Trees in Disc Golf Parks

[Schoen-hopper]

Trees are in a look great! They gave us some pretty healthy looking specimens. Some pears, redbuds, 3 different types of maples, elms, a juniper... Please be nice to them.

[ditziwt]

i think hole 17 has the best placements. cant wait till they get big.

[smitty]

Played Herman today.

Only trees that will make a real difference right away is hole 17. When those get big, that is going go make the hole tougher for any shot that hyzers. It also takes away the money route to the long basket (left of the big tree with an S shot).

Looked to me like several were wasted on hole 2. Already one of the dumbest holes on the course, you plant trees to take away the hyzer to the long pin in the long run. Since all the trees on that hole are Cedars seems like a Mando would have been the way to go. If it is good for the holes that run along Pawnee, seems like it would of worked well on that hole also.

Some of the others will/could change and help some of the holes in the long run. Seemed like some of them were taking out the straight route, which is the hardest shot in disc golf. 11 and 12 are both holes that have a tree smack in the middle now. I played from the red, so it is probably different from the blue.

[Schoen-hopper]

These trees look bigger and healthier than anything we've been given before.

Debated a long time on 17's. Hopefully they'll add something to this wide open area. There still is a lefty route, but the shot that plays closest to the river is the best. Risk/ reward idea there. But yeah, from the short tee I don't like that it will reduce the 2's on an already tough hole. For the long they should work better, giving an easier up for shots closer to the river and making it tougher for those who bail out left.

I don't think they were wasted on 2. These trees don't take away the hyzer, they will just make it play tighter on the tree line. This hole is dangerous how it plays over Broadway! And the course has so many mando's someone will go postal if we add one more. Also, as these cedars mature, you notice their vegetation all dies out down below. So you can see a route opening up to the long pin to the left. Obvious lefty route. When one or more of these trees die, some other routes may come into play for righty. We are going to lose those huge pines by the long pin. So some trees in front in the middle are there to prepare for the inevitable. You can't just wait for the trees to be gone, plant new ones in the old space and just wait 15 years with wide open golf. I've had so many disappear that I've started to think, we should prepare at least 5 years ahead. Problem is the parks doesn't usually have trees for us, and there is no space. 30' minimum keep between trees keep us from placing some that would make the most sense, like on hole 8.

By 11 & 12, you mean 12 & 13. The one on 12 replaces the one that was there before. I chose a CS Pear because I didn't want it to grow wide, more upwards. Defines 2 distinct routes from short to short. Maybe not ideal from long to long, right in line with the "y" tree behind it though, so if you hit it, you probably would have hit the other. Now its not an easy up and in. On 13, that is a huge open space. The color of an October Glory Maple blazing in the fall will look nice. One tree in a big field. Lots of room left and right. Don't be that guy, or you will have one long approach. Maybe not a standard par hole now.

Anyways, not all of them are perfect, but I did spend a lot of time thinking about them and what would be best for the course. Bottom line is we needed them. They take out 4-5 times more than they plant so we have our work "cut out" for us.

[smitty]

Don't get me wrong. I understand that trees need to be planted before the current trees die. You should see Cherry Street, it is going to have ZERO trees in play before long.

I still don't see the holes on 2 stopping people from the hyzer, they are much farther down the fairway then the first Cedars. Sure I will hyzer from the right tee.


A big Maple will look nice in the middle of the wide open field. I am sure that I will be that guy more then I am not.

Thanks for helping out and making the course better.

[Schoen-hopper]

On 2, I'm hoping that if that Juniper grows up straight, it will force shots to the left of it, which will be close to the tree line. Then the red-buds farther down will make sure that player hyzer in early enough. That is if they get tall enough. We were lucky to plant there because of the telephone lines above. Just not an ideal hole, but then again, it wasn't part of the original design. I love 2 long to long though.

We put one in on 3 just to the right of the healthy big Honey Locust that was the twin of the one on the left. Went with a big Accolade Elm, like those on 17.

Those are Redbuds at the top of the hill on 4. Should be able to shoot over them easier than under eventually. Pear down below just helps establish the fairway to the left. You also can't rely on one tree (that mature Chinese Pistache) to do this forever.

