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Money Money Money

7/18/2016

So I have been getting a lot of inquiries about Summer of Dubz. How much is the payout, will we guarantee same payout as last year, how come no divisions, can we do a mixed division.

All of these are great questions.

1) Mixed Division. This is really same answer as all the other divisions. There are many opportunities to for mixed, masters, AM's during the summer. We started this tourney because we felt we would try something different. We do not do player packs and payout between 85 and 90 percent of what we take in, in cold hard cash. There is no sandbagging and no disputes about where your reg fee is going.

2) Are you going to guarantee last years payouts? Maybe someday when we have a corporate sugar daddy, we may. But as it stands Keene Disc Golf Club cannot front/guarantee 2500$ in prize money plus the cost of putting on the event. I frankly dont know many local organizations that could!

3) So what are we paying? Well considering it sounds like many people are sitting on the sidelines waiting to see who signs up...this is where we stand today 7/18. We have 11 teams signed up and if we played tomorrow we would pay out 400$ to first, 250$ to second and 100$ to third. (give or take a few bucks.) And like last year, pays out to almost 1/3 of the field. Not bad...

So that is where Summer of Dubz stands. We know we are competing with other tournaments and in New England disc golf nowadays it is almost impossible not too. At very least, next year we hopefully will not be on same weekend as Blueberry Jam given its proximity to Otter Brook!

So there you go! Grab a partner, bring your A game, win some ching!

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Otter Brook and the ACoE

3/22/2016

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Derek and I spent an hour with John, our contact at the dam, talking about what has been going on and where we are headed. First and foremost John is on our side. While we complain about the slow wheels of bureaucracy, he is actually in the trenches trying to get done what needs to get done and we appreciate that!!

So cut to the chase Bob..when do we get Tees on back 9????

Not right now and most likely not till later in the summer.

Not what we wanted to hear, but it is what it is.

I will be happy to go into the various land use options that had been proposed and scrapped, but the bottom line is that when this is all said and done we will have a rock solid agreement with ACoE. We will have control over the course and we will continue to own baskets and tees. Again I won't bore you with cost sharing arrangements, but that is how some dams do it. Nothing wrong with it, but not what ACoE (or KDGC) wanted in this case.

So part of the conversation that went very well was a lot of the work we have done in last year as far as being a NH Corp and tax ID numbers is really going to help us now. We are charting new ground with this type of agreement as far as ACoE and disc golf goes. We are setting up a strong local org that will be responsible for the course and it maintenance and upkeep. ACoE will be a partner in this, but Keene Disc Golf will be the face of this course. And this is possible because we have dedicated members and a strong balance sheet.

But with this agreement is going to come some responsibility. We will have to go though channels to cut trees. We will have to deal with litter so our first 5 years are not our last. We will need to be good stewards of the property. We can't just build and forget. But also with this agreement will come some perks from ACoE, like increased parking down by Hole 1 and possibly improved parking at the top. (It sounded awesome) No time frame on either, but its on their radar.

In the mean time we continue to play and blame errant shots on poor tees and lack of pole sawing. League keeps rolling and our Tourney schedule is not impacted at all.

If you want to know more, lets play a round and we can talk about 4(d) rules, chain saw certs, deer yards, stream setbacks and more :-)

And that is where we stand!

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Good Stuff

3/3/2016

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I am really excited about this years membership "drive". Last year we started with 22 members and finished with 40. This year we are starting with 36 and I know we will go up from there. Its just great seeing so many new players and so many folks enjoying Otter Brook and everything it has to offer. We recently hit the 20 player mark for league and it is only going to get better.

Hopefully I will have more details soon, but we will be expanding league to accommodate more new and recreational players, and we have projects planned to improve the experience at Otter Brook, namely tee pads on back 9 and more picnic tables and benches. Plus another 100 smaller projects to improve play and improve the aesthetics of the course.

This to-do list can be pretty overwhelming sometimes. But when you see people signing up, taking on new roles, out playing, improving their game, having fun and making new friends..the years that have been put into this are SO worth it.

So I want to finish by giving a huge thanks to all the folks before me that got this wonderful thing started and all the new people that are going to keep it moving forward!! I can't wait to see what 2016 brings!!

