I'm going to get things started in the Albany/Schenectedy/Troy/Saratoga area over the winter. This is the last gaping hole in the map of NY state in terms of Disc Golf. Nobody, but nobody, around here knows about Disc Golf. Downstate has Warwick and Mt Kisco, and going west you have two courses in Syracuse and a dozen in Buffalo/Rochester, but there is nothing in the Capital District.

I will use this topic on the message board for discussions between people I introduce to the sport, and we will all be able to monitor the growth in this area as I promote it. I have portable Mach II's I can bring around to various places to show people the sport.

Keep in mind I'm not very good at this sport yet myself so I'm hoping some skilled hands will come upstate for a fw rounds once I get things going. Don't expect any permanent courses at first, but I can set up a course anywhere with portable pole holes!!

First event, Spa Park in Saratoga!!

hey dont forget about the new kid in town FDR PARK IN YORKTOWN HEIGHTS NY (Northern Westchester county ) 9 discatchers are in the ground and the course is lookin pretty darn good!! the ICE BOWL on FEB 3rd 2001 will be the first event!!

Well that makes 3 courses downstate but still none up here.

I'm gonna put an ad in the paper, working on trying to get some people together. Maybe I'll start a DG club, call them the Capital Discers or something. Capital Disc Trickers. What clubs are there downstate?

Morgan and I spoke on the phone last night, I told him I'd help him start the club off. I live in Oneonta now but am moving to Troy soon. I've been a disc golfer for many years but have never joined the PDGA for one reason or another. We decided that membership in the Capital District club will require membership in the PDGA so I plan to join now.

He told me that membership in the capital disc club will be 20.00 to start off and when we get enough people together we will decided things as a group, as well as the name and stuff like that.

Anybody who reads this and wants to help start the first club in the Albany NY area, just post here and INCLUDE your email address so we can get in touch!

Not really my business but I think it a BIG mistake to make membership in your club contingent on belonging to PDGA. DOn't get me wrong. I am all for belonging to PDGA but many of the local players who would get involved with a club will not think so. I live in a place where there is an incredible groundswell of new players, many of whom are wiling to become actively locally but have no interest yet in belonging as they do not compete or travel. Why limit your local support?

Just a thought

I must agree with disgflnpool. I just recently moved to an area where there are many disc golfers, but none of them are PDGA members. It costs $35.00 to join the PDGA. If it costs $20.00 to join your club, folks would be shelling out $55.00. I thought disc golf was basically free. Perhaps you should just charge $5.00 to become a member of the club during this first year. Then, when you get a real life Board of Directors, and a non-profit status, the board could vote on next year's fee. By not charging so much to join your club, you will get more members, which means more names to give the park people when they want to know about numbers.

If you are charging $20.00 dues to raise money, try having a weekly league date instead. Everyone pays $3.00 to play. You put $1.00 in the club, and pay out the rest to the winners. If 10 people show up every week for 52 weeks, you would raise $520.00 in the first year. I realize you don't even have a course yet, but please don't charge so much to belong to an unestablished club/league.

I tend to agree with discette about the fee. Try $10.00. It seemed to work with our club. It gives us a lot flexiability with our club. We have raised some money with handicap tournies and other events. Remember some events will profitable while others won't be. Just remember to have a good working relationship with your club members as well as the local government offical you are working with.

I wanted PDGA membership to be required so they get the package that come with membership, like the rule book and magazine, and general info from them, instead of asking me every dumb question, because I don't know anything. Also, I want the sport to be more uniform with the rest of the country, I don't want to see a bunch of ultimate players making their own rules about disc golf because they'll probably start saying things like rollers are illegal or making their own rules. And it looks more official to have a real worldwide organization like the PDGA with a standard set of rules.

Ultimate has the UPA with thousands of members, and ultimate players are used to worldwide organizations like that. Most of my friends are super-duper frisbee players with very high levels of skill with a disc, don't keep making it look like ultimate players are a bunch of yahoos who have never thrown a frisbee before who will be scared away by membership fees. Some of these guys are professional ultimate players.

Anyway, to offset the fee for PDGA membership, there should be no membership fee in the local club. That makes sense. But I'm stuck on PDGA membership.

