the course may permit moving some dirt around to make a couple of holes much longer by raising their fairways above wet ground.

I think this course is going to turn out pretty nice. Great location, lots of parking, and it will be interesting, not boring.

[wander]

Thanks for keeping everyone posted, Terry. Sounds like nice progress. I hope to get some footage of various stages of development, so perhaps next time you get set to do some looking around on-site you could give a holler.

Joe

[terrycalhoun]

I will, Joe.

Next step is the city landscape architect taking a revised drawing back to the Parks Advisory Commission in its working group meeting in two weeks. The PAC has okayed the course, contingent on a reworking of the plan so that disc golfers would not be walking any great length on the unpaved trail closest to the river. I made those changes this weekend. (Doing so means that some dirt will need to be pushed around to eliminate low-lying watery areas, on Hole 6 primarily.)

Then comes the serious business of actually designing the course. No really important decisions about precise location of anything have yet been made.

I got a topographic map of the area now, that includes mapping on it of every tree in the park with a diameter of more than 12 inches, so we should be able to begin planning with some precision.

I would count on a visit to the park next weekend to begin doing that. The sooner we get the planning done, the sooner the course can get into the ground. We lose Brown Park in about a week :(

[kwilliamson]

Whats the progress on Bandemer?
I know the original thought was to be playable by the end of May.

[terrycalhoun]

I think that early on we thought that work on the building of the course might begin in May. Didn't happen.

The city's advisory council gave a first tentative approval but wanted the drawings changed a bit.

We did that, and apparently it has now been fully approved.

I am trying to complete a detailed course map for the parks folks to work from by early next week. I think they're eager to go.

I'll post that map on lne when I finish it.

[terrycalhoun]

Check this out: (PDF)
http://www.campussustainability.info/images/bandemer-full9-060906.pdf

[DSproAVIAR]

Is there a key? What do the different colored routes signify?

[terrycalhoun]

We're hoping that they will let us have three tee-pads on some holes.

Blue is the standard, primary course; green is the "rec" tees; red is a set of alternatives that would provide a more varied experience if we can persuade them to do them and they can afford to.

From the parking lot on the north to the fence line running east-west to the south, the widest point is about 600' and the longest is about 1,200, roughly.

[gradek]

Word on the street is that this course is dead in the water. is that ture?

[terrycalhoun]

Been having back and forth emails with A2 parks & rec planner Amy Kuras and it's clear that she's lining up the contractors to begin work on the Bandemer course as soon as she can.

Last few questions from here were about how important it was (or not) that the image of the hole on the tee marker be precise to the hole, should they just chip the trees they take out in place and spread the chips on the fairway, etc.

Definitely not dead in the water.

[DSproAVIAR]

Been having back and forth emails with A2 parks & rec planner Amy Kuras and it's clear that she's lining up the contractors to begin work on the Bandemer course as soon as she can.

Last few questions from here were about how important it was (or not) that the image of the hole on the tee marker be precise to the hole, should they just chip the trees they take out in place and spread the chips on the fairway, etc.

Definitely not dead in the water.



Suuweeeeeeet. I like eating food for lunch, but I like playing disc golf for lunch even better. Are any dates set for workdays Terry? Or does the city not need help?

[terrycalhoun]

They are pretty shy on volunteer help when they have money to pay contractors. I'm sure there are things we can do as it gets closer, but they're not wanting any right now.

[ChrisWoj]

I actually accidentally found this park today! I was stuck in traffic and ended up having to get onto... whatever business route that is, got off to turn around and BOOM... Bandemer Park! Really convenient! It looks like it may be the perfect way to end a day spent at Hudson Mills!

[terrycalhoun]

Pad Timmons, Amy Kuras, and I walked the park Thursday morning and I went back through again Thursday afternoon.

Amy is working on determining how much clearing of fairways is needed for each hole so that she can bid it out very soon. We'll likely go back in late January to walk through with potential bidders for a "pre-bid" look.

