Last week, I sent this out to everyone in the KC area who I had a email address for. Jack Lowe suggested that I post it out here as well. If you didn't get that email and would like to get future mailings pertaining to what's happening in KC, please send me your name and email address.
Kansas City Disc Golf News—Issue #1 Here's another once-in-a-while newsletter of what's happening with disc golf in and around the Kansas City area. Starting with this email, we're going to call this the
Kansas City Disc Golf News (KCDGN). Even though there have been others before this, this is #1. Oh yeah, if anyone with some presentation chops would like to help out by making future emails look better, please get with me at
rick@discgolfworld.com. Also, if you want to write or edit or help in any way, don't be shy. The KCFDC still is committed to getting out an occasional “paper newsletter” for those who don’t go online, but using the “net” is a much more efficient method for getting the word out.
KCDGN is going to nearly 600 people, most of who live and golf in and around the KC area. Hopefully, you'll find these emails to be informative and possibly entertaining. However, it is never our intention to darken your email box with unwanted mail, so if you don't want anymore KCDGN's, here’s how to stop them.
Opt out: Just hit return and put, "please remove me" or some other instruction to that effect as the subject.
Allow me to introduce myself. My name is Rick Rothstein. I've been playing disc golf since 1980, own Disc Golf World, am currently the President of the Kansas City Flying Disc Club, and a recently elected Board member of the Professional Disc Golf Association. When I ran for President at the beginning of this year, I promised to strive for better communication—not just to KCFDC members but also to everyone who plays the game in our area. While I would invite everyone to join the Kansas City Flying Disc Club because it’s good to have a broad-based non-profit organization representing disc golf in our dealings with the various parks departments, I don’t want the lack of a KCFDC membership to deter anyone from volunteering or offering great or even pretty good suggestions for the betterment of disc golf in Kansas City. A KCFDC membership form is here:
http://www.kcfdc.org/2008KCfdcmemberform.pdf.
What’s Up at Disc Golf World
Here’s a brief commercial message from Disc Golf Word, 509 E 18th St, Kansas City MO 64108, 816.471.3472,
http://www.discgolfworld.com. First of all, thanks to everyone for making us Kansas City #1 choice for disc golf supplies and information. We have a wonderful community in Kansas with lots of talented and generous people who have been great to work with in making KC a very desirable community to golf in and a very desirable disc golf destination for visitors. We at Disc Golf World remained dedicated to keeping disc golf growing in Kansas City, both as a sporting activity and a second-to-none fun and healthful pastime.
We are systemizing our initiative to be the clearinghouse for found discs in KC. When most players find a disc, they try to return it to the rightful owner. However, even when they are successful in talking with a disc’s owner, the logistics of arranging a meeting to deliver it are often difficult. That is why we are encouraging players to drop off found discs with names and contact information to us. We will call the owner who can pick up the disc when he can. You can drop off discs 24/7 by using the 509 mail slot. The plan is to allow about two weeks after we contact the person the first time before contacting them again. If the disc is not claimed after another two-week period, we’ll donate the discs to the KCFDC.
In response to several requests for used discs, we will be experimenting with taking used discs in exchange for store credit. We will not take any discs where the original name and numbers have obviously been obliterated.
Disc Golf World supplies and supports these retailers of discs: Oklahoma Joes, It’s a Beautiful Day, Red-X in Riverside, and Nick’s Outfitters in Pleasant Hill. If getting to DGW is a long drive, remember we can ship discs to you for the cost of less than two gallons of gasoline. If you buy over $75 worth of plastic at
http://www.discgolfworld.com, the shipping is free. To simulate the in-person shopping experience, you can always email or call us to make sure you get the exactly the discs you want in terms of color and weigh. Speaking of our web site, we’re hoping that the long-awaited update will be launched soon.
We want to thank the Warren Family—Gold, Lynne, and Kelly—for holding Gold’s art show at DGW during August’s First Friday in the Crossroads. To add to the fun, we set up a mini course around the building and put a bunch of stuff on sale (still some of that left). There was a lot of traffic into the store both for both art and disc golf with many people learning more about the latter. It was a fun event, and we hope to do other things on First Fridays next spring and summer.
What’s Up with the Worlds
As most of you know by now, the PDGA Professional and Amateur World Championships will be in Kansas City from July 25 to August 1. We will be hosting around 900 players from nearly every state and perhaps from a dozen countries and three continents. While the KCFDC has run two very successful Amateur Worlds Championships in 1999 and 2003 that hosted nearly 400 players, the size of the upcoming Worlds will make it a bit more challenging. I’ve no doubt that the KC disc golf community will be up to this challenge. Tournament Directors Jack Lowe (
jlowekc@att.net) and John Chapman (
john@discgolfworld.com) will be reaching out to just about everyone soon and again to find out how each golfer can help out—be it as a sponsor or finding a sponsor, working on getting the courses ready, staffing the event, helping with the parties, creating art and written materials, and so on. There will be plenty to do. Contact either Jack or John to let them know how you can help. Speaking of sponsorship, we’ll have sponsorship materials by early next week, and the Worlds website,
http://kcworlds.com is coming very soon.
