Pay to play in KC

[Mike Hyzer]

i'm not a board member, but Smithville and old pike are technically pay to play, and Smithville is worth it due to the extra amenities offered. hazelweeds in stl is a very long standing city-run pay course and gets beat down from the high traffic. the best models of pay courses I have heard of are golfer designed as in texas and north Carolina.

Smithville is not pay-to-play, it's pay-to-park, and only because the entire park around the lake is that way. They charged the parking fee even before they put the disc golf course in.

At any rate, if any of the public courses in KC become pay-to-play, I will have worked my last second of volunteer time, whether it is needed after that point or not. The only ones who should have to pay to play the courses are the lazy pieces of sh1t who don't show up for work days.

[jamidanger]

true, but the parking fees are collected to subsidize the frequent mowing of fairways and course maintenance. cutting acres of non smokable grass is not done by volunteers on any of the courses I play for free, although some of cliff does get cut by volunteers, your tax dollars are at work bro making golf our national past time since 1997!

[Dale W]

The only ones who should have to pay to play the courses are the lazy pieces of sh1t who don't show up for work days.

And the Holier than thou azzholes that think they are better than you cause they put in a few hours helping out once in a while.

[pmart]

You have been on this board 5 months, and you want to do a feasibility study to make some of the courses that are already built and in use, to convert them to pay to play. I say BS.

Allow me to introduce myself formally.  My name is Perry Martin, I moved from Chicago (lived there 13 years) to KC (Olathe) exactly 1 year ago this month.  I have 3 boys (5 through 11 yrs of age) and I have been married for 13 years.  I found the sport of disc golf 5 years ago, and like many of you, fell in love with it my first time out.  I love this game, this city (which is originally my hometown), and like you want to maximize the true value of what we have been blessed with...which is potentially the greatest concentration of top level disc golf courses of any greater metro area in the U.S. 
I am sorry that I've only been commenting over the last 5 months, but over the last year I have been trying to re-establish my family in a new home, new community, new schools, and all of this through a career change.  I am now trying to find myself a "place" within the Kansas City disc golf community where I can enjoy the sport and where I can also leverage some of my personal talents if they were to ever be welcomed, needed, or beneficial so that I can be a small part in advancing disc golf in KC. 
I am sorry for your cynicism; if we were to have met personally I would hope that you would see me as someone who has a genuine desire to work WITH those who are already a part of the disc golf scene in our city, not against them.  I can not help the amount of time that I have lived here and the amount of time that I have been able to contribute on this forum.  I do however hope that I can find a niche, a place to settle in, a place to contribute that leverages my personal talents that may add to the strength of the greater disc golf cause in Kansas City. 

[slimneal]

Perry, welcome back to the mecca of disc.
Looks like you opened a can of worms.
The good thing it is a small can.
We all have ownership of the game, although my play mostly sucks.
But after 32 years I'm still playing.
So I got that going for me.
PM me and I will show you Swope, the first pay to play course. It is not now, but the guy back then  had a dream.

Mayor SlimJim
Jeez people. Really?

[Bitter79]

Pmart there will always be people who hate new ideas or judge before knowing. I like your idea, its been in the back of my brain for a while now, but like the formentioned said I do not have a track of land (atleast within 50 miles) of KC to attempt to do this. If anyone needs a grounds keeper for a private course, that will pay a decent salary, I will gladly do it. I will not need any workers, just equipment, and yes I have a degree in turf management, and soon to have a Business Management degree. Chainsaw, weedeater, backpack sprayer, 50-72" mower, hand tools, 18+ baskets, and time is all i need. Plenty of good guys that can do layouts/design around town. Just let me know when and where and i'll be there.

With that being said you should go check out SMPark. One of my co-workers left our course and went to JOCo parks and Rec and has been doing a bang up job on the course there. New gravel around pads, defined fairways, proper mowing and trimming, and it's not pay to play.

[Mike Hyzer]

The only ones who should have to pay to play the courses are the lazy pieces of sh1t who don't show up for work days.

And the Holier than thou azzholes that think they are better than you cause they put in a few hours helping out once in a while.