The city's going to do a really good job on this course. It looks like we may have some volunteer opps coming up, too. If nothing else, we are going to try to get permission to do some "clippers" clearing to make it easier to walk the holes before they begin construction.

[terrycalhoun]

Pad Timmons and I are walking some contractors through the Bandmer Course layout Monday morning, so that they can better bid on the clearing. Things are moving forward!

[terrycalhoun]

There were 5-6 contractors who walked the Bandemer course with us this morning. Very cold! They are going to have some difficulty getting equipment into one or two holes.

Roughly speaking, a contractor should be selected in about 6 weeks, maybe sooner if the city council meeting schedule permits. The idea is that the buckthorn, etc., will be cleared while the ground is still frozen; then the concrete poured, etc., when the weather warms up.

The city is going to re-use baskets from Brown Park for Bandemer Park. Brown Park (now Mary Beth Doyle Park) is getting an all-new 18 baskets when it is put back into the ground later this fall.

[terrycalhoun]

I've created a Bandemer Yahoo! Group, as a number of people have asked for an easy way to communicate with others who plan to spend a lot of time there, and investing volunteer time in working on stuff there: http://sports.groups.yahoo.com/group/bandemer/.

I've just uploaded a PDF of the course design to that group.

[terrycalhoun]

Last weekend we marked with orange and green plastic ribbons, holes 1, 2, and 9 at Bandemer, in preparation for the clearing crews. You can actually see the fairways beginning to take shape. Pretty cool.

If you do go to look, note the following about the color combinations:

- green means "don't cut"
- orange also means "don't cut" but it also means "this is the edge of the fairway"
- which is why some big cottonwoods have both orange and green on them

Remember, the orange ribbons, many of which are on Buckthorn, are the outside edge of the fairway and those trees/bushes should still remain after the clearing has been done.

[terrycalhoun]

The city parks staff missed a deadline for the appropriate March city council meeting by one day, so the official approval of the bid to clear and construct the course can't happen until April. Which means construction can't start until mid-April at the earliest.

[terrycalhoun]

We marked Holes 3, 4, 5, and most of 6 last weekend. You're probably gonna hate Hole 6 :D long and narrow, with a nasty (and often wet) ravine on the right.

[gradek]

Thanks for the updates Terry

[terrycalhoun]

Don't thank me for this one :(

Pad and I walked the course with the parks planner Monday morning and she had no objections to any parts of our design and layout.

Unfortunately, she did share that city council is not going to review the Bandemer stuff in April, which means that May will be the earliest that we can get things going - if we're lucky.

[janttila]

Hey Terry, I can see that the course keeps taking a back seat on the city council agenda. Is it becoming a budget issue as the fiscal year progresses? Or have funds for the course already been secured? Seems like everything in Michigan is a budget issue, especially, when it is public moneys.

[terrycalhoun]

Well, there are supposedly $500k in the budget specifically for Bandemer Park. Most of that does not get spent on the disc golf course, of course :)

My understanding of those funds is that they are secured for Bandemer. However, as we know, things can get diverted.

I hope that if there comes a time when we need to mobilize our folks to be heard by city council, that we learn of it in time.

For now, I do not know if it is simply a matter of city council needing to spend its time on other matters, or if city council is trying to find ways to spend that money on other things.

I do know a council person, maybe I will give him a call.

[terrycalhoun]

I was wrong, earlier, about where the course construction bid approval was stuck. I hear now that:

"On Tuesday PAC passed a resolution recommending that city council approve the Bandemer Park master plan in its entirety. [There has been] a contractor ready to go on the disc golf course for a few months. So it will go to city council soon (next meeting I hope) and if and when they approve it, work will start on the course."

So, it's past the latest hurdle. Hopefully the city council will rubber stamp the parks advisory council approval!

[terrycalhoun]

The Ann Arbor City Council approved the construction bid for the course at Bandemer Park. Amy Kuras, the parks planner who has been working with us on this, says that means that construction will begin in August.

