The Grassman at West Branch State Park

Scott Campbell    March 25, 2015 at 6:27am

COURSE UPDATE: The course is in overall good condition, some of the tee areas are a Little muddy. A few of the tee sign were pulled off the post and are placed between the wood on the post, and should be replaced soon. The lake is close to being back to full.

COURSE UPGRADES:
We are moving forward with prepping the tee areas for cement tees. (I'm focusing on the long tees first.) A couple of tee pad forms will be created very soon, with more to come. The tee pads are going to be 4x12. T ... more

COURSE UPDATE: The course is in overall good condition, some of the tee areas are a Little muddy. A few of the tee sign were pulled off the post and are placed between the wood on the post, and should be replaced soon. The lake is close to being back to full.

COURSE UPGRADES:
We are moving forward with prepping the tee areas for cement tees. (I'm focusing on the long tees first.) A couple of tee pad forms will be created very soon, with more to come. The tee pads are going to be 4x12. The park will be leveling some of the tee areas soon so this may create some messy tee areas. they will also be putting down a base for the cement too. All the tee areas will be flush to the ground or have dirt but up around them if they are in low areas in the woods. The target date to have all 18 tees for the longs in is July/August depending on the amount of money raised. We will be doing 9 tees at a time.

I have to create 3 small retaining walls. 2 holding back dirt and 1 to be filled with dirt to create a level tee area. Any suggestions and help would be greatly appreciated.

Scott Campbell    March 1, 2015 at 1:04am

The State Park is on board with the instillation of cement tees at The Grassman.I will be trying to raise as much money as possible through fundraisers and donations so i can have the best tee pads I can at the Grassman. Any leftover money will go towards tee signs, second pin placements or other improvements.

There will be a Disc Golf Club at Westbranch. It will be under the Friends of Westbranch 501C3 non profit status. If anyone is interested in helping please leave message here. All money ... more

The State Park is on board with the instillation of cement tees at The Grassman.I will be trying to raise as much money as possible through fundraisers and donations so i can have the best tee pads I can at the Grassman. Any leftover money will go towards tee signs, second pin placements or other improvements.

There will be a Disc Golf Club at Westbranch. It will be under the Friends of Westbranch 501C3 non profit status. If anyone is interested in helping please leave message here. All money raised or donated for the courses will go directly to the courses.

The State Parks have been very supportive of us disc golfers in the last few years all over the state. Please show appreciation to them for letting us install courses in the parks. Send them a thank you.
The Westbranch State Park management and workers have been very helpful and supportive with the installation of the Grassman and i cannot thank them enough.

Once the weather breaks I will be seeking help with the leveling and cleanup effort. I want to have everything ready to go once money becomes available. Any help will be very appreciated.

Scott Campbell    January 17, 2015 at 6:38am

Now that I have a new job I have he time to run a league at the Grassman once the time changes back. . I want to do a random doubles. What days are open for a league in the area. Also this league would be to raise money for tee pads.

Scott Campbell    December 31, 2014 at 7:29am

After opening the Grassman earlier this year I have received some great feedback. Thanks to all who replied to my question of more detailed answers or told me face to face. Your praise and concerns did not fall on def ears. I feel like I’m explaining some of the same things over and over so I decided to give more detail about why the course was built and laid out the way it was and what plans I have for 2015 and into the future.

1. Park: This State Park is unique. It is own ... more

After opening the Grassman earlier this year I have received some great feedback. Thanks to all who replied to my question of more detailed answers or told me face to face. Your praise and concerns did not fall on def ears. I feel like I’m explaining some of the same things over and over so I decided to give more detail about why the course was built and laid out the way it was and what plans I have for 2015 and into the future.

1. Park: This State Park is unique. It is owned by the Army Corp. of Engineers and is leased to the State Park system. Also Ohio wildlife also has a hand in the park. So before the course was installed everything had to be approved by all 3 systems. (That took over a year) Some holes had to be moved (one for drowning concerns) and some areas where unavailable to use. There are several water, gas, electric lines that run underground throughout the area where the course is and had to be worked around.

2. Tee pads: The Army Corp. had regulations about permanent structures being placed on the land which is a hurdle for cement tees. But I have contacted someone that has dealt with this before and he was able to instruct me on a cement tee that can be removed and is not considered a permanent structure and how to proceed with a proposal.

