New course on Portland's west side

[spindoctor]

I met with Garry H last night. We talked a lot about Hagg Lake. Several here and in my meetings have also mentioned that park, probably because of its size. So I'm going to pursue that opportunity.

I've played it a few times over the years, and I think that to make it more of a draw for players of all abilities, it could use these improvements:

• More parking
• A and B tees (for less experienced players)
• Signs
• Rework or relocate some of the holes in the woods on the back side

These in addition to some of the ideas from this thread should be enough to get a discussion going with WA County. I'll monitor this thread for other ideas that may come in too and keep a list.

[hawgman]

If the property can hold a 9 hole course, the use of duel teepads, duel basket location on each hole can be a very viable option to look at. Tee pads do not need to be all that far from each other to greatly vary the shot. I reference Woodmansee park in Salem as a Great example of this style course in small park area. If you haven't been this way to check it out in last year lots finished, all cement teepads (-1), signage, and generally well maintained trails and such.
Just my two cents on how smaller property size can be used to it's maximum.

Steve

[SMOKIN JOE]

Originally Posted by spindoctor

I met with Garry H last night. We talked a lot about Hagg Lake. Several here and in my meetings have also mentioned that park, probably because of its size. So I'm going to pursue that opportunity.

I've played it a few times over the years, and I think that to make it more of a draw for players of all abilities, it could use these improvements:

• More parking
• A and B tees (for less experienced players)
• Signs
• Rework or relocate some of the holes in the woods on the back side

These in addition to some of the ideas from this thread should be enough to get a discussion going with WA County. I'll monitor this thread for other ideas that may come in too and keep a list.

Why would you need to rework the course? Putting it back to it's original form sounds the best. I'd rather walk to a good hole than play an average one.

[emmarose]

Originally Posted by SMOKIN JOE

Why would you need to rework the course? Putting it back to it's original form sounds the best. I'd rather walk to a good hole than play an average one.

while i agree with this sentiment i would have to argue that some of those holes with the weird ass walk outs left much to be desired...

hagg has a ton of potential... it's great that it's not being abandoned or dead in the water... would love to see these improvements (altho, despite it being over here on the west side, it's still a 45 minute drive from my house... )

[spindoctor]

Originally Posted by SMOKIN JOE

Why would you need to rework the course? Putting it back to it's original form sounds the best. I'd rather walk to a good hole than play an average one.

No one's talking about reworking the whole course, but it's possible some holes would need to change in order to add parking, for instance. My role is to get WA county talking and thinking about it. When we get to the point where changes are likely, I'll bow out and we'll get someone else involved who's good at course design. Hopefully, they'll bring some consensus to the process. It's an awesome property and many people have commented that the course there could be improved.

[spindoctor]

I've finally heard back from the Port of Portland on the property adjacent to Costco in Hillsboro. Here's a link to see it on a map (http://maps.google.com/maps?q=hillsboro+ore&hl=en&...n,+Oregon&z=16).

They said they'd look into letting HPR use it for a disc golf course and that they'd get back to us before Feb 1! They asked questions about cutting trees down. I said it would probably be necessary, but I'd back off of that if it meant not having a course there. They also mentioned aviation restrictions and not being able to put any structures on the property. I'll update here and on my web site (http://discspindoctor.org/news.html) when I hear back from them.

[Adam Schneider]

I guess it depends on how you define "structure."

[tmk]

Wowzers! Good news. Let me know if I can help out. Love to get in on the course design.

[spindoctor]

Originally Posted by Adam Schneider

I guess it depends on how you define "structure."

My guess is buildings.

[spindoctor]

Originally Posted by tmk

Wowzers! Good news. Let me know if I can help out. Love to get in on the course design.

In all my meetings with HPR, space for a disc golf course has always come up as a limitation. My role is to help them in that area so they can focus on installing the course. If the Port of Portland says it's okay to put a course there, I'll turn everything over to HPR and let them take it from there.

[Adam Schneider]

Well, fortunately, I can't imagine the "aviation restrictions" will come into play. Ball-golf courses are a VERY common use of land adjacent to airports.