George, your email at Hartwick doesn't work. Typo?

You can buy PDGA rule books for only $2.00 each. This way you can hand one out with every membership. You can also get mini marker discs real cheap, too. The Five Seasons Flying Disc League in Cedar Rapids, IA has over 90 weekly players and probably only 30 are PDGA members, but everyone knows the Rules Of Play.

Morgan, there is a Central New York Disc Golf Club. There is a site for this club too and I think it is available off of discgolf.com but I'm not sure.

There is a small club of players around Warwick (Skylands Plastic Fondlers) and there is of course NEFA (nefa.com) and MADC (madisc.org) which are the large clubs in the north east.

I recommend asking the pDGA for an info package to help you approach parks departments.

Good luck and keep us posted. I think your initiative at this point in your disc golf addiction, er, um, career, yeah, that's what I meant, is commendable. Keep it up.

-Scott (not Stokely) Wolfe

PS There is also a contigency of players from the
Poughkeepsie area too.

Today I gave an eye exam to a gym teacher who says he's played "frisbee golf" before and loved it. He didn't know about "disc golf" but he told me he's seen the pole hole disc catcher chains in catalogues for gym teachers. But he'd never seen an actual golf disc so I went to the car and got all the stuff to show him. I gave him an XL to practice on and the pdga.com web site. It's up to him to teach the kids disc golf. He seemed excited!!

I aim to recruit locals in the above manner. Poughkeepsie is 100 miles away, Warwick is 150, and the Central NY Disc Golf folks are 200 miles away. I actually joined their club, but it's really too far away.

Morgan I think you should know there are disc golf courses in state parks all over NY already that just aren't listed in the PDGA course directory. They are mostly old courses of the old-fashioned pre-discatcher type so they don't qualify for the PDGA list, but they are still usable and fun to play on. No chains!! They were built decades ago for frisbee players before chain pole-holes were used. There's one in Ithaca that gets used quite a bit by Cornell students, there's one in Hamilton, one somewhere around Rome or Utica, and one down here in Oneonta. Maybe you can check this one out. It's in Gilbert Lake State Park, just take rt 205 north about 10 miles from Oneonta and look for the village of Laurens. Go through Laurens and follow the signs to the park. Go about a mile in the park and look for the sign that says "Disc Golf Course" and park your car on the road there. It's a 9 hole course and the targets are telephone poles painted white, about 8 feet tall, with red cutouts on top for the discs to land in. The tees are marked and the whole course is on just a few acres like a miniature golf course. Not much practice if you want chains, but the park is beautiful and remote and the deer outnumber the people. It isn't much but at least it's something.

Well. maybe not.

How long are the holes?

CNYDGA - http://home.twcny.rr.com/cnydga/cnydgaorg.html

-Scott

Mostly between 180 to 340 feet.

I might check out that "pole" course in Oneonta but I'd rather stay with chains. Is there any way to convince the park to get rid of those white telephone poles and replace them with chains? That would be a lot easier than convincing them to make a whole course from nothing. Does anybody use that course? Do they use frisbees or golf discs?

Okay I found out about the disc golf course in Oneonta at this web site:

http://nysparks.state.ny.us/cgi-bin/cgiwrap/nysparks/parks.cgi?p 17,http://nysparks.state.ny.us/cgi-bin/cgiwrap/nysparks/parks.cgi?p 17

They call it a frisbee golf course. I guess it's pretty old, I know the "frisbee golf" course at Green Lakes in Syracuse was built in 1974 and had telephone poles until recently they installed baskets, maybe this one is the same vintage.

Let's chain the place!

http://nysparks.state.ny.us/cgi-bin/cgiwrap/nysparks/parks.cgi?p 17

I don't know why that link doesn't work from here, but if you copy and paste it into your browser it will work.

http://nysparks.state.ny.us/cgi-bin/cgiwrap/nysparks/parks.cgi?p 17

George,

I checked out the Oneonta course today. It's worth checking it out but it needs chains (after playing with chains these poles look old fashioned). The holes are shorter than most PDGA with some over 300 feet but some under 200 and one is only 140 feet! All the holes are marked for distance and par. This quaint old course looks well maintained, but it was muddy because of the rain but I did all 9 holes, finished with 1 under par according to the signs posted they are all par 3, 4 or 5. I think I'll go back some time when it's not raining. It's a gorgeous park and it looks like somebody put some effort into this course, but it sure ain't no PDGA course!! I think it was designed with campers in mind, for the kids. I get the feeling that anybody who plays it probably uses frisbees.

