Frisbee golf at the field of dreamsI am curious to see if anybody else has been up to the new frisbee golf course at the field of dreams? I have played the course almost a dozen times already and love it. Are there any other enthusiasts out there? Im always looking for new peeps to play with too as its not exactly the most popular sport... Maybe i've seen you, i had a post up here a week or so ago, my crew of about 6 (22-29yrs) have played about 10 times. i'm in love. have you been playing solo?
i've gotten a few birdies but my best total score is 1 over par at 3 separate times from the short tees. Glad you guys are enjoying the course. With a bit of luck we'll begin construction on the back nine in the very near future. Keep an eye on www.fodcourse.com for updates. jivedig, yes, perhaps i have seen you. I also play with my buddies. I love hole one, i cant wait until i hole-in-one it.
I hope more people get into it. I'd love to play with some other people, hopefully get a good challenge:)
And Eric, I can't freikin wait until a back nine is built if it really is! Im pumped baby! BACK NINE!!!!!!?????!?!? hopefully the back 9 will be a little more open, to add some diversity to the play. Also, maybe a par 5? or throw a par 2 in there?
And since I'm bein so picky. . . how bout taking some of those trees down at hole 9?!?!?!? I've had countless gorgeous drives that just keep getting picked off by one of those buggers. . . haha. oh well.
I may be playin tomorrow afternoon, unless its totally pouring. We thought about taking down additional trees on nine but in the end they were spared. If you do manage to get off a good drive the disc can quickly disappear into the distance without something to bounce off of and the tree line in the landing zone helps point the new players towards the basket. The V tree on the hill was unanimously voted to be kept - where else are you going to find that?
We're not sure how the back nine will laid out just yet but yeah, you can expect to see some bigger, badder stuff mixed in. We're aiming to get construction under way as the weather begins to cool and everything begins to die off... oh yes, the V at hole 9 is a must. that is very cool.
who is funding all of this?
joeguy. . . too bad you couldn't come yesterday. 2 gorgeous birdies. also - hit the basket from the drive on your beloved hole 1. 2 inches higher and i'd have aced it. wow, thats pretty impressive jivedig, you must be super into frisbee golf. I myself just got a one over which is a personal best though i believe im getting better.
As far as the trees are concerned, although they have caused me to more often than not scream profanities, I think they are a great part of the course.
Eric, all of this sounds awesome, I cant freikin wait until construction starts. Once it does, If any help is needed I and I'm sure jivedig would be willing to lend a hand as needed. Thanks guys. Any help is appreciated - I'll keep you posted regarding work days.
Who's funding it? Donations & volunteers. The town covered the cost of the baskets and we had people sponsor each hole to cover the rest. Gravel, lumber, equipment rentals, etc were all covered by the hole sponsors. THANK YOU HOLE SPONSORS. The names of these generous people are on the entrance signs, course discs and of course hole signs. Here's looking forward to finding another nine sponsors... do you have an approximate cost of sponsoring a hole?
maybe i could approach some businesses i'm 'affiliated' with in town. I'm not sure what the costs will be for the back nine. It'll depend on how crazy we get and what the needs are to meet our design goals. The current nine were sponsored in a three tier system, Gold, Silver & Bronze. Each level had its own rewards & costs so everyone could play a role in the course construction regardless of the cash amount they could spare.
I'm hoping to wander the course a bit after work this week to get a general idea of where we could lay out the next nine. I'd like to find a huge, straight, natural fairway for cannon armed players to show off in. I'm thinking a flat, straight, longer & possibly slightly wider hole 8 deep in the woods somewhere. Maybe something partially over water... The back nine was tenatively approved last week by the Rec Department pending layout approval. We plan on emphasizing on longer more open holes and bringing the river as an OB in one or two holes that will traverese it.
I haven't worked out how the sponsorship pricing will be laid out. Once we figure out what building the back nine will cost, we divide by nine (pretty simple). We can't just use the front nine formula because there might be bridges and other goodies involved. Get ready for the back nine, it's going to be crazy.
I'll keep you posted and check the course site and forum link for other updates. Depending on the cost, I may be able to swing some sponsorship from HackettstownLife.
Hopefully it's nice this weekend and I can go pick up a disc and try it out. bridges and other goodies?!?!?! oh man, i'm gettin so excited.
i'm gonna full sponsor my own hole.
hole 18: JiveDig
Ace it to win a free game. (just to throw em off) *disc golf is already free to the newbs
then i'll sneak there at off hours and practice the heck out of it so any time i play with anyone when we get to my hole i'll school em.
okay, enough daydreaming. . . i'll keep an eye on the site, i may be interested in sponsoring through my family business Super Stuff Party Rental
we're hittin up the course in Liberty Corner course next. too many games in a row at FOD's, need a quick break.
Chris- i've usually been twittering/tweeting (is that right?) when i go play, if you wanna come and use our extra discs, give a hollar. i have a feeling the back nine is gonna be SICK! cant wait to see how creative its gonna get. "Siick" does not even begin to describe it;more like the andromeda strain meets ebola with a hint of the plague.
The goal is to make our home course so complete that you'll be hard pressed to find another course that challenges you in ways that the FOD hasn't in some way prepared you for.
BTW the pavilion at the course sells discs on Sunday from 1-5pm through October. They have putters and drivers. If you are a beginner I would get a putter and a driver. Ask for the leopard driver, they should have two or so left. The rest of the drvers are destroyers which are a little harder to handle for a beginner. They have stickers on the back that say what they are in case the lady at the pavilion says she doesn't know (I have a feeling she might). jivedig:
You would be tweeting when you play. Tweet is the singular version of Twitter.
I'll probably head down to Sports Authority/Dick's one day this week and maybe try it Saturday. I thought I needed one (per person?) but it looks like they sell them in sets of 3.
