Woodridge course

[deucemeister]

  Went to the new 9 hole course in Castaldo Park in Woodridge yesterday.  They are just finishing the last 3 tee boxes and have all the tee signs and poles in the ground (but not the baskets, yet).   Grand opening is next Satuday, June 28th, but shopo dhave it in place early next week for play.   Looks like a nice park with a mix of short, medium and a few long holes.    Located on 71st St. one block south / 2 blocks East of Hobson / Rt. 53

[deucemeister]

 Course is now in; All tees in and 6 baskets installed ; the last 3 baskets are going in Wednesday morning. but poles are in place; talked with the workers doing the course today,  since all the baskets they installed had the numbers facing in the wrong directions (duhh !!), so they will fix that tomorrow.
  One hole 185 ft.,  most from 220-260 ft., one 335 and one 405.   Very nice concrete tees and  tee signs along with DGA baskets (glad they were not Innova's); lots of big trees and a few hills but all holes deucable and most are pretty easy.   All in all,  this is a novice/intermediate course, and any good players should expect to shoot a 6-8 under.   I  would not recommend driving any dikstance to play here, but it is the closest course to my home.. 

[skipache]

Course is now in; All tees in and 6 baskets installed ; the last 3 baskets are going in Wednesday morning. but poles are in place; talked with the workers doing the course today,  since all the baskets they installed had the numbers facing in the wrong directions (duhh !!), so they will fix that tomorrow.
  One hole 185 ft.,  most from 220-260 ft., one 335 and one 405.   Very nice concrete tees and  tee signs along with DGA baskets (glad they were not Innova's); lots of big trees and a few hills but all holes deucable and most are pretty easy.   All in all,  this is a novice/intermediate course, and any good players should expect to shoot a 6-8 under.   I  would not recommend driving any dikstance to play here, but it is the closest course to my home.. 

awesome.....

[deucemeister]

 If anyone is interested, the grand opening for the course is this Saturday June 28th from noon to 3 pm; free food will be served and a free golf disc to the first 100 who show up.  I'll be there with some of the other oldtime veterans for demonstrations, etc,   including Gary Lewis, Wrong Way Corrigan and others.....

Doug

[skipache]

as invigorating as this sounds.... i will be going to "the return of greatness" the Greater Peoria Open

[deucemeister]

Course is completed;  All baskets now in and facing the right way; actually a beter course than I thought it was going to be after playing last night; I believe the distances for holes are as follows;

1). 280
2). 300
3). 405
4). 185
5). 235
6). 260
7). 235
. 265
9). 335

   Many large trees throughout park and the course, but many are stripped from the gypy moths; they should recover, and will be a more difficult venue when the leaves return.  #4 and #9 are the best holes.  Might get crowded once it catches on.  O'Brien  Park, about 2 miles away in Downers Grove is also getting a redesign with new tees and baskets going in next month   

[can't putt]

Castaldo Park

Fun 9 Holer.  Thanks, Steve Olsen, for all your hard work on this course design and implementation! 

[Mukey]

Fun little 9 if you're in the area. #3 is a nicely designed hole, with the risk/reward option of going over the shule or playing safe to the opening for your upshot

[SteveO]

I hope everyone enjoys the course. The site required stuffing
10 pounds into a 5 pound bag. Neighbors, and other park
activities, kept my creative leash pretty short. I tried to stretch
things out where I could. I assured the park district that shorter
tees could be emplaced for the youngsters when they wanted
to have activities specifically for them. The other requirement,
also mandated by the park district, was to keep it simple enough
for casual players. They didn't want a course that would only
serve more advanced players. They wanted something for
everyone. Ya gotta work with whatcha got....

The course is seeing quite a few players in the afternoon
and on weekends, so I think it's gonna fly....

Fairway lengths, as follows:

1  280
2  300
3  405
4  185
5  235
6  255
7  275
8  250
9  330

2,515 total.
279.4 average length.
9 holes.
1 practice basket.
10 Chainstar baskets.
5 by 7 by 14 foot, flat, rough-broomed concrete tees. (aircraft carrier-sized!)

The Lombard league will be playing at Castaldo this Wednesday,
July 2nd, as The Taste of Lombard has shut down Madison Meadow
for the week. I haven't spoken to Steve Matul about the format for
the day, but I'd imagine it'll be 2 rounds of 9 holes. I'll try to get out
there Tuesday and flag alternate tees for the second round in case
Steve M doesn't get a chance to do it.

Castaldo is located on 71st St, 3/10 mi. east of IL Rte 53,
Woodridge, IL.

Seeya at Castaldo.

O

[SteveO]

Wednesday, the 2nd, brought the first organized event, and ace(!),
to CPDGC. The temporarily-displaced Lombard doubles
league had 17 players throw 2 rounds of 9 from the concrete
tees while severe weather threatened to close-in on us.
A brief, refreshing sprinkle failed to dampen perhaps 2 or 3
holes early into the first round. The shower was almost a non-event.
While the number of players was about half the usual turnout,
it fit the course well. The top 3 scores were: -14 (with an ace[?]),
-12 (my partner and I, with a bogey on #3....darn that rough!
who's the bum who designed this course?) and a 4-way tie at -10.
It was gettin' kinda dark when the playoff ended!
Dan Pastore aced the 185 foot tunnel-shot on #4 for, I think, $98.00.

