Call for Information
Call for Information
When was that course installed? Help!
As of January 2012, there are 194 courses without an installation year noted in the PDGA course directory!
Eric Vandenberg has started a project to fill in the year of installation for all courses in the directory. By consulting previous course directories, he has been able to establish definitive years that the course existed, however this may not accurately reflect the year of installation. With the input of knowledgeable players, Cliff Towne and Eric would like to update the directory with the most accurate dates of when courses were made permanent (marked trees, posts, tube-tones, saucers, baskets, etc.). So, if you can provide a date of installation, or provide verification of earlier dates of installation than are currently listed, please contact Eric Vandenberg at: [email protected]
Background Information about the PDGA Course Directory
The first Course Directory was published in 1985, through the efforts of Allen Risley. Allen compiled that directory from a variety of sources, including info from Ted Smethers of the fledgling PDGA, Frisbee World magazines, various disc golf publications and word of mouth. Steve Hartwell took over the directory for the PDGA in 1987, and Cliff Towne became the editor in 2001. The Directory has always relied on players, installers, and regional coordinators to add and update accurate information. However, many courses still have incomplete entries. While browsing through the latest directory, Eric was struck by the number of courses with missing years of installation. He knew that he could fill in a few data holes based on his experiences, so he approached current course directory head honcho, Cliff Towne, with the idea to derive an earlier or “less than” date for courses without a year. Cliff suggested that Vandenberg spearhead the effort to reach out to the community and try to attain accurate install years for all the courses missing that data.
An example:
Check out the first California course listed, Twila Reid Park in Anaheim. We know that it existed in 1982 since Anaheim was listed as a city with a course in a 1982 list that Ed Headrick compiled, so we get the “<=1982” you find on the list below. Hopefully this project will catch people's attention and they will be inspired to check their records. Maybe you remember playing the course in conjunction with some seminal life moment (such as going to college, getting married, or the birth of your child). You could then refine the date to an earlier year for us - for example, to “<=1980”. When Eric shared this example with Cliff, he said “Hmmm…..maybe I will call Dan Mangone today and see if he can firm up the year that Twila Reid was installed. It will be a good excuse to chat with him and June.”
This may be a good time to approach that local disc golf legend and ask them how to putt and also find out when that course was installed. Ideally, you find a local newspaper clipping announcing the installation, or the first tournament held there, so we can have the firm year of installation.
Eric Vandenberg, PDGA #3089, would like to offer his thanks and appreciation in advance for any assistance you can offer him, the PDGA, and all its members.