I'm also burning myself out with work this morning, so maybe I'll go today. ugh-Dicks/Sports Authority Discs are typically mediocre at best. The best two brands are Innova and Discraft. At 8-14 dollars depending on the plastic grade. It's not a lot of money, considering they are the best and they last years.
The pavilion carries them on Sundays or you can email me through the course site and I can meet you at the course after work during the week. Putters or Drivers are $10 each. They both seem to sell Innova, ~$30 for a set of 3. Of course, it sounds like I really need 2, so I'm spending extra money, but they may say them differently at the stores than online. Where is this at... I'm 54 and love Frisbee :)
My favorite all time sport.  chiman:
It's on Cementary Rd, right behind the newer Great Meadows Middle School. There are a ton of baseball fields, a hockey rink and some other sports items.
I just checked out the course and it's deeper into the woods than I thought. Would be a good place to stick a Geocache.
Can't wait to try it out.
it's behind the middle school on great meadows in the park complex. Go into the park and you'll see a practice basket in the open area next to the roller hockey. You'll see the course sign there with the map that shows where all the baskets are once you go into the trail in the woods. You won't need to memorize it or anything, the course is very well marked and has awesome flow.
www.fodcourse.com has more details with major updates coming over the next couple of weeks. Rico, are you referring to the pavillion on hole 1? I need to buy my own set of discs because i keep using my bro in laws. I keep hesitating to buy them online for some reason. If you guys are selling Innovas i will buy them from you guys. actaully on my way up there now :), thanks bro in law Sports Authority and Dick's Sporting Goods don't sell them. Dick's use to, but no one bought them, so they sent them to the mid-west where they couldn't keep them on the shelves.
The quest continues... little ray ray:
No not the pavilion on 1. I'm talking about the formal concession stand, big pavilion that is at the end of the parking lot next to the playground. It has a bunch of picnic tables and soda machines and stuff. They open it up and sell hot dogs and now discs in the spring and fall. So if you go up Sunday between 1-5pm, you can say I'll take a gatorade and a couple of discs please.
If you need them before Sunday let me know, I can get them for you early and meet up at the course.
Further down the road, as you get more advanced and pickier with your selection. I would recommend using some of the featured online sites that we have on the course site. They not only donate discs for our future tournaments, but Marshall Street Disc Golf actually kicks back a percentage of sales generated from people that we directed to their site via their link on our page, to the course fund which is used for course upgrades/improvements.Pretty awesome.
Currently, the website doesn't have all that but it should be 100% in a week or so.
Let me know. Did i hear something about tournaments? That would be awesome. We've been doing a 'best disc' game lately, the disc golf version of best ball (obviously). That would make a great tourny as well. You heard right. Tournaments gallore.
You can do all the traditional golf formats, plus some that are unique to disc golf: like the "One and Done" where you can only use one disc the entire round. Which would you use? A putter, mid range, or driver? Tough call. oh man, tourneys too, wow. quite a tough call Rico. I would use one of my drivers though, I think there's just too many bends and curves.
Playing today I ended up one over, which is my best and the score I keep getting. Its very frustrating but fun, I'll be one under for a while then start smackin into trees. Ive played the course about eleven or twelve times now and I know I can par it, just a matter of time.
What is everyone's best score on this course so far?
Also, has anybody aced any on this course? My personal best was -3 (from the shorts). I par'ed everything and birdied 2, 3, 7.
My friend Marc shot a -2 playing 18 (fronts, then backs). Thats really sick.
No hole-in-ones yet. As far as I know.
We started scouting the back nine today. All I can say is: OHHHHH MAAAAAN GET REEEEEAAADDY! AAAAHHHHHHHH!!! stop getting me sooooo exciteddd RRRiiiiiicccccooooOO!!!!!
Rico/Eric, we gotta meet up to play sometime.
joeguy was wrong, i played with him today, he par'ed the last 9 we played, and i was one under, barely squeezing in a victory on the last hole.
my personal best is -1 which i've gotten 3 out of the last 4 times i've played. I've birdied just about every hole at some time, just never more than 2 in the same game. I par'ed 18 last week which felt great, i seem to be getting a little better each day out. I think i'm ready to try the far tees soon too. I'd like to see if i can stay within 5 over. . . we'll see.
-3 is sick, i wish i could have seen it.
Some random dude we ran into and played with last week got about 2 or 3 over on 18 from the far tees. He had a nasty forehand (which i rarely do in games because of my LACk of control).
we may get another round in tomorrow (thurs) around 4 too. We have an interesting situation developing at FOD. First, we have a designer with a great eye for using the land and incorporating something for everyone into the course layout. Combine that with the solid build team we've assembled over the past six months and you suddenly have something dangerous - the back nine.
I arrived at the course around 5:15 last night and quickly walked Rico's vision for one of the new holes. Standing at the site of the future basket I began to wonder exactly how many signature holes one course can possibly handle. Then we walked the planned path for the following hole and I began to wonder exactly how many signature holes one player can possibly handle.
Rest assured the back nine are coming, and they're gonna kick ***. Ha this is funny! Ive been working with jivedig and joeguy for the last few weeks and heard about this game and this site nonstop. Figured it was time to see what all the buzz was about for myself on wed and had a blast but cant say i did to well...not well at all
You can bet ill be playing lots more Frisbee Golf at FOD!  Discs are in!
Thanks jivedig for the tip about Marshall Street. Good prices, great selection and quick turn around.
http://www.marshallstreetdiscgolf.com/
Now, hopefully I have time this weekend to try it out.
Yeah, you'll be happy with those! Straight flyin, standard, top quality.
We just went up today for a quick 9. I had my worst showing ever on hole 1 (2 over) but par'ed the rest of the course.
With some luck (and a babysitter) i may get out this weekend I love the first hole. It looks so cute and simple: LIKE A RUBIX CUBE!