Upcoming Events
(LATE BREAKING ANNOUNCEMENT: THIS EVENT HAS BEEN CANCELED BECAUSE OF WAY TOO MUCH RAIN. I’m leaving the information about the event and this event and the P Hill course as hopefully, Dan will bring it back this event next year.) Saturday, September 13. Pleasant Hill Disc Golf Course — Afternoon D'Lite #6 followed by AfterGLOW Doubles. Tournament flyer:
http://www.kcfdc.org/docs/afternoondelite6afterglow.pdf. Contact Dan Coffman at
dclabe@yahoo.com If you have not visited one of Kansas City's courses located at Pleasant Hill Lake, you’re in for a treat. While it is a longish drive for most people, the benefit is a well designed, but still user friendly (lots of shorter holes) course out in the country. The course is well maintained, and on a warm sunny day, let's say it's just "pleasant" to play Pleasant Hill.
This weekend's tournament will be the second featuring the two back-to-back events. Last time many people played both events and then camped at the campground that borders the course. In addition, many played the regular Sunday doubles.
Saturday, September 20, 2008. Thornfield Disc Golf Course — Ozanam's First Annual Disc Golf Tournament. Tournament flyer:
http://www.kcfdc.org/docs/Ozanam_tourney.pdf.
This charity event is different than any that have ever been held in Kansas City. In will be a four-person scramble with all the proceeds going to Ozanam, which since 1948 has been helping children with severe emotional, behavioral, and learning disabilities to help them to reconnect with their families and communities. The cost is $200 per team that includes lunch.
The event is the first ever at the Thornfield Disc Golf Course, Kansas City’s newest private course. The owner of this course is Bill Stueck, a long-time Kansas City area philanthropist and owner of Suburban Lawn and Garden. Ozanam is one of the main charities he supports. Mr. Stueck has no real interest, per se, in disc golf, putting in the course to abet the charities he champions.
As a side note, at Ozanam's recent 60th anniversary party, Dan Cashen set up a course on the Ozanam campus and enlisted five or six of us to throw a small teaching tournament for the resident kids who were mainly in their teens. Close to 25 kids played.
I've not played the Thornfield Course, which was designed by Bill Paulson and Dennis Vahsholtz, but toured the property before it was installed. The potential for a very good course was there, and from what I hear, it's an excellent tract that's a real challenge from the tips.
Mini Disc Golf Tournament: RSVP only with Dick Parker:
dick.parker@hotmail.com. Check out the course:
http://www.sillyrabbitsaloon.com/Circle_R.html.
Dick has invited everyone to contact him if interested in playing his new 18-hole mini after the Ozanam event. Here’s what he says, “If after you play the Ozanam's Tournament, you wish you could just play a private Mini Disc Golf Tournament … and I know all of you are. I may just happen to know where one might be happening right up the street from the Thornfield Course. Entry is $5 per round. The rounds go quick. I will have some beverages on site... OR you can BYOB!"
Sunday, September 21. Cliff Drive and Blue Valley, City of Fountains PDGA “C” Tier. Tournament flyer:
http://www.kcfdc.org/docs/COF_2008_Flyer.pdf. Contact Jack Lowe:
jlowekc@att.net or 913.485.5123. Lots of golf in one day with this event, starting with Cliff Drive before taking on Blue Valley. BV will have some tweaks from its usual layout.
Sunday, September 28. Rosedale Park. 12th Rosedale Amateur Championships
Tournament Flyer:
http://www.kcfdc.org/docs/Rac12Flyer.pdf. Contact: Rick Rothstein at
rick@discgolfworld.com or 816.471.3472 or 816.914.0094.
Now in its 12th year, the RAC has become the event at which many golfers, who had been curious about competition, played their first competitive event. We make it low key while endeavoring to pass along some information about the rules of tournament play and maybe even a few tips to improve your game. The entry this year ranges from $22 to $32 and includes a tournament tee shirt.
Saturday, October 4, Water Works Par, Community Beautification Day 8:00 a.m. to noon
The KCFDC will be partnering with the Northland Community Alliance, KCMO Police Department, KCMO Parks and Recreation, and Local Boy Scouts and Cub Scouts to complete the following projects:
1. Mulching of walking path from hole #2 to #3 tee, and maybe some of hole #6
2. Clean out the drainage area that’s clogged with leave near #9 tee.
3. Pick up brush and trash throughout the park
4. Trim trees and brush at the North Oak Entrance
5. Trim trees an shrubs throughout the Park to improve sight lines.
6. Put Toridon on cut parts of shrubs.
7. Remove honeysuckle by picnic tables. (This has been done!)
8. Remove poison ivy and Virginia creeper from the base of trees.
If you truly love Water Works Park, plan now to help out. Give me a call at 816.914.0094 if you want to help or have questions or suggestions. We are not limited to the above items.