3. Layout: Some of this was discussed in the first part. The layout was done the way it was to take up as much real estate as possible so that alternate pins and 9 more holes could be added with ease. These expansion and extra pin placement have been approved if extra funds become available or money can be raised by and disc golf club to buy the equipment needed.
I know here are a few long walks between holes. While reading and researching about course design I read several things about filler holes. Many designers avoid these at all cost and suggest that if there has to be a long walk make sure it’s to a quality hole.

4. Trees: Yes there are tons of trees. As the course has matured I have been removing smaller trees in the fairways to create cleaner lines. And recently I have been thinning out all of the smaller trees on the sided of the fairway and around the baskets. I have been careful with what trees I remove because you can replace a tree once it is cut down.

5. Personal reasons: I took the project on during my own time and with no payment. It took me over 2 years to install and open the course. I did it for the love of the sport. I didn’t want to build a typical course. I decided to build a course like no other in NEO. I wanted it to be unique and have its own personality. I wanted to make it a destination course as did the park. They wanted to draw people to the park for camping, fishing, boating swimming and all the other activities to do before or after a round.

FUTURE: I have began the process of being grandfathered into the Friends of Westbranch 501C3 organization as a separate disc golf group. This will allow for banking of funds specifically for the disc golf course and it can’t be used for anything else. Any event that is held there this year will be a fund raiser for additional pin placements, permanent tee signs and tee pads. I am thinking of having a disc golf silent auction with all the proceeds going to the club. Disc, gear, and apparel are also in the process of being made to raise money. If anyone else has good fundraising ideas my ears are always open. If i am able to raise all the money for the tee pads the person i was talking to said it would be much easier to get them approved if the park or any other entity out there did not have to put any money in to them. The future of disc at Westbranch State Park looks bright and i look forward to making this one of the best courses in the area.
Thanks for your time,
Scott Campbell

Scott Campbell    December 24, 2014 at 9:58pm

I need to vent a little.
To the people or person doing damage at the Grassman:
How tough does it make you feel to rip a laminated tee sign off of a wood post. How bad ass does it make you feel to pull a non cemented wood sign post out of the ground. How strong does it make you feel to push over an stack of logs and roll them all around. If you are a disc golfer you are an embarrassment to the sport. If you are a hunter how sad you must be to destroy something that should not impede your huntin ... more

I need to vent a little.
To the people or person doing damage at the Grassman:
How tough does it make you feel to rip a laminated tee sign off of a wood post. How bad ass does it make you feel to pull a non cemented wood sign post out of the ground. How strong does it make you feel to push over an stack of logs and roll them all around. If you are a disc golfer you are an embarrassment to the sport. If you are a hunter how sad you must be to destroy something that should not impede your hunting because it is in a no hunting zone. Motion cameras have been made available to me and if this continues I will have no choice but to put them up.

Mat Pollard    December 2, 2014 at 2:28am

I was at the course today and found the tee signs ripped off of holes 9 thru 13, and tee sign post pulled from the ground on 16 (I was able to put it back in place). Also saw a hunter posted on the other side of the ravine from the tee pad of 14 long and another hunter set up on 15's fairway!

Mat Pollard    November 13, 2014 at 8:10am

I found an Eagle with "Matt O" written on it.

Scott Campbell    November 7, 2014 at 12:57am

Ok friends. I have be getting a lot of feedback about the course lately. So I'm planing a work day Sunday Nov 9 from 1pm till 6pm. I would like to work on opening up alternate routes, thinning out small trees on the sides of the fairways and of course tee areas. Bring shovels, rakes and saws.(no chainsaw's) I will have some new kickboards for some of the white tees that i would like to put at ground level. let me know if you would like to come and help. Any help would be greatly appreciated and very much needed.

Scott Campbell    November 3, 2014 at 8:02am

Ok friends. I have be getting a lot of feedback about the course lately. So I'm planing a work day Sunday Nov 9 from 1pm till 6pm. I would like to work on opening up alternate routes, thinning out small trees on the sides of the fairways and of course tee areas. Bring shovels, rakes and saws.(no chainsaw's) I will have some new kickboards for some of the white tees that i would like to put at ground level. let me know if you would like to come and help. Any help would be greatly appreciated and very much needed.

Scott Campbell    October 7, 2014 at 4:29pm

I have 7 disc that I pulled from the lake without names on them, and I found 1 disc laying on the course

Tell me what you lost and I'll tell you if i have it.