I can't tell you how many good looks at a 2 turned into a 5. If you listen close, you can hear the FOD's sinister laugh: MWAHAHAHA!!!! I went yesterday and it was good times! The course reminds me of the Lake lackawanna Golf Course in Stanhope due to the last 2 holes.
For people that have never played, you only really need 1 disc per person. The differences between them don't really matter until you get good.
Only problem I encountered was the vending machines by the pavilion were broken. So thirsty! Next time I'll remember to bring my own beverage.  I managed to sneak in a quick 9 today and ran into 3 different groups of people playing the course. Word must be getting out. BTW we linked this forum on www.fodcourse.com, so we might hear from some new people.
Here is a (back nine) sneak peak of the "The Garg". The sole purpose of "The Garg" is to appease the big arms that whine about not having big, long, open holes. Well: here ya go.
Currently, "The Garg" is a PAR 5 of approximately 750 feet from the shorts and...get ready...1,000 feet from the deeps.
RRRRIIIIIIIIICCCCCCOOOOOOOOO !!!!!! YOUR DOIN IT AGAAAAAAIIIINNNIN!!!!!!!!!!!!
i don't know why i'm such a fiend for this game lately. until this course opened it had been over a year since i last played. no i can't. stop. thinking. about. playing. disc. golf.
my buddies played this morning, maybe you ran it to them? i was busy on the hay ride at Donaldson's with my tooyoungfordiscgolf kids
i'm glad to see progress on the back 9, i wasn't sure if it was gonna be one of those 'someday' things that are just talked about.
We ran into a girl scout troop this past week. weird. they were really happy to see the course getting used, though they weren't even playing themselves. strange. It's interesting to observe the traffic at the course during the workdays. I watched a foursome (from an undisclosed soon-to-be signature hole location) enter the course around 9am on Saturday. The week before, people were still playing at 7pm while we walked off a few new hole ideas. We're seeing all sorts of people at all sorts of times. Little do they know we're about to go big... FOD style. It looks like a way to get started for cheap, but their site doesn't show any stores with stock within 100 miles of Mansfield. :( There are a few places in the area of Warwick, NY to buy discs and you can sometimes get lucky at Dick's Sporting Goods, but I'm not sure if anyone sells bags or towels in the area. You can order on line and pay aprox. shipping cost of $ 11 total cost $36. There is also an option to have them ship it site to store and you only pay the $ 25 for the product - seems like it takes 7-10 business days that way. Seems like a reasonable deal to me. I agree with Chris: Marshall Street Disc Golf is the way to go. Not only do they have a rediculous selection and quick turnaround, but as of today-they are an official FOD partner. 10% of all revenues generated from our Marshall Street link on our course web site go directly to the course fund. So if you like Marshall Street, please use the link on the FOD site to help contribute to future tourneys and course expansions/improvements.
There are a bunch of other updates to the course site. Check them out.
www.fodcourse.com I also agree - Marshall Street is the only place I buy from. I've visited the store in MA a few times over the past few years & the owners are great people. I recommend stopping by their place if you're ever out in the area. Or if you're like me, make the three and a half hour run to check the place out and play a few rounds. They're in the process of expanding to about double the size of their old pro shop and the place was amazing to begin with. Its that "kid in a candy store" feeling all over again...
http://marshallstreetdiscgolf.com/newstoreupdates.html  Another new hole prospect sighting - clearly some mowing to be done.
Eric put it best, "this is going to be one of those courses where you'll be like half way through a round and find yourself saying, 'seriously dude, where the heck are we in relation to where we parked.'
We are not only focusing of quality of play, but also overall course impression. The new addition must blend in so well that it should be hard to remember the course as a nine hole entity.
We have our scheduled walkthrough with the rec commission this weekend. I'll post the tenative back nine proposed layout soon after that (map showing distances etc...).
Oh yea one more thing: Im heading up to the FOD Saturday at 10am for a round. I'll be at the practice basket in case anyone is interested in meeting up to play. Let me know or show up~whatever. What do you think, Rico? Do we let these fine people know how the meeting with the rec commission went this morning or do we leave them in suspense?
I'm looking forward to playing Dunham one of these days.  The meeting went awesome.
We ended up with a totally different plot of land than we expected.
It's going to end up being more of an expansion to an 18 hole course than a "back nine". This is the rough preliminary layout.
There will be a new first hole located right next to the practice basket. It will parallel along the hockey rinc and dogleg down to the river. A new second hole will connect back up to the existing third. 3-8 will play as is. After eight, the course will do a huge open loop around the park's new walking path diving in and out of guarding tree lines. The course will connect back to the existing 9th (new 15th). We will create a new hole that connects back to the gazeebo (16). Finally, the current 1st and 2nd will end up being 17 and 18 with steps leading back out to the practice area.
Overall I'm really excited about the balance and flow of the final course design. You won't be able to stereotype it as a good "woods" course anymore. Simply, "the" course will do just fine.
We will release formal distances and pars in the next couple of weeks (expect bombs).
haha, tell me the new brooklyn bridge is goin up. How could someone turn down such a sweet idea, theyd be crazy!
So Eric, were you the other fella up there playin today with Rico? No playing for me today unfortunately. I joined up with Rico around 11:30 for the meeting then put my hatchet to work on the new hole 1. It needs to be widened up top and I wanna punish missed putts a bit more before moving on to the new hole 2. I'll meet up with you guys one of these days, maybe one of the upcoming workdays. wow, I think that this turned out great. Overall theres a nice balance now of open and wooded. although a bridge would have been sweet with some over the river play I think this looks pretty sweet and am still freikin excited!
JJJJIIIIIVVVEEEDIIGGG!! check it out mang! ps- congrats on brooklyn shuz 3rd place, almost  wow. that layout looks amazing. it's exactly what i was hoping for in a course. a little bit of everything. well rounded, and right in my backyard.
hey guy, thanks for the congrats- a bronze is decent, but seeing Bobcat's team lose in the finals 2 years in a row = priceless.