My favorite new trees out there are the 2 new ones on 10. A Cottonwood they planted 2 years ago got hit by the mower and died. So we put 2 new Maples there (didn't have any Cottonwoods availiable). Now there are (will be) lots of different routes for 2nd shots from the long.

Hole 8 will be the biggest challenge. I got them to purchase 2 evergreens to replace the one they are taking out. Put one Pear in on the right side. Couldn't do more until all these pines get removed some time in the next 1-5 years, which is going to blow. Put an Amur Maple in front of the long pin, there used to be a pine there. These are supposed to be short and thick, but take a long time to grow.

We also put a couple more in on 6/7 to eventually help with the crossing fairways. Maybe some day we won't need mandos for the tourneys.

[disclizard]

I have seen disc courses where they used some man made objects to fill in while they wait for trees to grow. big pole style teepee looking things that they could move around as needed. may be an option if the parks would let us do that.

Also are we going to try to replace the big tree with some thig new on hole ten at oak .. i miss that tree its what made that hole tough . now its to open from the short tee

[Schoen-hopper]

Couldn't get any more trees, I tried. Next year there will be no trees for the whole city. And they have cut all their mowers. Rough year for the Parks Dept.

[disclizard]

Would the park let some one buy a tree then ? I would be willing to donate an oak or maple this spring if and only if we can put it on ten where its needed. If I can get two we can replace the missing tree on hole 8 also.

[Schoen-hopper]

I will ask about it.

[Sandman]

So who decided where these trees needed to be planted??

[Schoen-hopper]

I was the only one to step up to see that this was done. It took 6 or 8 emails and 2 years waiting. It was looking like we wouldn't get any for 2 more years, but we lucked out.

[doc]

I clipped this from the Jan 20, 2010 K-State Horticultural Newsletter:

> ORNAMENTALS
> Start Trees Off Right
> Research from K-State’s John C. Pair Horticultural Center has quantified
> the effect of controlling grasses around newly planted trees. Jason
> Griffin, William Reid and Dale Bremer conducted a study to investigate
> the inhibition of growth of transplanted, seedling trees when lawn
> grasses were allowed to grow up to the trunk. There were five treatments
> including three with different species of grass. Those treatments were:
> 1. Bare soil maintained with herbicides
> 2. Area under tree mulched 3 inches deep
> 3. Tall fescue allowed to grow under tree
> 4. Bermudagrass allowed to grow under tree
> 5. Kentucky bluegrass allowed to grow under tree
> All treatments were applied to Eastern redbud seedlings as well as to
> pecan seedlings. All trees were fertilized according to recommendations
> and watered during the growing season with up to one inch of water if
> rainfall was deficient. At the end of two years, trees were measured and
> harvested. Data was taken on caliper (diameter) 6 inches above the
> ground, weight of above ground portions of the tree, leaf area and leaf
> weight.
> There were no differences in any measure between the mulched treatment
> and the bare soil treatment for either tree species. But all measures
> showed very significant growth increases when lawn grasses were
> controlled around the tree. Specific results were as follows:
> 1. Caliper: Measurements taken 6 inches above the soil surface were
> twice as large for plots without grass than for those with either fescue
> or bluegrass; they were only 50% larger when compared to the
> bermudagrass plots.
> 2. Top growth weight: Redbuds showed a 300% weight advantage for plots
> with grasses controlled than those without. Pecans showed a significant
> 200% increase.
> 3. Leaf area and leaf weight: Leaf area was 200% larger in plots without
> grass competition, with a 300% increase in leaf weight.
> We can conclude from this study that grasses must be controlled under a
> newly transplanted tree for the best possible growth. How far from the
> trunk should the grasses be controlled? Try a minimum of 3 feet. (WU)

[Schoen-hopper]

So the grass robs the tree of needed water. Wouldn't have guessed that. Our trees get mulched in a bowl shape a good 3-4' diameter, so that should help.

[Sandman]

To this day i still dont understand why herman gets so much attention and oak gets none. Seems like decisions like that should have been a club thing but i guess i am wrong.