[puttmin]

Have you played hole 4(?) at Adair ? One super hyzer bomb and you'll hit an airplane and bring it out of the sky!I've tried to play Hagg a couple times in the summer05? and 2011 and there wasn't much golf goin' on. Just alot of walkin, gettin lost and searchin. The land is epic for a super course, but the days I had been there, it was all overgrown and not very golfy. I didnt really get it... broke out the mtn bike and saved the day. Dont mean to be a grumpy, just waitin for others to tell it like it is, no one really has stepped up...it could be a great place if redesigned and maintained, which ,yes ,would take someones hard work and thoughtful design.(encouragement)

Originally Posted by Adam Schneider

Well, fortunately, I can't imagine the "aviation restrictions" will come into play. Ball-golf courses are a VERY common use of land adjacent to airports.

[emmarose]

Originally Posted by puttmin

Have you played hole 4(?) at Adair ? One super hyzer bomb and you'll hit an airplane and bring it out of the sky!I've tried to play Hagg a couple times in the summer05? and 2011 and there wasn't much golf goin' on. Just alot of walkin, gettin lost and searchin. The land is epic for a super course, but the days I had been there, it was all overgrown and not very golfy. I didnt really get it... broke out the mtn bike and saved the day. Dont mean to be a grumpy, just waitin for others to tell it like it is, no one really has stepped up...it could be a great place if redesigned and maintained, which ,yes ,would take someones hard work and thoughtful design.(encouragement)

part of the redesign would probably be to move the course off of what i understand to be an elk sanctuary... hence the lack of mowing of the tall grass.

[spindoctor]

I was with some guys who play all over the state. This was their first time at Hagg. They said the property had incredible potential as a disc golf course; it has hills and flats, trees and open space, and water. They too noted without someone who knew the layout, it would be difficult to find all the holes.

[Sam]

Hagg Lake is going to be raised considerably. The course we see there now will mostly be gone when all is said and done. The powers that be have stated their intention to give us land to create a new course out there when the time comes so any thoughts on "improvement" should be saved for a later date, unfortunately.

[loki]

Now, it is far from the westside (and not even Oregon) but last week when I was out at Bonneville I went for a walk between rounds. I parked by the baseball fields and walked around the park there on the shores of the Columbia and if there was ever a place more suited for a great disc golf course this would be it. Does anyone know the land of which I speak? A second course out that direction would get a lot more people traveling that way. Anyone know if that would be an avenue worth exploring?

[emmarose]

Originally Posted by Sam

Hagg Lake is going to be raised considerably. The course we see there now will mostly be gone when all is said and done. The powers that be have stated their intention to give us land to create a new course out there when the time comes so any thoughts on "improvement" should be saved for a later date, unfortunately.

... i don't believe that this is happening any more...

[Scott]

Originally Posted by Sam

Hagg Lake is going to be raised considerably.

Pretty sure that's off the table.

[spindoctor]

The conversation went very well! They have been looking for someone to engage on this course for a while now. They have had some leadership changes there too, which is a good thing in our case. Here are some details and history as told to me from WA county. This is important because it gives us an idea of where they're coming from:

• The original group that installed the course was a disc golf club (maybe even just 1 guy who had some help; his name isn't relevant for this discussion) from Forest Grove. The club moved on and passed the baton to 2 others. They've been good about maintaining the course (some signs, trash, etc...) but WA country doesn't have much contact with them.
• Lots of disc golfers complain about the tall grass in the summer. This course is on an elk preserve, so the grass can only be cut occasionally. Bottom line is the tall grass isn't going to be cut any more frequently than it has been in the past. I don't believe this is a problem; see the next item.
• WA county is absolutely open to some course redesign (e.g., moving holes). Moving some holes from the middle of the field to the periphery and hugging the tree lines may help. I'm sure there are several other options here.

I committed to pursuing this further by coming up with a plan that I will run by them. This plan will certainly consist of multiple steps over many weeks and months. It will include vision and goals, a business case to help with funding and a timeline. I think it's highly dependent on how fast we can move and organize.

I will definitely need help! I'll be contacting people I know, and some I don't know as well to get this started. This is in its very early stages, but I think there's lots of potential and a huge opportunity here. I may fork this off onto another thread on this forum that is specific to Hagg Lake.

[Garro]

Way to go Jim! Nice work on this. Everyone agrees that Hagg is a great piece of property. Did they mention the issue of raising the water level in the lake? Some of us have heard that idea has basically been shelved.

Anyhow, I'm into helping with this. I used to live out there and have a real affinity for the place.

Garry