Who is the sponsor for the course? A town Rec Department? A local school? Regardless of who you are working with, you have to expect that not everyone is going to be an avid disc golfer and know every last detail about the sport, conventions, and considerations. Therefore, its helpful to outline and discuss even the small details that would make course development a success[1].
Before you design a disc golf course, be sure you are familiar with the Professional Disc Golf Association (PDGA) Disc Golf Course Design Elements. A leading provider of course construction is DiscMania, who have developed the concept of "DiscGolfPark" and related programs and services.
We'll cover some additional information and details here.
Site Planning
It almost goes without saying that one of the first things you have to do is identify where the course is going to be built. It may seem obvious ("we're going to build it right here"), until you get into the details of construction and layout, conservation approval and more. Your town or state probably has a GIS system that will show property / tax boundaries that help in defining the subject property, as well as abutter's property. A simple screenshot of the area, with the correct aerial photography layer and boundaries can serve as your canvas.
On site tips
One little suggestion is to use 4' stakes or sticks pounded into the ground to mark proposed basket locations. Place a large plastic bottle, or bucket on the pole to make a temporary target that is visible, and even throwable if there is already a good 'line' for the hole. For tees, you can place small landscape marker flags (the little colored flags on wire) in the ground, but they are not very visible at all until you're stepping on them so they are not useful as target markers. Remember to bring a sharpie to write on the flags.
Software
Hole maps / Teepad signs
Given a "canvas" on which to draw a course layout, the actual process of depicting tee pads, paths, baskets, OB, etc. can sometimes be done in creative ways. The example here was done with Inkarnate - online software for mapping fantasy worlds.
You can even do signage in PowerPoint like this other example. It is purely a drawing or diagram and not a map at all.
Other possible 'drawing' tools
- https://www.photopea.com/ - online PhotoShop workalike
- inkscape - vector drawing tool (foss - respects your privacy)
- sketch, canva and sketch.io are online drawing tools.
Course maps
While a tee pad sign can be a highly abstract drawing, the underlying full course map needs to be done precisely - at least in the planning phase. We call this more of the "blueprint". To do that, you'll need to employ Geographic information system (GIS) software. We give an overview of software options at GIS and dive into specifics at Using OpenStreetMaps to design a Disc Golf Course. When the "blueprints" are complete, you can still go back to 'drawing' tools to create a stylized version for public signage, websites, etc.
References
- ↑ Here is some advice during the development of the Weare-Merriman course in Seabrook, NH