On another, as-yet-unnamed front, I have a breakfast meeting later this morning that has the potential for some exciting news about yet another local course. But that's all I can say for now.

[wander]

Bandameer will be a geat addition to our local dg selection. Woo Hoo!

Thanks for the update, Terry.

Joe

[j_d]

There was a tiny blurb in the A2 News yesterday that construction is starting within a day or so and is expected to be completed by some time in Oct.

[DSproAVIAR]

We will have to do some weekly doubles here, I bet we could get some Ypsidisc-style support from ABC, Grizzly Peak, etc...

[terrycalhoun]

I'm learning that courses generally do not go in as quickly as one hopes or expects. However, I'm pretty sure this one will be in before October is over. Here is a hole-by-hole lengths listing. I know everyone would like longer holes, but this is all the (dry) land we had to work with. It's going to be a very pretty course.

Note that the red (short) tee pad (they'll be 4x8') is for real beginners, since this is a course that will get lots of exposure to non-disc golfers.

Distance
Feet
Number Color Rounded Type

1 Red 180 left
White 250 right
Blue 260 straight, slight right

2 Red 150 hard left
White 210 straight, slight left
Blue 220 right

3 Red 230 straight, slight right
White 300 straight, slight right
Blue 330 hard right

4 Red 150 straight, slight right
White 200 right
Blue 240 straight or slight left

5 Red 180 straight
White 220 left
Blue 230 straight

6 Red 150 straight
White 240 straight
Blue 300 straight

7 Red 230 straight then left
White 240 left
Blue 310 straight or left

8 Red 290 straight, slight left
White 330 straight
Blue 390 hard right then straight

9 Red 200 straight, slight left
White 240 right
Blue 250 hard right

[cyferban]

Terry you rule as the man to get more courses in the ground!!!. What would we do without you!

[cyferban]

Terry can i get your help with some more courses in Washtenaw County???? I know you are a very busy man but i need your help on 2 more courses, please. These courses need costs to make them happen.

[terrycalhoun]

Walked through Bandemer with the contractor and the parks planner this morning.<ul type="square">
* Had to slightly move the location of two pads away from their elevated state due to substrate issues;
* I expect the concrete pads and the baskets to be in by the weekend of October 6-7 (if the weather stays good);
* With signage a couple of weeks later;
* And the city is going to come through and remove all of the dead ash trees, which in most cases is a good thing, but probably won't do that until the winter.[/list]

These are the new distances, basically, 3-red and 4-white are now 10 feet shorter :(

1 Red 180 left
White 250 right
Blue 260 straight, slight right

2 Red 150 hard left
White 210 straight, slight left
Blue 220 right

3 Red 230 straight, slight right
White 300 straight, slight right
Blue 330 hard right

4 Red 150 straight, slight right
White 200 right
Blue 240 straight or slight left

5 Red 180 straight
White 220 left
Blue 230 straight

6 Red 150 straight
White 240 straight
Blue 300 straight

7 Red 230 straight then left
White 240 left
Blue 310 straight or left

8 Red 290 straight, slight left
White 330 straight
Blue 390 hard right then straight

9 Red 200 straight, slight left
White 240 right
Blue 250 hard right

[terrycalhoun]

Bill, it's a *lot* more work than just me doing this. Pad Timmons, especially, has put a *lot* of time into these course (and expertise), and Ben has been very helpful. And it's more people than that, too, *especially* at Gordy Memorial (Waterworks) but I don't have a list. I am just the one doing the reporting.

[janttila]

Hi Terry! Is there baskets out there already? I'm gonna be down in A2 this afternoon and wouldn't mind throwin at some before I head home :cool:

[cyferban]

Sorry Terry, i didn't think you were doing it alone but we the masses don't always hear about all the other individuals involved in a movement like this. Good work to all the planners and movers on this project.

[terrycalhoun]

Nope, sorry, baskets are probably in by the end of next week. Just stakes in the ground right now. If anyone does throw it to the stakes, please, please, please do not move any tee area flags or pin placement stakes!!