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2016 Update

2/19/2016

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Things are moving for 2016!! First I want to thank everyone who has volunteered to run events this year. It made this old man happy to see so many folks pitching in to help make a great year! Again Thanks.

So here is where we stand on a couple of things:

The Club. Keene Disc Golf Club is in great shape! We have a strong balance sheet, a strong online presence, dedicated members and new people joining in all the time. last year we sold 40 tags, this year the goal is 60. We have become a NH non-profit corporation and will soon have a new club bank act and PO Box. While this sounds like it is making things more complicated, it is actually making things easier.

The Course. This is an area that I wish I had more news. Heard from ACoE this week and they assure me that our agreement is moving forward. Until all this is finalized, we are still in no work mode. But once we get the OK...watch out!! Biggest project for 2016 will be Tees for the back 9. Along with that will be more benches and picnic tables and a couple new bridges. And of course ongoing tree work on back 9. Pruning, pole sawing etc etc. Trust me, we have a list to keep us going for the next couple of years!!

The Season. Our Tourney schedule is pretty much set. The one kind of change is that we will not be a Live Free and Drive stop this year. They wanted to pair down the number of events and that combined with scheduling conflicts, we decided not to host an event in 2016. We will throw a hell of an event in 2017!!!

The League. After talking with many of our players we have made some changes to Otter Brook Sunday League. "League" is going to be more singles / tag oriented and more competitive . 3 weeks a month will be singles and once a month will be random doubles. But we also heard from our less competitive players. So this summer while the park is open (Memorial Day to Labor Day), we will have "Recreational League" on Saturdays. It will be free to play and the group may mix up the games and possibly the times. The idea is that this is NOT a beginner league, but a more flexible, fun, and social type of play. It also happens that it will be a great way to introduce new players to Otter Brook.

The new "League" will be starting as soon as we get our new tags, which will be ordered March 1. Im guessing 2nd or third Sunday of March.

We believe that we now have enough members to support both formats and I think we will see many people playing both.

The Membership. We are taking early bird memberships now till 2/29. Early bird members get a shirt, Tag, towel and OB sticker. After the 29th you just get a tag...and maybe a sticker if I have any left.

Membership helps the club financially, qualifies you for ace pot in league, and club championship (and yes I know we have said that a couple times, but its really going to happen this year)

MEMBERSHIP HERE

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Otter Brook 2016

1/15/2016

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So we have just about finalized our schedule for tournaments and League for 2016.

Birdie Bash - May 21
Birdie Bash is a super fun beginner disc golf event. Great intro into how a tournament works, very low key and lots of fun prizes & schwag. Its fun if you play a lot and is a great event to bring someone new too. Also there is a women division and jr division.

Check out http://www.birdiebash.com/players.html for details.

BUT... We need someone to step up and be Tournament Director for this event. This is also a great time to get your feet wet running an event. Vibram makes it super easy and since this is our 3rd one we have folks that know the ropes and are more than willing to help out along the way. If you want to step up and be an Otter Brook hero, email me at knhdgc@gmail.com

Summer Slap - June 11th
This is going to be a fund raiser for KDGC. Looking like cool prizes and a sweet BBQ lunch. And make some ching to continue to improve Otter Brook in general and tees for the back 9 specifically. We will have more details on this come spring.

Summer of Dubz - August 6th
Last year was our first year and we sold out, had some of the best players in NE and got great feedback on this event. Now we want to bump it up a notch. We will be looking for volunteers to help with all phases of this event. We will be looking for field officials (spot and make OB determinations) people to line up hole sponsors or event sponsors, scorers, parking, grilling. video...basically whatever skills you have and want to use to make this a great event. So we want players, event staff and spectators!

KDGC Championship - TBD
We have been talking about this for 2 years now. And we still are!! Here is another event that we need a TD. This will not be a huge event as it will be limited to paid members. Part of being TD is picking when you want to do it. Being a TD is not rocket science...If I can pull it off, I am pretty sure you can! Club will be kicking in for food and prizes.

Otter Brook Open - October 8th
Bit of change for Otter Brook Open. We have decided to move to October for a variety of reasons. Partly because there are so many events going on in Sept, the fact that it will not be a NEFA event (still PDGA) and how gorgeous the course is in October. Again we are looking for sponsors and will need volunteers. Also we will be looking at doing a normal 18...no more beach shot. We will have a competition either at lunch or at the end that will incorporate the Horse shoe pit!!

