Updated Photos of Each Hole

We took a photo on every hole today and tried to give you a good idea of what awaits you on the Hill. Let me know what you think. Click below to start the slideshow.

John & Brian Play 18 - Dec. 3, 2006

A Beautiful Day on the Hill

Dave and I started the day making a path between Hole 12 and 13 and then cleared a bunch of junk from Hole 12's fairway. Now it's a bit more defined. Only a few more trees to get out of the way and this hole will be killer.

As Dave was leaving, I hooked up with Nut and we played a round. It was a fun time since I was sucking and he wasn't. After Brian beat me by one on the front 9, I buckled down and came back to win by 7 strokes thanks to a few birdies.

We met a family from Groton who was headed out to play the back nine after playing the front 9 yesterday. It was great to see! Thanks for coming out!

Work and Play on Sunday

Pre Season Speed Dave and I are doing some work Sunday morning. Probably 10, not quite sure yet. Depends on when I get home Sat. night from the Who concert. Yeah baby.

We are going to hack out a path from 12 to 13 and finishing tidying 18. Let me know if you'd like to help out. I'll post here Sunday morning before I leave.

Help Support the Fort Devens Historical Museum

The Fort Devens Historical Museum is raffling off a handmade quilt with a patriotic theme, made and donated by a Devens resident. $5 a ticket. Anyone interested in viewing the quilt or purchasing a ticket can contact Ian Meisner at the museum at 94 Jackson Road, Suite 305, or call 978-772-1286. Good luck!

When we get our signs made, the kind folks at the museum will be supplying us with historical Devens tidbits to put on each sign, so please show your support!

Click the picture for more details.

Today's Devens Treasure

We came across this old-school Snoopy and Woodstock Thermos a few Saturdays ago on Hole 9. Thanks to whoever left it by the tee with the growing collection of "antique" soda and beer cans.

This looks to be a late 1960s-, early 1970s-era Thermos that goes in a lunchbox. Back in the day, I had a much cooler lunchbox -- Speed Buggy. Which one did you have?

And They're Here!

Or at least most of them are. The chain assemblies are due in a few weeks. Aren't they beautiful? ;-)

It's a Boy!

Congratulations to Devens DG Board member Steve Berthiaume and his wife Kimberly on the birth of their second son, Owen! Owen joined us Friday, Nov. 24 at 8:11AM weighing in at 7 lb, 8 oz.

Early reports are that he has more hair than his Dad! Look for Owen and his big brother Miles out on the course soon!

Dunkin' Donuts Gets a Birdie

We are happy to announce that Dunkin' Donuts has signed up as a Birdie Sponsor! Dunkins is located minutes from the course up by the gas station and the Devens Grill. Be sure to stop by before each round for your caffeine fix. Thanks, Dunkins!

Hole lengths, chains, litter, and a snake

I went over to the course this morning because I've been wanting to measure the length of each hole for a few weeks now. I was hoping to record tee and basket elevation too, but the satellites just weren't cooperating today and my GPS gave me some wacky readings. As I look at these measurements now, I think some must be wrong because a couple seem way to short, especially 14. I may have to do it the old-fashioned way next time.

While measuring hole 8, I heard the beautiful ching of chains on 14, the only hole with a real basket. It was great to hear, but when I got to 14, I found a fresh Budweiser bottle empty about halfway up. That bummed me out, but I'd like to think that the bottle just fell out of someone's bag. It did, didn't it?

Later on 17, I came across this snake catching some rare late November sun. I took a bunch of pictures of him, but he didn't move a muscle -- just stuck his tongue out at me a few times.

Almost Here

There should be 9 boxes and poles sitting on my porch when I get home tonight. If not, then Friday. Shoot, I should just stop by and pick them up directly from UPS on my lunch break since I work about 10 miles away!

No, I'm not too excited about this..... ha!

They're On the Way!

And There's One In

Bill the Neighbor and I installed the Innova basket Sunday afternoon on Monster hole 14. It sure does look purty. Dave James also spent some time earlier in the day tidying up some tee boxes. Thanks guys.





During our round later, Bill became the first disc golfer in history to putt on a real metal basket at Devens. It was a magical moment. He also won the "Most Ticks" award with 4 I think. I had my usual three but still feel like there's a few crawling around on me this morning. When will I remember to put some Off on, even in this colder weather?

My boy Rob Curtis and his buddy came out from Dorchester to check on our progress. We caught up with them for a few holes before they had to take off to go watch the Pats-Packers massacre. Thanks for making the trip out to the country, boys! We also bumped into two new faces from Ayer who had heard about the course from our blurb on the local access channel. It's nice to see that the local contingent is growing.

Here's Monster 14, looking down down down to the tee:

Thank You Buyers

Thank you to whoever is using the Marshall Street pro shop link on our blog to buy stuff. Five percent of your purchase is coming back to Devens Disc Golf Club so you should feel good about that. It all adds up, so keep on clicking and buying! Thanks again! :)

> Learn how to make this snazzy dollar bill shirt.

The First 9 Baskets Are On Their Way (sort of)

We ordered our first nine baskets! After hours of debate and field testing, we decided to go with Discraft Chainstars. Kudos to Brian for kicking butt on fundraising these past few months.