What is the course record at FOD?
Any Aces yet?
Scoon will be up to tame the beast this week. scoon, tame that beast, he's a fierce one. no aces that i know of yet. Has anybody played Rivers Edge?
Is it worth playing?
I will be at FOD on Monday or Tuesday. Weather looks good through Wednesday.
FOD will be course #83 for me.
Oct 14 83 First Dead Show
Wound up seeing 83 shows.
Oct 14 94 Phish in New Orleans Met a new Girlfriend
Oct 14 04 First time at a Disc Golf course-Hyzer Creek NY
Oct 14 2008 FOD First time played. Must be a special course! Scoon:
We haven't had a sanctioned event so it's a pretty small sampling, but the best nine (short tees) is 26 I think-myself. I can vouche for Marc's aka Sleeves 56 (short, then long tees), but I believe LaCourte shot a 54.
Best of Luck-let us know your results. Rico - thanks for putting up that picture of the new course proposal. I had no idea where to START the course and now I totally "get it" with where everything is.
Perhaps we'll head out there and check it out! Played this afternoon with my son I shot 2 over for the 9 holes my son was 6 over for his first time out! Ran into HL Chris.  I couldn't play this weekend like i wanted too, but i did get a chance to practice a little putting with my middle man. Here's a pic of Noah with his Magnet putter. He's got a sick mid-game/approach
jivedig: What a cute little guy! haha. I wonder if he can keep up with kbrains -1 showing this afternoon! I made it out to FOD today. Played a round from the A + B positions.
My score
A-2 2 2 3 3 3 2 3 4 = 24
B-2 4 3 2 C4 2 3 4 3= 27
Total =51
The C4 is a circle 4-Lost my disc on hole 5B had to re-tee. Parked my drive for the circle 4.
I missed a 20' putt on 4A for 4 birds in a row to start. 20' putt on 9A popped out of chains.
I play everything as a par 3. LOST-Hole 5 Blue Pulse with a J-Park Jammer 2007 stamp. Somewhere to the left of fairway-spent 20 minutes looking for it, but did not turn up. Hope it didn't go in the little creek.
My name-Scoontar + my New York phone number are on the back. If found etc you can call my New Jersey number-
201-652-9235. I will be back to FOD soon.
Thanks alot
Scoontar Big thanks to Rico + everyone involved in the process of creating + installing the Field of Dreams Disc Golf course. You have done an excellent job designing, + building the course. The Tee Signs and DisCatcher Baskets are First Rate-A++. I love flow of the holes/course. Building The A + B tee's for each hole was a brilliant move. Many Birdy opportunities on both layouts. Some great Ace runs in there as well.
The B Tee's are very challenging, Hole 2B, and 9B are blind shots. Very cool to have those 2 shots.
I think hole 9A is the Signature hole of the course. Hole 1 A-B, 3A-B, 8A and 5B are close seconds.
Hole 2B 8A-B + 9A-B are the hardest, and very challenging. Easy to bogey/double bogey those holes. Hard pars.
The tee box's are fine for me, but I know others will find them a little restricting.
I'm very psyched that there will be a back nine. Will there be 2 sets of tee's? Having 36 holes of Disc to play will attract many Discers to your course. Looking forward to going back. thanks for the kind words. I'm glad to see your tumoltuous score yield a 27 - that's what I was hoping for from a good player. I can almost picture your entire round (good and bad shots), just from your individual hole scores.
Yes: next nine will have two sets of boxes. Plans to eventually pave them once we agree that we are happy with their positions.
The next nine will be more open with an emphasis on length, not surgical markmanship (front 9's job). Hopefully completed before Spring. However, we got an eager work crew - so we might get our superFOD for Xmas. that all seems crazy cant wait for superFOD i went today with a buddy i still have to get a real disc been playing with a wham o deff cant drive them as far...all is well cuz i still suck lol practice makes perfect at least i can hope They say a good round of golf can often erase a bad day at work. What they don't tell you is a bad day at work can often kill your score. I stopped by FOD after work last night and tossed a 33 from the shorts. I had hoped for better from my first time keeping score, but I just wasn't feeling it.
I've got to work on my sidearm. Backhand will only get you so far at FOD. The great thing about the course is you've gotta use a little of everything. i got a sweet backhand with a nice Annie, so works fine for the front 9 (rhyme intended).
i agree with Scoontar point, the tees are a little restricting for me. the shorter holes don't really matter, but when i'm goin for a long drive, my setup is about a foot and a half longer than the tees allow. just my 2cents when planning the back 9 with the long drives.
Also, what are the rules for any shot after the drive. can you take a few steps back from your mark or do you have to keep your feet in one spot like you're putting? i know the rules are posted, but there are too many for me to keep exact. i just want to eventually get everything down properly.
Rico- back 9 would be a NICEYYYYY Christmas present for the Field of DREAMERS!!!!! You are allowed to step/walk to your lie. Your foot has to be within 11" of your lie-directly behind it. It cannot be to the left or right. If you step on your Mini that is a foot fault. Are there any clear detailed rules listed online?
Scoontar: What if you can't stand directly behind it, like a tree/brush/large rock is in the way? Chris:
Super official rules are at PDGA.com, but the site is temporarily down and it forwards you to their forum. The general rule of thumb (I believe) is that at the point of release your foot must be within 11 inches right behind of your mark. If your disc lands inside of a bush or in a position where you can't get right behind it, you must move it to the closest playable lie no closer to the hole. I'm pretty sure you are supposed to incur a stroke, but I'm sure Scoontar will chime with the official ruling.