The other part of doing a "normal" 18 is that payers will then get a more accurate player rating for the course.

Solstice Scrambles - December 17th
Lets just say you will want to register early!

And if you have an idea for an event (Legacy, Ace Race, Trilogy, Halloween) its all good. We just need you to take lead on it. We have folks that will help you out!

2016 League

2015 league was great. We had a ton of regulars and all and all, while not perfect, it was pretty successful. One of the things that we started hearing was that some players were not into playing for money and sometimes felt over matched. And for me that is one of the great things about DG...you can play whatever level you desire. And to that end we are going to have 2 league days.

Pay league will continue. But now it will be singles 3 times a month and random dubz the last league day of the month. The second day is going to be a free league or Recreational League. The initial thought is it will only be when park is open (Memorial Day to Labor Day) and will be possibly faster games (play 9 holes, Birdie Bash rules etc) maybe varying times. The idea is to have a free, more laid back experience.

BUT...again we need someone or someones to step up and take ownership of the new Rec League. While there is no money to collect, we do need someone to welcome new players, organize the game that is going to be played and use Facebook to let folks know time and game for the upcoming week.

So, we have cool things planned. But it does not happen by magic. We need folks to step up and give some of their time and expertise to make all this happen. Birdie Bash, Club championship and Rec league will not happen unless people step up. The cool thing is that we are 3 years in now and we have a pretty good handle on how these events are run. We WILL help you (a lot), I promise.

There you go, the 2016 Otter Brook Disc Golf schedule.

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State of The Disc Golf Course

12/3/2015

3 Comments

2015 is coming to a close. It seems hard to believe the year is over, but then I look back at what has been accomplished this year and I am blown away by what has been done in a year. I am not even sure where to start.

We are an 18 hole course!
That of course is the big news for the year! We raised money, we cut trees, we cleared fairways and we planted baskets. We brought an 18 hole experience to the Monadnock region! Thats a big deal!! Big time shout out to all that made this happen this spring!!

We hosted 4 great tournaments!
While our tourney schedule was basically the same as last year (with 9 holes) we did them ALL BETTER. Once again we introduced many new people to competition and disc golf with the Birdie Bash. Then we put Otter Brook on the map with Summer of Dubz. We quickly followed that with a sold out Otter Brook Open and will be finishing the year with the fun Solstice Scrambles. Players from all over New England came to play and the feedback for our events and especially our course has been outstanding

We ran a weekly league!
Sunday league was a blast this year. We had 40 paid tag holders and weekend after weekend of fun random dubz. Between 8 and 17 people a Sunday came to play (never made 20 like I thought we would) and November had the highest attendance. Tags flew all over the place and we had great weather.

We strengthened KDGC
We have 40+ paid members, a strong balance sheet, and have been working with ACoE to formalize and strengthen our relationship with them. We are also officially a NH non-profit Corporation which I believe will have benefits in 2016. The breadth of support that we received in our fundraising drive and the work put into the course itself and our events all point to good things in the next few years.

We are getting better!
We had many people playing in state and regional tournaments and doing very well. (and some not so well...hey I try) We also are now participating with Royalston Fish & Game and fielding Team Otter Fish for Team Challenge. It also has been awesome to watch players that didn't know their jump putt from their anhyzer earlier in the year, putting it together to become solid players. The one downside is we have more players than ever struggling with plastic addiction...

So what is next?
Well part of that is up to you. We will be having club meeting in Jan and we will be talking about what is up for 2016. Tee Pads for back 9 will be the major "construction project" and we are waiting for final OK from ACoE. We will also be deciding what kinds of tournaments we want to do (do we want more Trilogy Challenge, Ace Race type events). What is league going to look like next year. There has been talk about making Sundays free and more casual random dubz day and maybe turning Saturdays into more competitive singles/ match /tags kind of play.

And we want to know what YOU want. More social stuff? More benches? More women playing? This kind of stuff wont happen unless we hear from our players. So don't assume that someone else will suggest, or that it will just happen. WE really really want to hear from YOU. This is OUR course, but YOU make it happen.

So everyone hoist your favorite beverage in the air and congratulate yourself on a year well done!!

