What is your favorite disc golf course? La Mirada, De LaVeaga, Maple Hill, Blue Ribbon Pines, or the one closest to your own home? I ask that because there are days that go unnoticed by the majority of disc golfers on the course. You may not notice the activity when it is taking place because you are trying a new course out, or are out of your normal playing area on vacation, business, or for a tournament. These days are the course workdays that seem to only have a few volunteers that regularly show up to maintain and improve the course you so love.
You may be one of those who makes it out to the planned workdays at your home course. If you are, I want to give you a big thanks for all of your hard work over the years or months that you’ve been active in your area. I am becoming more active in my local scene. I was recently named a course coordinator on the course that is closest to my workplace, Veteran’s Original in Tupelo, MS. I wasn’t the only one named to the position, and that was done on purpose.
One of the issues that have plagued clubs and associations from the beginning of time is the majority of the work is done by the few. The Tupelo Disc Golf Association has taken a big step in the direction of curing that issue. In designating course coordinators, the responsibility for helping clean, maintain, and improve our courses is no longer on the shoulders of just two individuals as in the past. With at least one person per course designated, and most have two, the workload can be spread out among the members.
Every Little Bit Helps
This past Saturday turned into an impromptu workday at two courses, Music Bend and Veteran’s Park Original. I had noticed how full the garbage cans were on the course and asked members of the board if the city emptied those. As expected, I was told the city would only pick up the bags if we set them by the bathrooms once we had emptied the cans. That was my mission Saturday. I picked up some 55 gallon garbage bags and hauled the kids along with me to get it completed.
Vet OG, as I’ll call it from here on, is a very hilly course that meanders through a wooded ridge covered in mostly pine. We hit the easiest ones first, and dragged the bags back to the bathrooms by the first tee. One near the basket on hole 11 didn’t need emptying, so I dragged it up the hill by the pad for hole 12. There were two cans at the bench by hole 4, so one of those was moved to be by the start of hole 2. I left one unchanged because it required a bit of a walk to reach, and was basically on the other side of the course from where I was leaving the trash bags. Not being in my AWD SUV, I wasn’t about to attempt to drive to it to empty it. I’ll get it later on. So that left a garbage can by the pad for holes 2,4,5,8,12,15, & 16. We’ve had a few that were blown into the fishing pond by some storms, so we’ll have to find a few replacements.
While I was taking care of the garbage cans, another TDGA member and co-course coordinator, Dylan Kelly, was doing some tee pad work. He repainted the edge of the walking path, which had worn completely away, and the marker bricks were covered up as well. His biggest contribution was digging out and laying some brick where the new tee area will be. The current concrete pad is in a horrible position and if you face the direction it aims, you are looking well to the right of both pin positions. With the new position, you will actually be looking down the fairway to both pins. The bricks are just temporary, but having something there to throw from was important.
More Than a Little Bit
The biggest job was done on Music Bend, which is across the road from Vet’s OG. A small crew made it out there Saturday morning with the intent to do a little cleanup in a couple spots that needed it. There was some barbed wire that had been mentioned needing removal on one hole. That ended up just being the start of an all day affair for those at that course.
I don’t know the full extent of what was done Saturday, but there was a good bit of work done. Hole 9 had a new pin position created. It was a sharp 188-foot forehand or backhand anny hole that is tough to get close to the basket. I’ve never been closer than 30 feet or so. The new pin is about 75 feet left of the current one, leaving the right-hand curve to the hole not being so sudden. Â I’m looking forward to throwing to the new pin.
There was at least one tree removed from the fairway on hole 17. From other pictures taken and shared on Facebook, there was a fair amount of other cleanup done as well. Widening of the area around some tee pads, general brush clearing, and stob removal in places that could trip you up while walking the course. Since its opening in 2015, Music  Bend has become my favorite course in the area. I can’t wait to get out there and check out what’s changed for the better. Big thanks to Robbie Harris, Tony Palmer, Dylan Hembree, Doc Lansdell, and Cassie Harris for the work on Music Bend.
And It Never Ends
Vets OG and Music Bend weren’t the only courses that got some love over the weekend. Tombigbee State Park is just outside the Tupelo city limits and sports two quality courses. Affectionally referred to as Bigbee 1 or 2, or just BB1 and BB2, co-course coordinators Mike Thrasher and P.K. Caples organized a work morning on Sunday. Offering a free lunch was a quality move as well. They had seven other people there to help clean up BB1 ahead of an event this coming weekend.
Thanks to David Stasko, Danny Leach, Jared McCall, Steven Young, Allan Sprinkle, Angela Thrasher and Danielle Floyd, along with anybody else I didn’t mention for the work you did on BB1.
Keeping up Appearances
It’s easy to say how much you love disc golf but not actually do anything for the sport you love. I did a small thing in emptying the garbage cans and putting new bags in the cans. My kids helped somewhat as well. I haven’t been a seriously active member of the disc golf community up until recently. Mostly due to some family commitments alongside moving, it’s become more important to me to do my part and make my voice heard locally.
I’m still planning on filming more tournaments in the area this year as well. I’ve already gotten an external microphone to use with my phone and whatever camera I eventually purchase. Hopefully, the extra cable I had to purchase to use it with my phone will arrive either Monday or Tuesday. I want to get out and make some videos with the new mic. Quality audio is important to having a quality video.
I hope your week goes well and the weather is conducive to throwing some plastic.
Country Disc Golf 
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