They're using old Brown Park baskets, BTW, as Mary Beth Doyle Park is getting all new ones when it goes back in next spring.

Sigh - where to park! Important! Note that Hole 1 begins at the south end of the parking lot on the north side of the park - access off of Barton Drive then across that small wooden bridge. There is parking at the south end of the park and you could pick up Hole 4 there, but the parks planners really want us not to use that southern parking lot, even though you can get into it off of Main Street, because it gets pretty heavy use at some times of the day, already, and one of their goals for disc golf is to "clean up" some of the odd parking area behaviors on the north end that will no doubt stop once that end is getting used. Instead of cutting off of Main Street to the south end, just cross the bridge on M-14 and turn right onto Barton, then left into the north end of the park.

Plus, the north end parking lot is paved, that's where the porta-potty is, and there is also a nice, almost unused pavillion over by the river.

After Hole 2 there is a long walk to the south end of the park on paved path to Holes 3-6. After Hole 6 there is a long walk north on the unpaved path closer to the river to reach Holes 7-9, which are back at the north side of the park.

Another please, please, please - be very courteous to other users of both of those paths. The Parks Advisory Council preferred for us not to be walking on those paths, but due to the wetness of the land in the middle, we had to design it that way.

It takes some getting used to, having cyclists come up behind you fast while people walking dogs are coming at you from the front.

Also try to have a minimal impact on the bushes and trees along the unpaved path, folks like it being somewhat primitive.

I think it's going to be pretty easy to play, but it's also going to be very pretty, and very visible to the non-disc golfing public.

[NOHalfFastPull]

T Calhoun

Nice work.
Modest as ever I see.

steve timm

[ChrisWoj]

I can't wait to see this in. Will make a great capper to any days spent at Hudson Mills.

[terrycalhoun]

Anyone interested in helping clear some buckthorn and doing some fairway trimming at Bandemer, please join us at 9 am Sunday morning. We'll work no later than noon and if we have any energy left, we'll play the course to the stakes that currently represent the baskets.

We anticipate the concrete tees and baskets will be installed next week.

Questions? Use this cell to call me: 734 355 0431

Meet at the North end of the park, which is entered from Barton Drive almost underneath where M-14 crosses over the Huron River.

[terrycalhoun]

Many thanks to Kathy &amp; Rob (who live near Doyle Park, but I don't know their last names) as well as to John Davis and Rob Loechel. They braved the heat and did some great work on Holes 9 and 6 today. Cross your fingers that the construction crew starts pouring concrete tomorrow!

[disc13207]

Heat? You have heat today in Michigan?

[NewDude]

I went over to Bandemer this morning -- no baskets yet, but they're in the process of doing all the tee pads. They've leveled the ground, put some sand down, and built up the wooden frames within which the concrete will be poured.

[terrycalhoun]

And, boy, was it a good idea for me to have walked the course and checked out the alignment of the wood forms yesterday. On three holes, they had the golfer throwing into the woods instead of down the fairway. Whew

I believe they are pouring concrete as I write this. The city also had a bulldozer in to sort of "flatten out" the mogul humps on Hole 6.

[NewDude]

Concrete has been poured -- all tees are finished. Baskets are not in yet, but they are sitting in the north parking lot waiting to go in (on Monday, I hope).

Walked the course today with my family and threw a few holes for fun. Those are some challenging and technical holes. People who can throw a midrange disc with precision will do well. Can't wait for baskets and doubles league and ABC!

[terrycalhoun]

Yep, baskets are scheduled for Monday.

Signage will be another 2-4 weeks, but each tee will have its own sign post, there will be some directional signs between 2-3 and 6-7, and a big sign at the course entrance by the white tee for Hole 1.

I spent a little time out there this morning with an ax, saw, and clippers. Look for a new entrance off of the paved pathway down into the white and blue tee areas for Hole 3.

[NewDude]

I've been out of town, are the baskets in yet? Has anyone played it yet? Comments?