Technically, if a disc gets caght in a tree higher than 2 meters (I know, what is this Russia?) off the ground, I costs you a stroke to bring it down and play it from there. That's why at some courses you see all these 6 footish poles lying around - penalty check. Future FOD feature for sure. If your disc lands in area where you deem it to be unplayable, you have to take a stroke penalty-and play your disc from the closest point to where it landed that is safe to play, and no closer to the pin. You are given a meter of relief-3 feet 1 inch to place your disc away from the bush, tree, rock etc.
The 2 meter rule is one of my least favorite rules in Disc Golf. 2 years ago the PDGA changed the rule so that it is the Tournament Directors choice whether to have it at the tourney. Whenever the TD announces "The 2 meter rule is not in effect"-the players always cheer-Led me by me. J/K.
The general rule is that the 2 meter rule is never in effect for Casual play, unless specified by the participants playing for more competitive reasons. At Warwick's tournaments the 2 mete rule is in effect, but for casual it is not. This is one tournament I agree with the 2 meter rule. The poles at Warwick are 25' long. The Rec Commission gave their final approval on the 18 hole expansion at the FOD. The course will pretty much reflect the layout I posted earlier. I have one more walkthrough to pinpoint exact tee / basket locations. As it stands now, the back nine will include 2 par 3's, 6 par 4's, and a 1,000 foot from the deeps par 5 aka the Garg.
I'll keep you guys posted on build days which will include planting trees on our very own trully custom picture perfect grassy fairways.
PS tee boxes on back nine will be bumped from 8 to 10 feet long to accomodate longer run ups. I am so ready for it, and I know a lot of guys that arent on here are also.
Rico, you're doin a great job, keep doin what youre doin. Just remember, you have Hackettstownlife.com behind you %100, haha.
Those open holes are gonna be a relief, I need them to take out all that bottled agression from hammering into trees consistantly for the last month. Yesterday after going into hole 8 one under for the first time, I had two most unfortunate shots in a row and that seeting rage finally came to the surface. I wont say how it manifested itself suffice to say it wasnt pretty haha.
Ok, i digress, pumped about this new 9 comin in. Keep me posted if yall need any volunteer work or anything. I live right across the street! Rico, I gotta get some DG in today, its beautiful out, and I havent played the course since July! Hope to run into you there.
Its 1:30 now, I'll be there in an hour. :)
JByrd Full-blown construction of the "back" nine at FOD is gearing up to kick off in the very near future. Spread the word - we're not only looking for build team volunteers but also hole sponsors. Rico will have the sponsorship ladder posted in the coming days/weeks so start thinking about people and/or companies who might want to get in on the action.
The first hole is pretty much cleared (the bottleneck at the top of the hill is quickly growing on me). Two, fourteen and sixteen are going to require the most amount of work. Rico: we should mark the desired fairway edges so people with an hour here or there can go in and do some damage to that tangle. We may have until Spring for the "official" opening but I sure like the idea of a Xmas target.  Over the next couple of weeks the rec commission will start planting trees on the fairways of the open grass holes. While they do that, we can get going on the other holes.
Right now will focus on holes 1 and 2 (remember 1 and 2 are new, not the existing 1 and 2. Please refer to your new posted superFOD map).
This is the plan:
The build will consist of two types of build days, team and solo days.
Team days will focus on the bigger tasks that involve heavy machinery and usually require a small team of people (tee box install, baskets, chainsaw work etc...) Team days will be announced here on the forum at least a week in advance.
Solo days are as spontaneous as you want them to be. The only rule with solo days is no machines. You can only use basic handtools (loppers, clippers, machetes etc). Oh yeah, and you must be at least 18 years of age. If you are looking to go up and do some work, go ahead and post it here - you might get some help.
I know what your thinking: "Rico, how will I know what to cut and what not to cut?"
Well, it's easy...coloring book easy. After this Wednesday, the holes under construction will be color coded. The edge of the fairways will be marked with orange flags sticking out of the ground. That means everything between the orange edges goes. ONE EXCEPTION: any tree between the orange lines has orange tape, does not go. It has been spared much like the "V" tree on nine to give the hole added difficulty, character and charisma. Also, anything you cut down, please drag it at least 10 feet beyond the marked fairway boundary - pick good far dump spots that can't easily be seen from the fairway.
If anyone asks you what your are doing (mostly concerned soccer moms that should be watching their kids) - tell them the truth and that you are working for the rec department with your contact being Frank Spender.
After you do any work, please post it so we can keep tabs on the progress.
Thanks and Good Luck.
Looks like the town is letting us keep the layout pretty close to what we planned out. I'm all for those ornamental trees, but we have to be careful about their placement. We don't want to convert beautiful bomb shots into 1000 foot technical holes.
Double the course in less than half the work. Niiiiice.  Eric:
I think the only 4 trees that would turn a 1,000 footer into a technical shot on a 100 ft wide fairway would be one of these.
Luckily, Lowes only carries normal trees...plus I think Spender's Gator might struggle getting this one out to the Garg.
Leave the giant sequoias to the west coast boys. That Gator didn't seem too happy carrying just the four of us. Quote:
"Rico: we should mark the desired fairway edges so people with an hour here or there can go in and do some damage to that tangle. "
Well, since I'm considered a local DG'er with an appetite to get it right, I may need to spend some hours with me clippers in hand and do a lil bush munchin! Arrrrgh! I want to clean thar sticker bush to thar right of the existing 7th DG basket, thats a bad spot it tiz, I know cause I bairly found me disc in that bush o barnacles! aye. Otherwise yar course is shap'in up nice crew! Great work lads! Jbyrd:
No worries about the sticker bush on the right of seven. The budget's looking pretty strong for the back nine build, so I plan on renting a brush hog which would tear all that up in minutes. Save your energy. Those sticker bushes along with the other usual suspects about the front nine will be decimated before you know it.
We will also do a strong Pro RoundUp session, taking care of all brush that pops up around the perimeters of the fairway. By Spring, the FOD should be 18 and groome to Best In Show caliber.