Also, the lake is drained lower for winter that is why I'm finding so many.

Jay Kovach    October 3, 2014 at 6:55am

Big cash tournament at wingfoot Lake state park October 19 th registration 10am

Scott Campbell    October 2, 2014 at 10:10pm

I have 4 disc that I pulled form the lake without names on them. 1 disc by hole 8 and 4 disc on hole 11.
And 1 disc i found laying on the course.
Tell me what you lost and I'll tell you if i have it.

Also, the lake is drained lower for winter that is why I'm finding so many.

Scott Campbell    October 2, 2014 at 1:59am

FYI
Just to let everyone know the back 9 of the Grassman is near a public hunting area. I would recommend wearing bright colors. Some hunters don’t follow the boundaries of the hunting zones. If you see any hunters on the course please report it. The course is in a NO HUNTING ZONE.

Frank Balog    September 17, 2014 at 2:24pm

I have a buddy that might team up with me on the 25th. It's our first summer playing, but we're ultimate vets and have had a lot of fun with it this year. We won't be taking home first place, but we'd probably be interested.

Scott Campbell    September 12, 2014 at 10:02am

Would anyone be interested in a bring your own partner double event at the Grassman. Monster setup 1 to 2 basket, 3 to 4 basket etc...
Looking at Oct. 25. $25 per team. $15 to payout &10 to tee pad fund.

Scott Campbell    September 9, 2014 at 5:21am

Made some big progress today opening up the fairways and widening routes a little.

Hole 1.Removed some small trees on the side of the fairway

Hole 2: Removed some small trees

Hole 3: Removed 2 trees from main route of the fairway. Thinned out small trees in front of the basket

Hole 8: Thinned out small trees in front of the basket

Hole 9: Removed some small trees

Hole 14: Removed some small trees

Hole 16: Removed the big tree right at the beginning of the fairway and move ... more

Made some big progress today opening up the fairways and widening routes a little.

Hole 1.Removed some small trees on the side of the fairway

Hole 2: Removed some small trees

Hole 3: Removed 2 trees from main route of the fairway. Thinned out small trees in front of the basket

Hole 8: Thinned out small trees in front of the basket

Hole 9: Removed some small trees

Hole 14: Removed some small trees

Hole 16: Removed the big tree right at the beginning of the fairway and moved the tee back
20 ft onto more level ground.

And removed several trip hazard sumps on all the hole above.

NEXT WEEK
Hole 11: remove stumps, clean up the landing and basket areas on the peninsula.

Hole 11: Start leveling tee area

Hole 14: Start leveling tee area

Scott Campbell    September 6, 2014 at 4:02am

The course is really starting to settle in. Fairways and paths are starting to get beat down. I've noticed less trash and some of the fairways have been getting cleaner. Thanks to whoever is doing this, it is really appreciated.

Sometime next week I'll be removing some more trees.
Hole 3: thin out small trees in front of the basket
Hole 8: thin out small trees in front of the basket
Hole 9: widen the fairway & thin out small trees.
Hole 14: thin out small trees.
Hole 16: ... more

The course is really starting to settle in. Fairways and paths are starting to get beat down. I've noticed less trash and some of the fairways have been getting cleaner. Thanks to whoever is doing this, it is really appreciated.

Sometime next week I'll be removing some more trees.
Hole 3: thin out small trees in front of the basket
Hole 8: thin out small trees in front of the basket
Hole 9: widen the fairway & thin out small trees.
Hole 14: thin out small trees.
Hole 16: the big tree right at the beginning of the fairway and then the tee will be move back more.
Please be patient with the limbs over the water on hole 11 long. The park and I are trying to figure out a way why following the park rules to remove them.

Also the main course map was stolen again, this time why I was there between 9am and 11am. Scorecards also seem to be disappearing at a rapid rate. I have reason to believe it is not a golfer. Just someone being a jerk. If anyone sees anything suspicious out there please let me know.

Andre T Hooks    August 31, 2014 at 5:32pm

Anybody playing here today? About to head up there

Scott Campbell    August 25, 2014 at 5:54am

Printable Scorecard
http://www.discgolfscene.com/coursepictures/62678_l.jpg

Scott Campbell    August 24, 2014 at 7:02pm

I put up more navigation arrows today. Let me know if you think there are other places that need them. thanks.