[sweetdisc]

Hi Fellow Disc Golfers,

The City of Ann Arbor is still trying to get this course in and would like all golfers to refrain from playing this course until it actually is ready for play. Contractors are still working on course so please wait for official news that course is ready for play.

Thanks,

Pad Timmons

[sweetdisc]

FYI contractors do not work on the weekends, so no problem playing it then.

Peace,

Pad

[terrycalhoun]

We are having a work day Sunday at Bandemer, beginning at 9 am. I believe that there is a doubles event planned for 2 or 3 pm, so we'll probably work until then, and then play.

It's nice to see so many people out there enjoying the course. Three notes:

(a) When you enter the paved pathway from Hole 2, please be alert to the possibility of fast-moving bicycles coming at you from the right, and please stay to the right on the path until you enter Hole 3.

(b) Lots of people are picking up and moving to the side some of the larger pieces of wood left in the fairway by the HydroAx machine that chopped up the Buckthorn. Thank you! Especially on Holes 5 and 6, do not throw those down into the ravine between the holes, instead put them into the woods on the outside edges of the fairways. (People will end up down in there and piles of wood will just make it too rough for them. Or you!)

(c) Please feel free to pick up and carry out any of the plastic ribbon that was used to mark the fairways. The sooner we get that stuff out of there, the better.

Enjoy! See you out there Sunday!

[wander]

Hi, Terry-

Had a chance yesterday to walk in to the course from the Longshore Dr parking lot and play a couple of holes with my daughter before picking the other youngin' up at her school. Very nice. Might get muddy in there, at least on 5 &amp; 6 where we played. Any plans to truck some wood chips out there?

Joe

[terrycalhoun]

I think chips are dependent upon the final workings out of the budget the parks is working with. I will definitely speak with them about it. Maybe we can get a couple piles to work from.

That budget may be blown, BTW, due to the many dead ash trees on most holes but especially 3 and 4. The city will remove those later in the winter, because the planner feels that she has to, and they'll probably get chipped, but that won't be huge piles. I am trying to persuade her to leave some of the better placed trees in the ground as 10-15-fot stumps, but holes 3 and 4 will both be definitely more open by next spring.

[terrycalhoun]

Please plan to come out. Bring hand tools like saws, clippers, etc.

I'm up for buying lumber (up to $100) to make a bridge across the muddy gulch on Hole 9 if people with the expertise and tools to do so want to make that part of the day. If I knew what to get I could go to Lowe's and have it pre-cut. Need to make some measurements first. I'm not talking the Taj Mahal here, just something to walk on :)

BTW, I don't know how to post an image in here, so I have put a course map image on another blog, here: http://calhoundg.blogspot.com/.

[bruce_brakel]

This thread is a lot more important than [censored] about the scheduling process, the crappy weather last weekend or what an evil person I am. So I'm bumping it up to the top.

Build more courses. Grow the sport.

[Mark_Stephens]

http://i29.photobucket.com/albums/c275/markthehammer/bandemer2.jpg

[terrycalhoun]

Thanks, Mark! :)

[bruce_brakel]

I think chips are dependent upon the final workings out of the budget the parks is working with. I will definitely speak with them about it. Maybe we can get a couple piles to work from.

That budget may be blown, BTW, due to the many dead ash trees on most holes but especially 3 and 4. The city will remove those later in the winter, because the planner feels that she has to, and they'll probably get chipped, but that won't be huge piles. I am trying to persuade her to leave some of the better placed trees in the ground as 10-15-fot stumps, but holes 3 and 4 will both be definitely more open by next spring.

Tell her that dead trees left standing create a food source for woodpeckers. It is true and it is the type of argument that wins with parks people.

Also, I doubt your work day is scheduled for October 7, so post something and change the title of the post to reflect the proper date.

[terrycalhoun]

I am getting so bad with keeping track of the calendar, thanks, Bruce, it's Sunday the 4th.

[wander]

[QUOTE]
Tell her that dead trees left standing create a food source for woodpeckers. It is true and it is the type of argument that wins with parks people.