PS sorry I couldn't meet you last week. What'd you think of the course, pretty different than when we played it in July right?  The new first hole (follows the hockey rink and then doglegs down the hill towards the river) is actually almost cleared and thus has no marking flags.
As you make the turn from the grass down the hill, you'll see an opening that shoots you right down to the river. The bushes to the right as you make your way down the hill are pretty much spot on. However, all the other brushy stuff on the other side all the way to the drop off as you go down the hill must go. We'll probably keep all the main trees, but we'll reassess once the brush is cleared. Once you look down the hill, you'll get the hole - it's pretty awesome...so take a look.
The second hole has been marked with one set of orange flags right down the designed path. We couldn't set flags on each side of the fairway because it just became too difficult. This hole is going to take a lot of work so we might want to wait until a group work day to tackle it.
Check out the picture of the current status of the second hole...yeah, we got some work ahead.
Aye, now yar talk'in ! Brush Hawg Munch'in Machinery! I hope its gut a scary face painted in thar front of it. hehehehe.
The course has shaped up quite nicely Mr Rico! Thars paths in thar shule that wurn't thar before, making things much easier tar find stray shotage. I shot meself a 63 ! :) Much better than me maiden voyage on them DG decks.
Thar FOD Crew is doin a fine job!
Well done!
JByrd I'm hitting the FOD for an early morning chop session. I'll be there from 7-9:30 working on the new holes that surround the hockey rink (1,2 or 14). Come on out if you wanna help. Rick will be there around noon running the chainsaw.
PS nice win the other day Joeguy. Rematch at the superFOD jan 1st. Thank you rico. I look forward to it. pero cuidado, when i get my orc i expect to be having some -3 and -4 showings
Seeing as I am currently unemployed I'm sure I could find some time to get up there and do some chopping or clearing if necessary. Just let me know what I can do. If i saw your post yesterday i might have made it out this morning. Suit Up:
The first big workday will be two weeks from today (Saturday November 15th) at 11 AM.
We will have a commercial brush hog and multiple chainsaws on site along with the usual supects - machetes, loppers, clippers, etc...
If you want to help, all you will really need is a good pair of work gloves. As the people with the power tools kock stuff over, you can drag it off the fairway and into the woods.
With a couple of good people/equipment, you'll be amazed how quickly each hole comes together.
Shoot me an email for have any questions or if you think you can make it...or just show up - you won't miss us.  Awesome job today at the impromptu work day at the FOD. Thanks to Josh (joeguy) and Rick.
Here's the "before shot" as we got started. Keep an eye on that circled pine tree in the back.
 Can you spot the tree in the "after shot"?
yes, very nice job Rico. You and Rick are killin it out there. And the prospects for the holes to be done are amazing. I cleared hole one this morning and put in some time opening up the middle of sixteen's fairway. Both will need some chainsaw work to drop two or three more trees before we can fine tune 'em. sweeeeeeeet. Rick will chainsaw as much as possible during this week leading up to Saturday's work day. Normally a day or two before each organized workday someone posts a "woohoo, let's rally the troops" over-the-top motivational speech designed to get people to turn out and lend a hand in building the course.
I see no need for that this time.
We had a total of four fairways to clear on the new back nine. One is complete, fourteen is halfway done and so is sixteen. Sure, hole two is currently laughing at us, but come rain, snow, or flaming hail, this weekend we're ripping its heart out. You're all absolutely welcome (and invited) to come help, but I see no need for a "yes we can" style crowd unifying chant. Two "half" fairways and one full means there's essentially just two holes standing between us and putting this course in the ground. That alone should be enough motivation to get a workforce together. First annual FOD Icebowl, anyone? i have always wanted to play, but never knew of anywhere to go to learn or even try it for the first time...
how does one go about it, is there a certain type of disc?
are there posted directions for playing or rules? Yep, www.fodcourse.com has the details about our course as well as links to information and online disc stores. The weather may not be the best for playing this weekend, but we'll be there Saturday if you'd like to speak with someone in person. Just look for the guys with the bush weaponry - we'll point you in the right direction.  cool! thanks!
i would love to head out there saturday, but have plans, so i am going to have to make it out there another day!
i am really looking forward to it!
Tiz aslight possibility me ship will be close tar yar DG'n shores fer sum morn'in bushwack'in... aye.  "You wanna live forever!!!!" Flash Gordon
awesome job today: phibernaut, rick, josh, Pig and jbyrd. We carved up the 16th and the beginning of the new 2nd.
Once we finish up the 2nd and tie up a couple of loose ends on the other couple of woods holes, we can move to the 5 totally open field holes that on the other side of the park.
Moving right along. One step closer to superFOD. We got a lot done today on the course. Thanks to Rick and the little chainsaw that could. We cleared about 50% of the first hole dragging tons of shrubs and trees away from the fairway. We are getting closer to tackling the open holes which will be a breeze compared to the jungle that we are currently clear cutting. Hey:
We are going to continue construction on the back nine at the FOD this Saturday the 29th at 10 AM. Let me know if you want to help out. Remember: no actual lanscapatorial (should be a word) skill needed - just a good pair of work gloves.  We've made some good strides towards completing the back nine at the FOD. Currently we've cleared about 3 of the 9 holes. With 5 of the remaining holes needing zero clearing since they will be located in open grass areas of the park - we are ahead of schedule.
Here's the before and after picture on Hole 2 to give you an idea of the kind hole we are punching through these woods. If you look closely, you can barely see the orange flags which mark the fairway in the picture on the left.