Somebody told me there was another disc golf coure in Bainsbridge. Where is that?

George? You know anything?

Bainbridge (no s) is near Binghamton, don't know if there's a course there.

I'm in Troy now, just got the phone line today. Anybody want to meet for some disc sometime, Morgan do you still have your portables? Dan Rice are you around? I'd like to check out your course in Glens Falls.

I'm going to be in Saratoga after Thanksgiving, if anybody wants to meet for disc golf, I'd like to arrange a meeting here. On Sunday at 2 PM anybody who wants to play meet me in the park at the icket boothe for SPAC. It's the ticket booth in the big parking lot on the route 50 entrance where everybody parks for SPAC. I'm not familiar enough with the park for anything else. Morgan has given me the word that he will be there with chains.

Sunday at 2, ticket booth in the big parking lot. Bring golf discs and we'll know you're in our posse!!

I don't know how it can be 28 degrees and raining. Let's wait until spring for any formal meetings.

What's up George? Anybody going? I'm not.

Well, here's my 2 cents. My pals and I have routed an 18 hole course through Crandall Park in Glens Falls, NY. We're throwing at barbecues and trees. We haven't marked the course for fear of reprisal from the parks dept. I'm thinking about marking it with ribbons or something.

I too have been speaking with Morgan. Reading this message board, I must agree with most of the others that $55 is a very restrictive membership fee. The people I play with would be hard pressed to part with even $5. The rulebook can be photocopied. If it's sheer force of the membership roster that will get the attention of the parks dept, then the club must be as inclusive as possible, at least until the club is established e.g. having an actual course.

I can play during the week at 10am, if anyone wants to brave the weather, I'll show you Crandall.

Friday at 10, I'll be there, Crandal Park in the parking lot. You'll know me by my chains. Look for the chains and I'll look for your golf discs.

For anybody who reads this message and lives in the Quad Cities of New York (Albany- Schenectedy -Troy- Glens Falls), there is a fantastic course laid out in Crandal Park in Glens Falls. Lots of open fairways, good greens, tricky tree shots, doglegs, everything. Most holes are between 300 and 500 feet. It has everything you need for a world class disc golf course except the official stuff like chains, tee boxes, signs, etc. Dan, Mike, Cindy and I played it today with my portable chains, it's a great park and a teriffic, challanging course, equal to any I've seen so far, even Warwick, NY.

Dan, I went back after you guys all left and measured with my wheel, the hole in question was 420 feet and my side arm roller went 330 feet.

What I can do is get a map of Crandal Park from the city and draw out the holes on it for people who aren't familiar with the park (me), I can measure the holes with my wheel, document everything. I see no reason why we can't make that the regular course for this new club that I'm trying to start. What do you say?

I was thinking about Spa Park in Saratoga but it's too crowded with rich tourists types, especially in the summer.

I live in Pittstown, how can I hook up with you guys for a disc golf league in the area? Where do you guys usually play. When do you meet. I'd like a regular thing someplace, like weekly. Where can I buy golf discs?

YOu have to buy discs on the internet, no stores carry them around here. Try www.cheapfrisbees.com (http://www.cheapfrisbees.com) or many others. No weekly meetings until spring.

I went to Green Lakes State Park today in Syracuse to check out the course. When I went into the park office to get a map, the guy working there was a NY Park Ranger answering questions. I told him I knew of the other state park disc golf course in Oneonta and asked him if he knew of any others in the State Park system. He said he didn't know of any others but said the State was considering putting one in Saratoga!!!!!!!!!!!!

I said Spa Park and he said yes!!!!!!!!!!

Well you better act fast if the state parks department is currently considering it. If they consider it but decide against it before you get in there to convince them, they will probably never open up again to the idea.