My favorite Park Personnel WTF moment came a few years ago when we had a temporary basket on #16 Monster, beyond the pond that is behind the current pin position. The Naturalist walked the area and said essentially, No, a pin position there won't be considered since she walked past a fawn in the tall grass when looking around the area. We can't have DG interfering with Mo Nature, can we? A few months later (and several times since) parts of the course have been closed while they shoot a whole bunch of deer to keep their numbers down.

Joe

[scottcwhite]

I noticed while playing yesterday that there are large bundles of wood posts in the woods behind the basket on hole 2. I only discovered this because my drive went way past the basket down into the gulley. These are 3-4 foot long and maybe 1x1" square posts. Could be useful for the floor of a bridge or maybe side rails, depending how ignt you want to get with it. I suggest buying two lengths of 4x4" about 5 feet each to use as the base of the hole 9 bridge. Then use these posts as the floor. Just nail them to the 4x4s.

[sweetdisc]

Those posts could be for the T-signs that are coming in the next week or two?

[terrycalhoun]

I will buy fresh lumber. The city parks planner is delighted that we might build that bridge, she is checking to see if the person who email me about bringing a generator to run a table saw can do so.

I'm going to take a look at the gulch and get some rough measurements at 5:00-5:15 this afternoon if anyone wants to meet there with me. Hope to get an idea of the lumber we need.

I'm with Pad, we can't assume it is okay to use any lumber we find on the course.

[rob9128]

Actually they were wrapped in what appeared to be the short snow fence that usually shows up along side the trail during the winter. They're just pine stakes and wouldn't do for construction anyway. I landed on them too.

Got my attention, but not quite as much as the nice glossy handbill on the teepad for three. Don't ask.

[scottcwhite]

Course pictures of Bandemer Park, taken on November 1st, 2007:

http://www.local101dg.com/courses.php?courseID=16

http://www.local101dg.com/coursepictures/389.jpg

[DiscsDiva]

Excellent photo of the park. I can't wait to play it. :)

[terrycalhoun]

Time for thank-you's for last Sunday's work day. It really brought the course around, and all we are missing now is the signage (and some wood chips).

David Stachlewitz
Jessica Fileccia
Krista Graham
Garrett Graham
Jeff Danes
Ruth Calhoun
Sheila Calhoun
Terry Calhoun
Bob Macalee

If I have forgotten anyone, please let me know.

[terrycalhoun]

Someone is building a very nice bench near the tee area for Hole 6, which is great. But - whoever it is, and other potential benefactors - please let me know if you want to do something like that so we can let the city officially know *beforehand*; otherwise, there is a potential that the city might remove cool stuff just because it isn't official. Thanks.

[terrycalhoun]

The tee signs are scheduled to be put into the ground on Friday, one per tee pad. (The overall course sign is still being made.)

Please be considerate of the workers installing the signs if you and they are out on the course at the same time

[terrycalhoun]

Those who were concerned about the designation of the Blue (long) and White (middle) tee pads will feel vindicated tonight.

Knowing that the tee signs are going in Friday, I went out earlier with my laser range finder and discovered that I had been the victim of an optical illusion on Hole 5 and had been aiming it at the wrong tree trunk.

The hyzer shot, which is more difficult than the straight shot, is in fact slightly longer and will be designated Blue (long) with the signage.

Amazing, I thought I had made it almost to the end of 2007 without a single mistake. Sigh.

[ChrisWoj]

Just had a group go out and play Bandemer today (myself, Chris Hoyle, Jamie Whitehead, and Justin Gill). We all loved the place. It is, by far, the best nine basket course I've played. Hoyle couldn't stop raving about it and how he'll be taking his 5 year old son out there frequently when spring comes around to play the red tees.

It was a blast. The only thing that wasn't sweet was the 700 foot walk between 6-7, but we played all of the teepad sets twice anyway. It is a very fast play, even for a 9 hole.


-Chris.