Stay tuned and let me know if you want to help out. We are probably getting back out there this Saturday December 6th.
hey rico!
i got your message at the discussion and would love to get out there sometime soon, but with my daughter, who is 8, it is hard for me to get out there with these chilly temps...once spring rolls around i would love to join you guys in helping clear the course and build and learn to play!
keep me updated on when you will be out there though as i will try to get out there while my folks are around to watch her through the new year!  Hey guys...we are getting closer and closer to the 18-hole crown jewel of a disc golf course that has come to be known as simply: "the FOD". Here is the sponsorship form in case you or anyone you know may be interested in supporting this project.
Here is my second attempt at posting the sponsorship form. The first one was at a bad res.
[IMG]http://i275.photobucket.com/albums/jj299/riconess22/FODSponsorshipForm.jpg[/IMG] Rico:
Can you email support [at] hackettstownlife [dot] com a Word or PDF version of it? I'll convert it to PDF if needed and post it here.
And most likely, HL will be sponsoring a hole.  I've been somewhat MIA for a bit, as my kids are crazy. But it won't be too long before the JiveDig boys will all be frequenting FOD's.
Merry Christmas Noah! He even sleeps with his Magnet.
 Thanks a lot to the people that came out this past weekend to help.
We had seven people come out and got a lot done after losing a couple of weekends due to snow. We pretty much finished clearing and grooming all of new "1" and "2". "14" and "16" are also pretty close to complete. So we are on the brink of starting to work on the grass holes which will be a breeze compared to the beasts we just finished in the woods.
Here's a couple of pictures of us trying to bring down 30 ft vines on "1". It finally took all of us pulling in unison to bring it down...nevertheless the featured single swing attempts we're valiant yet futile efforts.
 We also updated the course website to include a more detail story of the "FOD" and how it came to be, plus more construction/course pics, and disc recommendations.
 Hey...It looks like we might get a minor thaw for this Saturday (35! holy heat wave). Anyone interested in helping taking down some trees...say noonish (we'll bring the tools, no worries)? A couple more good days out there and we'll be 100% cleared and ready for tee boxes.
Unfortunately, as far as tee boxes are concerned, we are stuck until the ground thaws, but there is plenty of other stuff we can do above ground until then.
this Sunday we are working the last hole that needs brush work removal. Since it's supposed to be gorgeous (45 degrees), everything should thaw nicely in time for next weekend when the tee box work begins. Let me know if you wanna help. We'll be there at 10 AM Saturday. Hey! Anyone still awake here? I've read the posts and played the course once! A lot of fun. Nice balance. I've put down my lid and actually picked up a few golf discs --- watch out now.... Still seems like there is stuff to do. Are there still peeps on it? I'd be into helping. Just sending a balloon up to see if this is still an active discussion board. i'm here. just played a few of the new holes for the first time. didn't get through all though. had to head out early.
i can't wait to try them all through though. here comes the nice weather!!! Hey guys, long time no talk. It's been a while since we've posted to this forum unfortunately (partly due to site issues), but general Fields of Dreams course conversation continues over at the following link:
http://www.nynjdiscgolf.com/phpBB/viewtopic.php?t=3588
Course work continues. Rico and Rick put together a great set of steps on both new 16 (plus catwalk!) and 18. New signs are on the way and will hopefully make their appearance in the next few days (this weekend?). I've been slowly making progress with my trusty steel rake - new hole one is cleaned up minus some stuff that needs weed whacking. At this point we don't have any plans for future workdays, but any general course cleaning is much appreciated (downed branches, etc). For now, the best way to support the course is to keep the build team motivated by enjoying a game or two. :) Alright dudes, glad to see you're still active. I will tranfer to the other forum, hope to talk there. Otherwise, KEPP UP THE GOOD WORK!
The course is alot of fun. Keeping those monster weeds down around #1 chains will be a summer long work I think.... The strange bamboo like things around hole one can be kicked into oblivion at your discretion. I found running through them while swinging something works well and makes for some funny home movies. So far that's the only spot I've seen that screams "help me", but it could easily be controlled with weed killer or something. I've always been a big fan of green fairways rolling through the wooded areas of the course - hopefully the sprouting ground cover stays manageable. If not, stop by and say hello sometime - I'll be the idiot walking through the woods with a lawn mower. Eric - Washington Township, (Morris County) is interested in building a course at Schooley Mtn. Park in the township. Would you be willing to give them some advice on how to go about constructing a course? Also, I wanted to let you know there is an Ultimate Frisbee group playing at Turkey Brook Field in Mt. Olive in the evenings. Cool - I've been itching to see a game of Ultimate for some time now. Do you have any further details?
I wasn't going to say anything, but the team is already in talks with the Long Valley Recreation Committee regarding the Schooley Mountain Park option. I didn't want to get everyone pumped up over a "possibility" until we were further along in the process, but a few different locations are being scouted. Our lead designer (Rico) has met/been in contact with all the right people and a handful of them came out to play a few holes at FOD while we were placing the baskets on the "back" nine. Schooley's is an interesting option due to the elevation changes and (from what I've seen) the area isn't overgrown so a new course could go in relatively quickly. I'll let you guys know once I have anything solid to report (location, work days, etc).
Cubby digs SuperFOD: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0ByAYnZSUBU This Disc Golf thing sounds really fun. What kind of disc do I need to get for my 15-yr-old and I to play? Does it cost anything? Are total beginners frowned upon?
Thanks. We frown upon no one. Seeing people enjoying the course makes it worth having put a year into its construction. Feel free to ask any course volunteers for advice, assistance, etc. We enjoy helping/meeting players - its all part of running a good course.