Go all around this website and try to find the documents that the PDGA publishes to help parks departments learn about disc golf. Print them out and bring them with you when you talk to the park guys. Also bring a few copies of Disc World magazine and the national course directory. Bring everything you have.

I couldn't find it. Where are these documents? Is there a package of documents the PDGA has for bringing to park directors?

I spoke to the deputy commisioner of operations of Spa Park in Saratoga, it turns out they are "thinking about it" because of the letter I send two months ago. I have a bundle of stuff to send them again, what do you suggest I include?

Wow, that was a fast response! If Spa park contacts you I'd be dying to help out. What an excellent place that would be for a course.

Send them everything you have. Magazines, the generic proposal at www.disclife.com (http://www.disclife.com), a few copies of Disc Golf World magazine, even a golf disc or two. You never know what might get the park commisioner's attention. Maybe stand outside his office all day making putts with your portable chains, when he goes to lunch he'll see you!

Anyway, I'm in.

George! Where have you been?

The park commisioner for operations is a "she" and I sent her a huge bundle today. Didn't think of sending her golf plastic, but your idea of setting up chains for putting outside her window...I'm going to do it!! Anybody want to join me? Her office in inside the park by the Roosevelt Bath house. It's legal to set up chains in the parking lot there.

Awesome idea!!

Okay I did my duty. I delivered a big package of information and brochures to the parks commisioner yesterday. The package was sent to me by Harold Duvall of Innova. All I can do now is wait. I even included an Aviar so she could see that we ain't talking frisbee golf here.

I didn't set up my putter outside her window though. It was snowing too hard.

In the next year or two you all will be hearing about the sleek new course in Spa Park, with monster holes and Bonzai Pipelines. Ready for World's 2003. Just you wait and see!

I hope.

Dear Mr. Wright,

Thank you for the informational packet you recently mailed to me as well as the promotional packet from Innova and the Aviar disc you personally delivered. In regarding the material, there is no doubt this sport has grown by leaps and bounds the last several years. As you are aware, New York State Parks has begun to support this program in our Western and Central Regions.

The Saratoga Spa State Park is the home of many venues and concessions. We are the home of Saratoga Performance Art Center, two golf courses, the Lincoln Bath House, [goes on and on about the park]. It may be difficult to believe, however, we simply do not have open acreage required by Disc Golf at the Spa.

I will share this information with our management staff to see if there are other facilities in the Region that can take advantage of Disc Golf. I appreciate your enthusiasm and interest in Disc Golf.

Sincerely,

Julie S.
Deputy Commissioner of Operations
Saratoga Spa Park

I just recently sent this email to about 15 people in New York's Capital District (Albany area). If anybody reads this board who lives in this area, this email applies to you!! And bring your friends!

the e-flyer:

"Dear fellow frisbee (disc) golf players in the Capital District of New York,

Some of you may know that I have been running an ad in the Metroland for a few weeks about trying to form a Disc Golf league in the Capital District. During this time I have been collecting names of people who answered the ad saying they wanted to join up and help form a league, and now there are enough names to organize a meeting. About 12 people answered the ad, and there are about 5 more people that I met in other ways who want to help, that's about 17 people who want to help get things started. I think it's about time those 17 people got together and played some disc golf! And if any of those people have friends who want to come out and play some disc golf and help out, bring them too!

This month I have charted out a 27-hole course in Saratoga Spa Park, you probably agree it's one of the most impressive parks in the area, so I made sure the course would be something to remember...it has HUGE holes, some over 1000 feet long and they are not all par 3 holes...some are more like par 10. Well, I think it's a good way for everybody to meet. If people come out and try the course and play a few rounds they can make more disc golf friends and have lots of fun, and may want to make suggestions about the course You can find out about what I'm trying to do at http://www.spa.net/~mwright/disc_golf.htm and I hope that everybody on the list of members is still interested.