[NewDude]

One cool thing about the 700 foot walk between 6 and 7 is this:

Hole 6 from the long tee is pretty brutal. I can imagine even the most seasoned pro taking a bogey on 6 from long. That nice 700 foot journey is a good way to shake it off and prepare yourself for hole 7 -- a nicer hole with more routes, lanes, gaps and alleys. Also, the walk is a good chance to chat with your group. Some people don't like to talk too much when they're golfing, so this is a nice chance to shoot the sh*t when it won't affect their game. Or, you can use the down time to reflect on why you talked so much smack on the board and then failed to step up when the opportunity presented itself.

Anyway, glad that you enjoyed the course. Isn't that an awesome bridge that Terry and his buddies built on hole 9?

[scottcwhite]

One cool thing about the 700 foot walk between 6 and 7 is this:




http://www.local101dg.com/coursepictures/388.jpg

I really like that walk, just watch out for angry lefties mumbling about "high-speed under"

[justingill]

i loved the design of the holes terry... also i was was impressed in the difference of the degrees of difficulty between the teepads... great for new golfers to start at the red and move up to the whites and then blues when they want challenges...

what is going to be done with the ground cover? i probably rolled my ankle 6+ times on medium sized sticks... (perfect size for rolling an ankle)

again i love the course and cannot wait to play it in the spring on nice and dry teepads....

deuce

[peterkunoff]

I don't know if this has already been addressed before on this thread or not. I have found the length of the cement pads to be way too short for a proper X-step for my legs. ( I'm 6'2' with long legs). I am not the only one to voice this concern. The tee in particular where it is a major problem is the Mid tee for #8; the back edge drops off more than a foot. Any talk of lengthening some of the longer tees come springtime? I love this course but I find myself complaining about the tee pads more than I would like.

[NewDude]

I'm tall too (6'4") and I know what you mean, but I doubt that the city will lengthen the pads, so I guess we'll just have to start our run up behind the pad.

[terrycalhoun]

Thanks for the kind words about the Bandemer course, guys. Pad and I wanted something fast to play, non-threatening for beginners, and skill-building for experienced players. (And pretty, as well as exposed to the public, too.)

The city will be taking out more than 100 dead ash trees this winter and chipping them in place, so the substrate should improve somewhat. (And the fairways for Holes 3 and 4 will open up, especially 3; not Hole 6, though!)

Some of the 101 guys have offered to add another four feet to the back of the tee pads with volunteer labor and materials in the spring. I am talking with the city parks planner about that and I think we will be able to make that happen. The original length of the tee pads was a compromise to save dollars so that we could have three on each hole. Relative to most disc golf courses' cost, Ann Arbor spent a lot on this one.

About the walk between Holes 6 & 7 - in the original design, Hole 6 ended up near the tee pads for Hole 7, but all of that huge space between the north and south holes is under water for much of the year, so it was not possibly to put fairways in there.

[disc_hound]

Foz and I are trying to get a group of people together for glow(light) rounds on Fridays. The time details haven't been decided on. I will update with more details later.

[janttila]

Bandemer is pretty [censored] fun course to play! WURD!

[disc_hound]

Is there any way we can put garbage cans out? Or does anyone have a number of someone i can ask?

[cgkdisc]

It may be a place where you're supposed to pack out what you take in.

[savard1120]

Bandemer is pretty [censored] fun course to play! WURD!



im sick of your lack of [censored] faith joe

[ChrisWoj]

Name the Blink 182 song that has only four words that won't come up censored here on the PDGA Boards.

[savard1120]

[censored] [censored] [censored] [censored] ?

[rob9128]

I was gonna guess.."[censored] you, you [censored] piece of [censored]."

[ChrisWoj]

I'm talking about the actual lyrics to the song. :) Though I will admit I did mis count, I forgot the last line in the song. The total is actually 7 unique words in the song that are not censored.

[janttila]

That is way too [censored] funny! Keep up the good [censored] work!

[savard1120]

this isnt funny at all, its highly offensive

[janttila]

Shut your [censored] mouth!

[savard1120]

cant we just beee friends janttila?