Hello there -- I was wondering what steps people have taken to protect trees on their course from damage from discs. We have a number of eucalyptus trees which have gotten pretty nicked up and our Parks Dept. wants us to see what other courses have done. Any information would be appreciated.

Ross

In Michigan we have used black plastic drain pipe, the kind that looks ribbed and is slit on one side, to protect small diameter trunk trees. Some larger trees have been protected with chain link fencing.

:D

At my home course, Cass Benton, some trees are covered by basically metal wire.

thought I would get this one back on the right track. :)

those can be some nasty disc gougers

At the North Park course in Seattle, WA they have done an incredible job with metal poles and nets. This park is tiny, and the designer(s) somehow folded nine tough holes into it, all of them with alternate tees. The first few years that I played it, there was no protection for the trees and/or other players, but after I moved and returned a year later, the entire park was redone. Now they have metal flag poles a few feet up the fairway in front of the most beaten up trees. the poles are smaller in diameter than the trees, but they completely protect them from direct hits and even most glancing hits. For groups of little trees, and exposed tees, they have put up large driving range style nets. The fairways are a little tighter now, but the course remains an amazing piece of work an a blast to play. They don't call it North park anymore, but I know it is in the course directory, and I'm sure the local contact would be more than willing to help you out. I think its now called (something) creek course in Seattle. I'll look for it right now.

Okay Ross, it is still called North Park, and the contact info is right there in the course directory. 18 holes on 4 acres. Amazing.

Actually I think North Park is more like 2.7 acres. In any event, it's small all right. Last time I played there I couldn't break par (again). Lots of locals HATE the ugly metal poles and grudingly accept SOME of the nets as an aid to safety.

The problem with dug-in pole barriers is that, in order to really protect the tree, they need to be planted INCHES from the tree. A couple of feet away doesn't do the trick, because discs have the nasty habit of missing the pole and hitting the tree dead on. HOWEVER, when you dig a hole inches from the tree, then it's hard to do without damaging the tree underground.

The other problem is that the best solution depends on so many variables like: type of tree, ground beneath the tree, age/height of tree, health of tree, getting enough sun or not, rain or not, traffic around tree, aesthetic issues, playability issues. I think that's the best argument to give to the Parks people; that you won't just come up with a SOLUTION that will make everyone happy. There needs to be experiementation and compromise and sometimes nothing will work. You simply have to get them to trust you, and to impress upon them that disc golfers LIKE and NEED their trees and do not prefer to play on a boring parking-lot course.

What I usually do is to get a branch or two (from the same tree hopefully?) and strap it in front of the trunk. What you strap the branches with depends, but I would try a combo of rope and rubber hose, and paint the hose the color of the trunk. I don't bother to cover the whole trunk, just what it takes to stop the dead-on hits. Sometimes it looks cool, sometimes it looks ugly. You don't know till you try.

I have seen where you can drive in some stainless steel screws into the trunk and attach a barrier. The problem is how vandal-proof you can make it, and whether people will use it to climb the tree to retreive their disc. For 'euc' trees, which are often unclimbable, this might work. This system works better for horizontal branches.

Running out of time, good luck.

Thanks everyone -- keep those ideas coming in! I am sure that others are facing this issue as well. I found an article on the North Park course here (http://www.djc.com/news/en/11156166.html)

Eucalyptus? Why is the City Parks Dept worried about the eucalyptus, a veritable "tree weed" here in California? The non-native, soil drying, fire hazard producing, prone to falling, indigenous vegetation displacing blue gum eucalyptus? Don't get me wrong, I love trees, outdoors, nature, etc., but the eucalyptus does not belong here, it really gets in the way of the natural ecosystem; have them removed.

Good points, Kurtbayne. I haven't broken par there yet either. With the nets and poles, I've found it to be even tougher.

Oh yeah, How 'bout those RED SOX?!!!!!!!!!!! World Champions!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

At my home course, Cass Benton, some trees are covered by basically metal wire.



I played Cass for the first time a few weeks ago. This is the only course I've played that had protected some of the tree's, by wrapping it with chain link fencing. No where else have I seen tree's protected from disc's.

the least expensive, least threatening, easiest to apply method of tree protection is not to hit it in the first place lol seriously though wrap natural burlap around trunk ,branch or where needed. attach with nails by laceing thru burlap (lasts for years) the burlap wont harm the tree in any way. also if concerned about rusting nails use stainless or nickel screws instead of nails they wont rust and your trees will be safe and so will your plastic p.s.burlap can be purchased at upholstery shops & suppliers or landscape supply stores