If I ask for a gathering on August 5 (Sunday) at noon, that gives everybody enough time to make plans to be there. Please tell me if you can make it. I think it would be good to make it a weekly thing, every sunday at noon to play the 27 holes. In case there are people who think they are too new to the sport and don't feel confident enough to compete, we should maybe make it a doubles thing so the newer players can pair up with more experienced players and nobody feels embarrassed by their skills. Disk golf is something that you can learn quickly and in no time you will be good at it.

Please take the time to look at that web page which leads you to the chart and map of the course I charted out. I hope people can come out and play it, and I hope disc golf catches on around here. There are over 1000 disc golf courses in the USA with PDGA approved equipment, which means chain disc catching targets. There are 68 in California, 78 in Texas, 55 in Michigan, and 58 in Iowa, but only 15 in New York state, and 12 of those are in Buffalo/Rochester/Syracuse!!! The other 3 are down by New York City, and there are NONE within 140 miles of the capital disc-trict (the closest one is Warwick, near Middletown, which also happens to be an awesome course, the best course in the northeast!). I hope some day we have one in the Capital Disc-trict. There are 3 "object" courses (throwing at trees and grills, etc) that I know of around here...one in Washington Park in Albany (which some really super people have been playing every sunday for 20 years and courteously and patiently showed me, thank you Tom and Steve and Hobie!), one in Cranston Park in Glens Falls (an awesome course, thank you Dan and Steve for showing me your course!), and now this new one in Saratoga Spa Park. Hopefully we can all unite together and convince the Parks people to install a course with chains around here. Disc golf is not a new sport, the rest of the country has been playing it for years. You can even see it on ESPN and Sports Channel. But we have to join the rest of the country because we're the last place in the USA that doesn't have disc golf with real chain pole-hole targets! Almost a million people live in the Capital District, that's alot of people that need to find out about Disc Golf! Besides, I'm sick of driving 150 miles to Warwick every week.

But first we have to meet each other. August 5 at noon, Sunday, in the SPAC parking lot on the far right hand side! Bring your frisbees and golf discs, bring all your friends, and we'll have a great time!

Morgan Wright"

Morgan,

Wishing you much success in getting disc golf going in the Capitol District/Adirondack Park area. As a former Syracusan who also lived in NYC for twelve years, I know what a vast wasteland for disc golf exists in many areas of New York State. I also know how frustrating it can be to love this sport as much as you obviously do, when all the "mainstreamers" are so oblivious. As a former Frisbee golfer who cut my teeth in Green Lakes State Park some twenty years ago (and who subsequently took an almost 15-year hiatus from playing, except for twice a year when I went back to visit), recently returning to the fold to discover "disc" golf, I wish you all the luck in the world keeping the flame alive in Upstate New York. I went to Saranac last year, to canoe in the St. Regis Canoe Area Wilderness (God's country!), and took a couple Wham-O "GOLF" 150g lids (plus the usual 160 Freestyle & 175 Ultimate "catch" discs) and played a little tree-basing myself. But the closest course I could find was all the way to (practically ) Utica! The region could really use a course or three. Keep in contact with the Syracuse/Utica bunch and also such downstate aficionados as Scott Wolfe and Bill Newman. They are true devotees of the sport and very helpful. Also, your nemesis Jeff Lagrassa is really a very cool guy and always willing to drive great distances to play a new course. He drove all the way from Pennsylvania to NYC to play Randall's Island in the rain when I was trying to get something going in the NYC area. Acting positive toward your fellow players (however irksome they may be), is probably your best bet. Also, these guys will go out of their way to help you if they can. Scott, Bill, and Jeff were always very kind to me. Again, good luck, and take care. Remember, "Frisbee" (object) golf was the stepping stone to "disc" (basket) golf, and sometimes still a useful way to popularize a fairly esoteric activity. Don't discount it's value, especially in a region where technical discs are only available on the Internet, and beer-swilling rednecks and pot-smoking metalheads toss lids at baskets in places like Green Lakes. I oughta know, I was both for several years myself. There isn't enough presence of the sport to become an elitist just yet (not where you live anyway). Anyway, take a big breath of that clean mountain air for me, willya. It just don't taste the same anywhere else (except maybe here in Portland). Best of luck.