Playing doesn't cost a thing other than the equipment (though my son suckers me into picking up milkshakes on the way out each time). Visit www.marshallstreetdiscgolf.com for the best selection, pricing & people. Their three piece starter kits start at $15, (http://marshallstreetdiscgolf.com/proddetail.asp?prod=starter_lightning) though nothing is stopping you from starting with a single midrange or multipurpose disc. My nephew is 15 and throws disc weights around 169 grams to help you ballpark the weight to choose. I'm 30 and throw 172 gram plastic - its all personal preference you'll develop over time. You can specify a general weight range (166-168, etc) on the product page right before adding it to your shopping cart. Putting "My son is a first time player, is 15 years old and likes the color blue - please tailor the starter package based on what you feel would be appropriate" in the order comments also works. I order on Sunday and the box arrives sometime Wednesday without fail. Its a really cool place to visit too (if you don't mind the 7 hour round trip). Let me know if there is anything else we can help you with - hope to see you on the course soon! Thanks for the great information, Eric! i'll second that notion. i've introduced the game to at least 10 people so far. even the ones that shot 30 over the first 6 times they played had a great time. and so did i.
except for the 20 minutes spent searching for the lost discs. . . .
:) Agreed - lost discs are no fun. New players may want to start with the open holes (9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14) to help build accuracy. Personally, I like to visit the baseball field up the road - their outfield fence is marked with the distances from home plate so I have a reference to help guesstimate how far I've thrown. Eric - sorry for the delay in getting back to you. I am trying to get a schedule for the Ultimate Frisbee games at Turkey Brook in Mt. Olive. The team is just practicing right now and the games are scheduled to begin in the summer. When I get the schedule I'll post it for you. No problem - thanks for the info! About the Ultimate....
I live in mansfield and want to get involved. Can you post the particulars as soon as you can? I am itching to get out and play.... Shongo - I will try to get you a contact number. Most of the players are college age - high school age. The Ultimate Frisbee group will be practicing at Turkey Brook Park in Mt. Olive tomorrow around 4 P.M. I wonder if its a couple friends playing or if its an organized thing with towns playing other towns? Sorry - I found out the people playing at Turkey Brook Park in Mt. Olive will be there around 5 P.M. I hope I didn't inconvenience anyone. There is a $20 registration fee to join the group and you must sign a waiver of liablity, (if you are a minor your parents must also sign). There are games scheduled for the summer but I haven't been able to get the schedule. Right now the group is practicing so if you are interested just stop by and introduce yourself. Small update from Rico on the Schooleys Mountain opportunity. He says they're much more selective regarding what can and cannot be done in building the course where as FOD was a "do whatever you want" arrangement. That's not to say the opportunity is dead, but whenever you get a design team at odds with a recreation committee there's going to be compromises. In the end we're just volunteers on their land so we have to abide by their rules. Hopefully we can construct fairways with little to no affect on the land, keeping everyone happy. I'll keep you all posted.
In the meantime, there have been murmurs regarding an upcoming workday at FOD to help keep the attacking vegetation at bay. I'll keep you updated on this as well in case any of you would like to lend a hand. I played the course yesterday (par from the shorts!) and though there are a few holes that need some polish, most of the course is still in good shape growth wise. One and two need weed work but that was the largest eye sore I noticed. Let me know if there's anything else you guys feel needs to be done. I'll likely be settling back into a "workday per weekend" schedule starting sometime in June, so let's load up the to-do lists...  Hey guys:
The course is open for play and I'm still trying to get someone in town to sell discs. I am trying Herbie's Ice Cream through Josh (a relative) but have had little success. If you know anyone that has a store front anywhere in town with decent operating hours - ask them if they want to sell discs. I'll buy their first lot for them. If it works out and they want to keep going - they can just pay me back and pay for the next one and so forth. Whoever decides to jump on this will be promoted not only on the course but also on the web site. I get emails and phone calls from random people looking to buy discs, but don't want to wait for internet sales and want to physically hold a disc. I'm seriously on the brink of just buying bunch and selling them out of the back of my car.
BTW: we are doing league play every Thursday at 5:30 pm. All that means is that a bunch of people show up to play, we pair people according to skill and we play cool formats like doubles, one and done, etc...really fun. Don't worry about skill levels (we get the full range). Also, we have an ace pot growing from week to week. If you want to be in it, you throw in a dollar. Whoever hits an ace eventually during league play collects the pot. Warwick (who has a great course and league of their own) has their ace pot up to 250 dollars...whoa. We are up to a whopping 6 dollars (after only one week), but hey it's a start.
rico - Good Luck. Try Nykun's store just down Rt 46 west from Cemetary Rd. He has always been very good abot stocking things. Ask for Bobby or Cathy. lost a blue mid range disc on hole number three.... from the tee I overshot the basket we looked for twenty minutes in the brush and bank leading up to the river with no success, it could ve made the river... first lost disc in about fifteen times playing the course, I figured it had to come sooner or later with the way I throw them.
If you happen to find the disc and read this it would be great to have it back.
Thanks  I find discs all the time. I tell people to write their name and number with a sharpie.
I even put one in the river at Tinicum (a course on the Delaware) to find it a year later whne I was playing in their weekly doubles play with a random pairing. A couple holes in the kid I was playing says, "wait a minute. Your name is Rico? Rico Escobar? " I was like, "yeeeees?" "I think I have your disc dude!" We went to his ratty old car and from the back seat he digs out my sweet Aurora perfect approach disc. He found it in the canal when he put on waiters to retrieve one of his own. Moral of the story - write your contact info on it. You never know. I personally have no interest in keeping other peoples discs. If they don't have a name on them I just end up giving them to curious people poking around the course.
The only reason he didn't contact me is because my cell phone number changed so when he called the number on the disc he got someone else.
There will be an Ultimate Frisbee game tonight around 5-6 P.M. at Turkey Brook Farm Park in Mount Olive. There will be another game on Monday, June 29 at the same place, same time. There will be two other games - one on Friday, July 10 and another on Monday, July 13. This topic has not been commented on in more than 6 months.
We recommend you create a new topic if you wish to discuss this.
| 
joeguy 
chiman 
tigerfan 
rico 
CrunchyMom 
cbel 
rico 
muffin 
Rich 
Firefly 
RSS News Feed