We are putting together some proposals for the Parks. Dept. for the revamped course in Golden Gate Park and I was curious what other courses have done to keep woodchips around the baskets (rather than what has happened here is that they get kicked away and we have to keep replensihing). Any advice/tips would be most appreciated.

Thanks!

The only answer that works well imo is to use gravel. It gets pounded into the ground promoting drainage and it does the job well. here, grass ends up growing through it too. i used to think it would cause disc scuffing concerns, but those problems haven't manifested...

we used to put wood chip mulch down on muddy spots (and high wear spots) around Idlewild but it always got washed away after about a half a year. gravel is working very well.
if we were near the ocean, i might try sand...

I have also heard of folks , building a wood frame around the pin , then filling it with wood chips. Not sure how durable or how long it would last !!!!!!

There are three reasons typcially that the wood chips migrate.
a) when people putt, they try to get better footing and paw the ground like a bull.
b) really high winds
c) lawn mowers overlapping the wood chipped area.

To help contain them, excavate the gound and remove about 6" of earth, fill in with about 4" of wood chips. They'll pack down to about 2" after enough use. Wood chips do break down and you can probably expect to have to replenish every two years as they turn into a fine mulch.

Keep replacing them.

are wood chips around the pin something that players like? is there a general consensus? the reason i ask, we are in the process of installling a course(approval stage right now), and i had thought about chips around the green, to sort of define it, but wasn't sure what most players thought. i have never played a course with the chips, but have played a few holes where it would have helped with mud.

are wood chips around the pin something that players like? is there a general consensus?



a general consensus amongst disc golfers? :eek:

are wood chips around the pin something that players like? is there a general consensus?



a general consensus amongst disc golfers? :eek:


i understand this may be asking a lot; but humor me. what do, say the people tht are reading this, feel about woodchips around the pin? Is it something that you think makes a course/hole better/worse/no difference?

I've helped put woodchips around pins, on paths between holes, and on high wear spots such as around tees -- only to see them eventually wash away -- they float in rain water and they have little weight.

I've found gravel is awesome -- it gets pounded into the ground, is excellent at promoting drainage, provides a stable rooting area for grass seedlings to germinate in and take hold of, and doesn't need to be replaced/replenished annually like woodchips.

as for what disc golfers like -- i find a lot of disc golfers like to take for granted the work involved in maintaining a course. they don't tend to pitch in and help do the work yet they do ewant a say in what is done. Many people complained when they saw gravel being put down -- thinking it would scuff their beloved putters, etc. But now the gravel is virtually invisible but doing its job. The high wear muddy areas are gone. grass has grown through the gravel around the pins. the slipperly when wet slopes are now safe. I'm glad we didn't take a vote. In very muddy areas lay it on thick; in less muddy areas spread it less heavily

Still woodchips might be the way to go if the land is flat and you build a retaining area for them. I might use sand if i thought gravel was too much.

ymmv -- Idlewild's gravelman