This is a copy of a group email sent today July 21, if anybody reads this board and wants to come please note the following change:

"Dear fellow disc golfers in the Capital District of New York,

If you have received an email calling for a meeting to play Saratoga Monster Course on August 5 at noon, the time has been changed to 9 AM in order not to conflict with the Phish (Trey) concert that night at 7:30 in SPAC. I believe by noon there will be too many Phish heads in the SPAC area that day and too much commotion, but at 9 AM it will be all right. Rain or shine, there will be no cancellations!!

If you plan on coming, please remember to bring your discs, water, sun block, bug repellent, and anything else you can think of. It's a tough, long course and will take about 3 hours or more to get through it. I hope a lot of people show up, but even if it's just a few, it will be lots of fun!

I would appreciate a reply if you think you will be coming so I know how many to expect.

Morgan"

Then again, if anybody has tickets to the Trey (Phish) concert, why sit all day in the parking lot when you can play disc golf????

People are complaining that the 27-hole Saratoga Monster Course is too long and difficult and takes too long. So, starting this week a few of us will be charting out a standard 18 hole-course with 300-500 foot holes and a 9 hole beginners course. There will be 3 courses in Spa Park when we are done. Unfortunately, they will be object courses since we can't afford 54 pole holes.

http://www.spa.net/~mwright/disc_golf.htm

Morgan, Innova used to have a matching system for baskets, I think. If an educational institution bought nine, they would supply the other nine. I think that was the deal, and it was Innova. Maybe you can find a school nearby?

Dear fellow disc golfers,

This is a reminder that the first meeting of the Capital Disc-trict (Albany) Disc Golf League will be held in Saratoga Springs, NY at Saratoga Spa State Park in the parking lot for SPAC on the route 50 side of the park. Sunday August 5 at 9 AM. Everybody is invited, anybody from Syracuse or downstate NY or New Jersey or Tinbuktu is invited. Anybody who just wants to play disc golf is welcome, we are all of a kind in disc golf!

There may be a problem of people waiting for the Phish concert that day in SPAC, so the parking lot may be crowded. The concert is at 7:30 PM but there may be so many people camping out overnight in the parking lot that it may be crazy even at 9 AM. I sort of doubt it, but you never can tell. If you can't get into the parking lot because of all the Phish Heads, and can't find us, just call me on my cell phone at (518) 428-4494 and we will meet at a quiet part of the park.

I'm inviting about 200 people but many live far away so who knows how many will show. I know at least a few have already told me they will definitely be there.

Bring all the discs you have, even if they are just frisbees. I have about 100 discs I will be bringing, and some chains.

Morgan Wright

Hello, NY disc golfers...... What happend to your thread???? :confused:

This is weird. The whole thread is gone except for my posts.

Anyway, I would like to announce that Hyzer Creek in Saratoga Springs, NY is finally finished after 4 years. It has 19 holes total length 5699 feet, average length 300 feet.

11 holes under 300 feet
3 holes 300-400
5 holes over 400

Lots of elevation. Creek. Black Flies. Strokesaver pins, best pins ever made. Gravel tees. Deer flies. Woods holes and open holes. Yellow jackets (ouch!!) but I kill their nests whenever I find them the hard way. Orange salamanders. 3 holes are par 4 and one is par 5. NO TICKS!!! Clean Adirondack Mountain air. NO POISON IVY!!! Bring your own beer and kine.

http://www.pdga.com/course/courses_by_city.php?id=1477

Rumors that the land was sold off are highly exaggerated. Still 29 acres.

http://www.hoyhoy.com/subweb/hyzercreek.htm

Does this thread show up?

I'm stoked to hear it. My family is in Glens Falls, so I intend to come down for Sun. dubs when visiting.

This is the course with the coolest pin placement in DG...in the middle of the creek! (MTL posted a pic awhile back)

Peace

Just an update, the new web site for Hyzer Creek is www.hyzercreek.com (http://www.hyzercreek.com) and there is now a discussion board there. It's a pretty cool course and finally done with 18 holes...and soon a pro shop!!

9 holes under 300
3 holes 300-400
6 holes over 400

Total length 6000

I have been talking with someone at Hunter MTN. about putting a course in. Cross your fingers.