Cheers!!!

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What a long strange trip it has been.

8/26/2015

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On September 26th we will be finishing the last major project on the Otter Brook 18...Back 9 Tees!!!

Almost 3 years ago to the day (Sept 27 2012) KDGC got the green light to start cutting, trimming, digging, sweating, bleeding, lugging, setting, and building our course. 3 straight summers of cutting this jewel out the wooded rough. 3 summers of more cutting than putting for many.

Many that were there at the beginning never saw completion. Many that now help have no idea how this got started. But here we are, ready to make the final push for tees on the back 9. And it just seems poetic to finish construction on the anniversary of the ACoE OK!

And the 3 years we are talking about...that is just construction! There were years before that just trying to figure out where to put it. Surry Recreation area and Robin Hood have both been in the mix at some point. I cant even count the revisions that were made to the current course before it got the OK. Flooding in the spring of 2012 brought about major design changes and made the area inaccessible for weeks. Before that dozens of walk throughs and meetings occurred. Fundraising for an idea is also never easy. But these guys pushed for years before they got the big thumbs up in September of 2012.

First a few cleared fairways, then some baskets, then a playable 9, then tees for those 9. Then 10 playable. Then back 9 fairways...and baskets...and now tees

Now its our turn. A lot of people laid the groundwork for this. Now it is time to finish this. Whether you have been along for the ride for years and cant count the hours you have put in...Or you just discovered Otter Brook this summer, WE NEED YOUR HELP for this last push. For you hearty souls that remember the front 9 tees, this will suck less than that, so don't be scared away :-) We have more club members, we have access roads, we have experience building Tees. we have the money.

And we can see the light at the end of the tunnel!

We need all kinds of help. From tee box builders, to grilling up lunch. From staining to tamping (dont know what that is? We have certified instructors...) Bottom line is WE NEED PEOPLE!

Give us a day, and at the end of that day I will give you one of the most beautiful courses in New England!

September 26th....mark it on your calander!!

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SHOW ME THE MONEY!!!

6/5/2015

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Yep, the famous line from the movie Jerry Maguire!

Thats where we are at. Don't get me wrong, we are doing ok, the support we have gotten is amazing. We have gotten small donations, business sponsors, folks handing me a 20$. We have had friends offer to give us radio time, do an article in The Sentinel. Local disc golf clubs have stepped up…yes I am talking about you Top of The Hill and the gang at Devens. My Mom threw us a donation , and my son who does not play donated to help support the cause. My ex dropped some ching!

And so now we want to wrap this up. I WANT to wrap this up. Our goal was 5000.00$ and we have raised about half that. And while I have been pestering the disc golf world to chip a few bucks, the locals have been putting in the time and sweat cutting and clearing the back 9. These guys see a fairway where most just see trees. They imagine killer drives where none now exist. They have already seen that big putt you will hit next year on Hole 12! And they have also seen that nasty roll away…The locals at Otter Brook are putting in the time, the effort and their own money to make this happen. And for selfish reasons. Very selfish reasons

We want one of the best courses in New England in our back yard.

And as selfish as that may be, we also want to share it with the rest of New England. For free. Any time you want. And not free with purchase…Free Free. And then you can go from Otter Brook and check out Tully, or Pinnacle. Throw down the hill at Sunappe, hit Wilton, or go check out the new Eric McCabe course in Manchester. Wednesday?…Play league at Top of The Hill (tell Marty I said Hi!). There is a 9 hole over in Brattleboro and if you are feeling adventerous head over to Willmington to play with the guys at Beaver Lanes. All this is within an hour or so of Otter Brook.

So back to Jerry Maguire…

If you are part of this disc golf community…Show us the money. You know you and your friends are going to come play when we are an 18 hole course. Show us the money! Seriously… think about what we are asking! Please give us money to buy baskets so we can bust our ass to give you an exceptional course to play. For Free.

And I have to to think that is worth a couple bucks!

http://www.gofundme.com/ofr7r0

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Sunday Dubz! Summer Edition.

