I have a nice park in mind, I have a solid group behind me, and I have a proposal. Before I give the proposal to the parks dept., I was just looking for some answers to questions that I know they'll ask. 1) How will this effect other 'passive' users of the park (dog walkers, hikers, picnics, etc..)? 2) Any ways to cut costs for baskets and tees? 3) How will I promote/educate about disc golf?

I am very excited about getting a course in my area, but at the same time I don't want to rush into anything. I want it done the right way.

>>1) How will this effect other 'passive' users of the park (dog walkers, hikers, picnics, etc..)?

That will depend on how close the course encroaches upon space that is normally used by other park-goers. If you haven't already, you might want to rough out a course to demonstrate how the course will fit into the park. This will show them that you have considered other users and have designed accordingly.

>>2) Any ways to cut costs for baskets and tees?

As far as commercially made baskets, there is a wide range of prices. Have those prices in your proposal.
Tee areas offer the best opportunity for savings. You can go as cheap as having natural tees with maybe some big rocks marking the tee. Not the best scenario, but it will work to start. You can always add more durable tees as the course becomes used more often. This also allows you to tweak the design after some practical use of the course.

>> 3) How will I promote/educate about disc golf?

Offer to do a 'grand opening' and/or a novice league/tournament. Tie this in with your local town festival if you have one. Maybe contact MaceMan about bringing his clinic to your town. Do some research on the EDGE program to get a disc curriculum in the local schools. The possibilities are endless.

It has also been brought to my attention that a proposal might be better rec'd if presented by some sort of disc golf club. How do I go about starting a club? Would I need to file for some sort of non-profit organization status or just get some people together and give ourselves a name? :confused:

Obviously, more people presenting this proposal will make it appear that a course will serve more of the community than just one guy, especially if you are going to be asking the city to foot all or part of the bill. It may carry more weight if you had a formal club with non-profit status, but I woudn't say it's necessary. What is important is that you have a fairly sizable group (maybe 10 people, but the more the better) that is fairly organized and motivated.