Yeah, but it's a wonderful feeling to have.

In all seriousness, you should realize that many workday regulars do far more than just "a few hours helping out every once in a while"-- in fact, many of these folks have logged hundreds of hours by themselves in addition to the workdays they attend. Finding enjoyment in manual labor, rather than an escape from it, is a great attribute-- just ask the Amish!

[Aaron]

And then there are those who put the time in and don't post about it all the time.

[spinachio]

I'd like to know which people that post on the forum are current club members. I don't mind sh*t talk, but at least make it funny. Its really discouraging to hear half yall b*tching at each other. I've played the game for over 20 years and been a club member for 2 and a pdga for almost as long. I love disc golf but the "I know more or have done more,etc is getting tired. It might be time to have a private forum for club members and another for nons. I read the forum almost daily. I'm starting to think I'm wasting my time.
And on the real topic, I pay to play when I'm in florida and don't mind it at all. Freedom aint free, maybe disc golf is the same way. Now bring on the rips.

[discglover]

Teds Dread has not been gone that long to forget it was pay to play. It was a private course for those not in the know.

[The Nailer™]

Pmart there will always be people who hate new ideas or judge before knowing. I like your idea, its been in the back of my brain for a while now, but like the formentioned said I do not have a track of land (atleast within 50 miles) of KC to attempt to do this. If anyone needs a grounds keeper for a private course, that will pay a decent salary, I will gladly do it. I will not need any workers, just equipment, and yes I have a degree in turf management, and soon to have a Business Management degree. Chainsaw, weedeater, backpack sprayer, 50-72" mower, hand tools, 18+ baskets, and time is all i need. Plenty of good guys that can do layouts/design around town. Just let me know when and where and i'll be there.

With that being said you should go check out SMPark. One of my co-workers left our course and went to JOCo parks and Rec and has been doing a bang up job on the course there. New gravel around pads, defined fairways, proper mowing and trimming, and it's not pay to play.

I hear it's a rec course.

[coops]

Teds Dread has not been gone that long to forget it was pay to play. It was a private course for those not in the know.

I think that pmart is talking about something 'like' Ted's Dread but that is utilized by outsiders a little more. i.e. advertised as a private course open for pay for play.

[coops]

Pmart there will always be people who hate new ideas or judge before knowing. I like your idea, its been in the back of my brain for a while now, but like the formentioned said I do not have a track of land (atleast within 50 miles) of KC to attempt to do this. If anyone needs a grounds keeper for a private course, that will pay a decent salary, I will gladly do it. I will not need any workers, just equipment, and yes I have a degree in turf management, and soon to have a Business Management degree. Chainsaw, weedeater, backpack sprayer, 50-72" mower, hand tools, 18+ baskets, and time is all i need. Plenty of good guys that can do layouts/design around town. Just let me know when and where and i'll be there.

With that being said you should go check out SMPark. One of my co-workers left our course and went to JOCo parks and Rec and has been doing a bang up job on the course there. New gravel around pads, defined fairways, proper mowing and trimming, and it's not pay to play.

I hear it's a rec course.

And...?

I think more than anything it just shows what a well-funded parks department can accomplish.

Also, while rec friendly, it is certainly enjoyable by those who work at their game and can toss plastic a good ways.

[pmart]

Wanted to say thank you for everyone's input, suggestions, and feedback.  I know things that are out of the norm can sometimes bring a host of feelings (both good and bad), but I look forward to the opportunity to explore what a pay to play system could mean for our city and its courses.  Who knows, this could be the worst idea I've ever had and may prove non-beneficial for all of us, AND I am completely fine with that outcome if it is the best for KCFDC, our local players, and the greater community.  Conversely, we may stumble onto something in our searching that unlocks potential that we didn't know was there, and to that, I would be fine with as well.  I look forward to meeting more of you as I continue to play at a couple of the leagues out my way, and I also look forward to more conversations about ANYTHING that may advance our sport in this fine city!

[pmart]

[/quote]


I think more than anything it just shows what a well-funded parks department can accomplish.

[/quote]

Agree.