6/3/2015

176 Comments

Sunday league spring season is over. Bryan Lake takes the 1 slot (to bad his tag does not match) after a 3 hole playoff with Shane Bilodeau. Kevin Lydon took the 3rd spot and Rob Breckenridge took 4th. We had 22 different players come out and raised 302.00$ for the Back 9 and paid out 276.00$ in prizes. The Ace Pot did not get hit and now stands at 147.00$ And for you Ace pot lurkers out there…you must be a tag holding KDGC member to collect!

The new season starts this Sunday and we are sticking with same schedule, but are going to give the scoring a slight twist. We will go over at league, but basically you get a point for everyone you finish ahead of and a bonus for 1st through 3rd. The idea being a win with 20 people playing is worth more than when 8 people are playing.

And like this spring we will have some prizes for the top finishers.

Now when I read this it sounds super formal and very competitive. Don't let the fact we play for money, and keep track scare you away. EVEYONE is welcome at Sunday Doubles. We have kids as young as 11 that come out and play, we have old guys ( ok I guess that is a bunch of us), we have women (well woman, but we are always looking for more) and we have teens that come out and play. We have people that have played for years and we have new comers that just started playing this spring.

Deal is, if you want to play…come on out. Honest, its a good group of people and a lot of fun. And I guarantee it will improve your game.

Details: Costs 5$ to play. 3$ goes to prizes, 1$ to the course and 1$ goes to Ace pot.(Hole in one) For the summer we will be meeting in "lower" Otter Brook. Just follow the road, I don't think you can miss us. We draw for partners at 9:30 and then hit the course. For the summer we will be playing 10 holes plus playoff if need be. Soon…very soon we will be playing 18, but right now a round takes about an hour and we are out of there around 11.

More Details: The last Sunday of the month is more competitive as we play 18 holes, stroke play for bag tags and glory. What are bag tags you ask? Well each KDGC member has a tag with a number. 1 through 10 are gold metal tags, and the rest are not! Tags are an informal ranking of members. You can challenge your friends anytime, and swap tags anytime…but the last Sunday of the month is when the most tags come out, and you can see how you rank against the rest of the club. You can become a member and get a tag (I think we are at 28 or 29) for 20$

So come on out. This is all for fun and we would love to see you!

176 Comments

Live Free and Drive

5/28/2015

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The Beginning at Top of the Hill in Canterbury NH

I am not going to lie, I had my doubts about a NH Point series. Sure it was a cool idea, and VT has one and so does Maine..so why not us? I went to the first meeting and again came away thinking that the intentions were good, but that organizing something like this takes more than good intentions. Mike Roberts and Ian Craveiro had the vision (and it was a great vision) but I was still skeptical. And I was right, there were Facebook squabbles, the west side of the state felt left out, vendors were pulling out of tourneys. And I watched and said to myself "I told you so".

Man was I wrong!! For those of you that know me…I go down fighting before admitting I was wrong. But 4 events into the Tour I could not be more wrong. 4 solid events, over 175 players, a new web site, timely standings, money in the bank and starting to build a NH state organization to keep thing moving into the future.

And the reason for the success is that a ton of people have been a part of this. People stepping up to be TD's, vendors helping out, people being flexible. But looking back now, 2 folks really stepped up when it would have been easy to bail. And instead of bailing they rallied, brought folks together and got the tour off on the right foot. First NH tour event ever…no problem. Last minute change of date…got that handled. 4 new temp holes...piece of cake. 90 players descending on your course...bring it on. Marty Vaughn and Jim Bailey really brought their A game!! And by doing so, not just ran a successful first event, I really think it set the tone for the rest of the tour. And there is a lot of tour left.

Closest upcoming events for KDGC members are Pinnacle on 6/7, Wilton on 7/19, The Hollows on 8/2, and our own Otter Brook Open on 9/13. For a full schedule, standings and all that good stuff go check out the Live Free and Drive site at www.nhdiscgolf.org

And 2 Keene Disc Golf Club members are making runs at their divisions. Bryan Lake just took 1st place in AM1 at Moose Mountain and Rob Breckenridge is at the top of the standings in MM1.

So pick a weekend and go play an event. I guarantee you will meet some great folks and have a blast.

Bob

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Money Money Money

Otter Brook and the ACoE

Good Stuff

2016 Update

Otter Brook 2016

State of The Disc Golf Course

What a long strange trip it has been.

SHOW ME THE MONEY!!!

Sunday Dubz! Summer Edition.

Live Free and Drive

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