Saturday/Sunday, October 11-12. Kansas City Flying Disc Club Championships. Contact John Chapman at
john@discgolfworld.com or 816.471.3472. Free to club members and thus, it’s a great time to join the Club. Saturday’s play will be at Shawnee Mission and Wyco and Cliff Drive and Water Works on Sunday. This tournament is different than most in that instead of divisions, players are put into competitive flights based on their 36-hole scores. Ideally, the range of scores in each flight is narrow enough that each person has a chance to win their flight. Each flight winner is supposed to get a trophy disc, denoting his or her win. (Note to self: order those trophies from 2007!) The overall winner’s name is engraved on the Traveling Club Championship Trophy.
Other Regional Events
October 18-19—Jefferson City Open C-Tier:
http://www.pdga.com/schedule/event.php?TournID=8335October 18-19—Mighty Shunga Nunga B-Tier:
http://www.pdga.com/schedule/event.php?TournID=7912 October 25-26. Vichy Fall Harvest: details and PDGA sanctioning coming soon. Contact: David McCormack at
david@gdstour.com.
Annual Club Elections
The annual elections for the Kansas City Flying Disc Club will be held at the general meeting to be held on November 11 with the location to be announced. The following offices are being contested, Vice President of Kansas, Secretary, Sergeant at Arms (2-year terms) and a course coordinator for each course that is in the ground and those that have been funded. There might be a new bylaw having to do with elections. You can download the Bylaws here:
http://www.kcfdc.org/docs/KCFDC_Bylaws.pdf.
Update on New Courses
Lenexa—Black Hoof Park: The Parks Department is negotiating with John Houck, who is one of the top disc golf designers in the world, for the design of what sounds like a very interesting course that will feature two tee pads on each of the 13-14 par 4s and par 5s and one tee pad on the remain par 3s. Parks Director Jim Finlen is hoping that once the project is approved that it will get fast tracked with the installation completed by late spring or early summer. More about John Houck:
http://www.houckdesign.com/home.html.
Blue Springs—Wilbur Young Park: Parks Director Roscoe Righter reports that the first hurdle for a federal grant that will be used to grade the land upon which an 18 hole course will go has been cleared. Missouri’s Department of Natural Resources recommended this project (along with eight others out of the 43 that applied) to the National Park Service for funding. With very few exceptions in the past, these projects get funded. The course will feature some elevation changes and a pond on each nine. There might be verbal approval for the project as early as November, which could be a course opening next summer. Righter mentioned to me earlier that he’s been trying to get disc golf in Blue Springs now for 20 years, and that he was determined and optimistic that this time it will happen.
Lee’s Summit—Legacy Park: The tee pads have been poured and the baskets and tee signs have been delivered, but the disc golf course installation has been delayed while the Parks Department finishes a new amphitheater. Steve Casey, the Assistant Superintendent of Park Development told me that they are very close to wrapping up that project and expects to get to the minor grading and drainage work on the course. Casey is hopeful that the course will be in this fall, perhaps as early as September 30, but that’s only a best-case scenario. The good thing is that the both the Department and the Park Board are very much behind the project, so there will be disc golf in Lee’s Summit soon.
So Long to Ted’s Dread—But the Baskets Stay in the Area
The course has been pulled. Thanks for the fun times Ted Kubicki. The good news is that the baskets will still be in town. The Ozanam home for kids will get a nine-hole course that Dan Cashen will be designing and the other nine will be going in at the Old Pike Country Club here in KC, where Frisbee golf aficionados have been playing object golf for years. We will have to wait and see if either of these tracts will be open to the general public.
The Missouri River Courses
Of course, we all know how good the Missouri River looks when teeing at Water Works #1. Now by staying on the river, you’ll run into three more courses. The English Landing Course in Parkville is a fun and flat, not-overly long but still challenging nine-hole layout in a very busy park right on the Missouri River. I’ve been working with Parks Director Tom Barnard to refine the course a bit. There are still a few more tweaks to be made after which tee signs and tee pads, probably similar to ones Down Under will go in. The course is in easy walking distance of the Power Plant Brewery and the other interesting shops in downtown Parkville.
Keeping north on the River brings us to Atchison, Kansas, where one 18-hole and one nine-hole course are in Jackson Park. They both feature lots of elevation changes. The 18-holer has a good variety of lengths and has many more trees than the long nine-hole track that is longer and more open and includes some very nice views of the Big Muddy. I’ve been pondering holding a late season PDGA C tier there both to expose more people to the courses and as the last chance to get points for 2009 Worlds invitation. Of course, it’s a crapshoot running events in November, when the calendar opens up.
Oh yeah, I’d be remiss if I failed to mention the course that Kevin Montgomery developed at the University of Saint Mary in Leavenworth. While not right on the Missouri, it is on the route from Parkville to Atchison. It’s with great regret that I admit that I’ve never played the course, but Kevin reports that the course is a work in process. Please note that USM is a private campus but disc golfers are welcome provided they give Kevin a call to make arrangements. A map of the course along with contact information and other details can be found here:
http://www.stmary.edu/recreation/Disc_Golf.pdf.
Rick Rothstein
Disc Golf World
509 E 18th St
Kansas City Missouri 64108
816.471.3472 (phone)
816.914.0094 (cell)
888.237.6884 (toll free)
816.471.4653 (fax)
www.discgolfworld.comwww.dgwn.comrick@discgolfworld.com
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additional benches and trash cans (I need to contact Parks & Rec)