As the park closes at 10PM, I'm planning to start a regular
glow night when the leaves start to turn colors in the Fall.
I've got the LED basket lights ready to go! Anyone interested?
Anticipating 2 or 3 rounds of 9 from the concrete, the field
would have to be limited to 36 players on any given evening.
The choice of which day of the week is still undecided. If it's
a weekday, I can't make the scene 'til 6:30 PM due to my
schedule at work. On the weekend, I'm good to go as soon
as it's dark. I used to put up the lights on as many as 3 to
5 nights/week on the Lombard 9 back in '00 and '01. It was
always an impromptu thing. If the weather was good, and a few
players showed up, we'd go for it. "Here's 3 lights. Go light-up
4, 5 and 6. Here's 3 for you. Go get 7, 8 and 9. I'll get 1, 2 and 3."
The technique worked well. We used to use heavy, lead-acid, gel-
cell batteries and halogen lamps. The lightweight LED lights I
have now are a flyweight by comparison...and just as bright.
And I won't be charging batteries all day long!

As long as everyone is on their best behavior, we shouldn't catch
any grief from the park district playing glow......  If not, I'm sure
the activity will be prohibited. Woodridge can be a bit conservative.
All players are encouraged to be on their best behavior at Castaldo.
The police are known to rapidly descend on the park and drive through
in squad cars, SUVs, quads and mountain bikes with NO warning!
Don't end up on the police blotter in the local paper!

<begin political rant>
The Shorewood Park District has threatened to pull their course due
to anti-social behavior. Mokena requires an ID card provided to players
who complete a free registration process. I've heard of bag searches
and other Nazi-like operations in Crystal Lake. Disc golf is a privilege,
not a right. Don't screw it up! <end political rant>

I'd like to try a dry run with the lights in a month, or so. Can emplace the
lights during the last daylight round of the day and play the final round
in the dark.....although I've been told I've been playing in the dark
for years.....

I'll put out some information when it looks like it's going to happen.

O

[deucemeister]

  Steve O, count me in...been looking to break out the old Midnight flyers.   And no problema about that best behavior thing........better put in that beverage permit app though.....
    WIll probably have to wait a few more weeks when it gets dark early enough to get rounds in before closing time
DD

[emagdnim]

Big thanks to Steve O for putting in 9 hole worthy of getting out and playing in the downers/lemont area.

I'd definitely be down to play some glow disc there, provided it happened before mid-august when I go back to school.

This is Ryan G. by the way steve, if you see this, give me a call about glow disc, i'd love to play at least once before I go back to school. 630-408-3766

[CEValkyrie]

4th new course today.

I want to thank Steve for all the thought and hard work that was put into this course. This is an example that all park districts should use when installing a course.

#1. The tee pads are very big.
#2. Tee signs are nice, accurate, and the course is easy to follow.
#3. The park isn't very big and Steve did a nce job with a variety of distances. It requires several shots that include mid range and drivers.
I threw a driver on holes 1,2,3, 9. Putter on 4. Mid Range on 5, 6, 7, & 8.

Even though this isn't the biggest and hardest 9 hole course I liked this course. I think this course maximized it's potential in this park.

[SteveO]

I had a lot of coaching and cajoling from Gary, Phil, Steve Matul and Steve Schlak.
Believe me, I couldn't have gotten such a nice layout without a lot of help!
I spent a gazillion hours out there throwing and thinking. Played quite a few rounds
when I could get "the guys" out there as well. A few more sets of eyes even more
years of experience were a big help. There's probably 150 years of disc golf experience
in the design.

A disc golf-friendly park district didn't hurt, either! From the Board President all the way down
the line. We've got a friend in Woodridge. Their satisfaction brought about the referral to
Orland Park! I'm hoping we've got a snowflake that's triggered an avalanche....

There's a turd in the punchbowl, however. Holes 1, 2 and 3 have become avenues of
encroachment into the back yards of the adjoining neighbors. The lesser-experienced
golfers, too many of whom lack the concern and forethought that is generally learned
through age and experience, are beating down the foliage, traipsing through people's
back yards and generally conducting themselves in a manner that is disruptive to
the quiet, semi-rural setting the neighbors have known for so many years. I've met with
the park district and swapped a few emails about the problem. We've agreed that
moving the baskets on 1, 2 and 3 is in order. As far away from the concerned neighbors
as we can safely move them. I'm hoping we can alleviate the problems. We must!
The success depends on the cooperation of the casual golf community in a big way.
We've got to spread the word. We all know the potential consequences of unhappy
neighbors.

[pickax]

 I was out at the Woodridge course this morning and ComEd was having most of the trees/rough under the power lines trimmed. Actually it is more like leveled. The rough on the left of hole one is gone so it is now a lot easier for chuckers to land in the neighbors yard. Talking to the work crew, it sounds like the tree line in the middle and right of three  (right of 9) is also slated for removal. This makes a very nice hole 3 very uninteresting. Steveo, if you are lurking, I'd suggest using your contacts with the park district to see if ComEds plans can change.

[deucemeister]

I was disappointed to see all the brush removed from holes 1 and 2; now just a wide open easy shot with no obstacles.   The crews were out there today but left before I arrived; the brush they removed did not appear to be interfering with the power lines, but it is their property and they have the final say to do what they want on Holes 1,2 and 3;  the rest of the park is Woodrigde pd property.  This is a shame to butcher the course already as it was not much of a challenge before with just one hole out of nine long enough for a driver; #3; all the rest are mid range tee shots.