717FDC members and Whispering Falls Patrons,
It is with a great deal of excitement that we officially announce plans for a redesign of the Whispering Falls Disc Golf Course.
The SHORT STORY: WE NEED YOU!! This will be a tremendous undertaking that we are calling on the 717 crew to rally and help us get holes ready for the redesign. This includes everything from cutting and whacking to simply clearing or piling things. 0 experience necessary….we will find something for everyone. A kickoff meeting and walkthrough will be held APRIL 3rd STARTING @ 9:00AM. We will be showing the layout and going over general concepts for fairway clearing. Future meetings/walkthroughs will be held. We would like everyone involved to be on the same page. NO CUTTING ON YOUR OWN WITHOUT APPROVAL PLEASE. We want to enable you to work when you can but within the agreements we have with the park committee. All questions on this please direct to Russell Johnston.
The LONG STORY: 15 years of exponential growth and success at the Falls has not gone unnoticed by the park community. It has also brought a lot of lessons learned that we have worked with the park committee to address while designing a disc golf facility representative of the disc golf community that has been built around it. We use the term disc golf “facility” purposefully. Within the redesign of the current Whispering Falls course will be two shorter, more technical 18 hole courses that combine to a longer, tournament caliber 18 hole course.
But that is not all…….for those that are unaware, Antrim Township recently purchased a very large parcel of land adjacent to the park that we have been approved to install a championship length and caliber course. 2 distinct courses, 7 different layouts, 72 baskets, 126 disc golf holes….boom!!
We have an approved 3 phase approach that will begin with the redesign of the existing course (phase 1) starting right away. Phase 2 will include a 9 hole loop to be installed using the new space that will connect to the current holes 19-27 for a 2nd course that will be used until we can get to phase 3. Phase 3 will be removal holes 19-27 and baskets reused to complete the 18 holes in the new space. Also included in Phase 3 are concrete tee pads for all holes and a 2nd set of baskets for the new course. Phase 3 has park approval but is dependent on a number of other park conditions/renovations that have yet to solidify, as well as, getting funding approval in next year’s cycle. It is a lot and more details will be forthcoming.
Many of you have been aware that plans were in the works and have already begun asking questions. Please direct your questions to Russell Johnston in a PM and he will be happy to answer them. We do not want to engage in an online discussion which can lead to confusion and problems.
The first workday/meetup will be APRIL 3 starting at 9:00am. Depending on the response, we will do a full walkthrough and go over the “ground rules” and “concepts of fairway clearing” so that folks can potentially work in a coordinated manner but piecemeal.
Please comment here if you are able to make at least a walkthrough on the 3rd. If there is enough interest, we could do a 2nd walkthrough later in the day. If you are unable to make the 3rd but are interested in helping with the project, please let us know. We would like to compile a list of folks to include in specific communications. Many hands make light work. An hour or two here and there makes a huge difference so please consider helping.
As a reminder, please send questions and concerns in a PM to Russell Johnston and not an open forum debate. Thanks in advance for your support.