There are only a few more sponsorships left until we can get our next nine. (Our baskets will not have the base or wheel as shown in the photo.)

Unfortunately, there is a part shortage for the chain assembly so that piece won't arrive until mid-to-late December. However, the pole and basket will ship tomorrow. What a tease. Once everything arrives, we'll have 14 genuine metal baskets to install.

Phew! What a Week!

Wow! What a week for Devens Disc Golf! After getting the order to temporarily close the course last Friday, things still went full-speed ahead as we broke out the big saws and cleared Hole 18 and thinned out Hole 7 and Hole 8.

Brian definately earned his Executive Director title this week as he got the 503c process going (making us a charitable organization) and landed three more sponsors. Good job, Nut!

Ace level hole sponsorships are getting scarce and that's a good thing. We've got 10 holes sponsored and plan on purchasing our first 9 baskets next week once we get a final quote in.

So, we are pretty excited over on the Hill as things are coming together. I just can't believe we are almost there ... it's been a long time coming. There's still a lot of work to be done, but I just can't wait til I hear the sweet sound of chains in the woods!

Here are our current sponsors:

Ace Level ($500)

1. NEFA
2. Hanscom Credit Union
3. Innova
4. Pre Season Speed
   
5. Devens Recreation Department
6. Devens Grill
7. Gemini Dogs
8. MicroVision Laboratories
9. Image Software Services
10. Data Intensity
    

Birdie Level ($300)

1. Family Fun Spot (pending)
2. N. B. Kenney Company

Par Level (any other amount)

1. Nobody yet!
   

Data Intensity Sponsors a Hole!

After months and months of talking about nothing but disc golf to his boss Kevin Kennefick at Data Intensity, Brian finally persuaded him to sponsor a hole. Yahoo! "I just wanted him to get back to work!" Kevin said, "And I figured this was the best way to do it." Thank you Data Intensity!

Data Intensity provides a full range of managed IT services to corporations in every major industry group, non-profit organizations, and local, state, and federal government agencies.

Image Software Services Sponsors a Hole!

The good news keeps on coming -- Image Software Services is our latest Ace Level sponsor! Jeff worked with Brian to create our fundraising info packs that are definately working! Image Software Services provides CD and DVD creation and duplication, on-demand digital printing, packaging, and other media services. Thank you Jeff!

MicroVision Laboratories Sponsors a Hole!

It's been a great week for sponsorships! After a tour of the course with Brian over the weekend, disc golf newbie and Devens resident John Knowles agreed to become our next Ace Level sponsor! John is the President and owner of Microvision Labs in Burlington, MA. Thank you John!

MicroVision Laboratories, Inc. is an analytical microscopy service lab providing high quality scanning electron microscopy, quantitative elemental analysis, and optical microscopy services to a wide variety of industries in and around Boston. Founded in 2003, MicroVision Labs has helped solve numerous manufacturing, quality control and R&D problems for hundreds of companies in areas such as membrane technology, semi-conductors, pharmaceuticals, environmental engineering, biomedical technology, and micro-electronics.

Check out more cool (and icky) photos like these on their website. Click each photo for an extreme closeup. Caution: view well after lunch! :-)

Spider Mite

Moth's tongue

Scorecard Added, New Stats Page

Since we have 18 playable holes now, I figured I'd post the scorecard and create a new stats page too. The scorecard is quite basic, but has our snazzy logo on it. A true collector's item I'm sure.

Par is 54; all holes are par 3. I plan on adding length info eventually.

• A PDF of the scorecard is here, or find it in the Links section later.
• Stats page is here, or find it in the Links section later.

Be sure to email me your scores so that I can add them to the stats page. Thanks.

TM Delivers Again

Great day yesterday. TM, Bill the Neighbor, and I finished cutting 18. TM did the cutting and Bill and I dragged most into piles, but we still left some for the rest of you.

The first half of the fairway looks awesome. You tee off from behind an impressive-looking row of boulders looking out over the fairway. About 150+ ft out the hill crests and it's down you go through an alley of trees to the basket which is about 2/3 the way down. Miss the putt and chances are you'll roll to the bottom.

Go here for an interesting study on the stone walls and boulders of New England.

Haven't quite decided the best way to play this hole yet (either go for it over the hill or layup to where it starts to go down). None-the-less, it's going to be a fun one. Plus, at the crest of the hill looking SW you can see an American flag flying in the distance as well as the distant Worcester hills. Beautiful.

We moved on to Hole 7 (with the old antenna concrete tee pad) and removed a number of trees in the lower fairway making it more playable and fair. We also widened the right side where the fairway starts to curve right and go down so that it is a little more obvious where you should throw from the tee. On hole 8 we removed a few trees on the left so now there is a defined left or right path to take up the valley.

With about an hour left of sunlight (damn those 4:30 sunsets!) we played a quick round and finished the last four holes in the dark. That was interesting.

Major huge mega thanks to TM for coming up to help. I love your Implements of Destruction!

The Course Is Temporarily Closed

As of 7:30AM, Devens Disc Golf Course is temporarily closed.

The two main reasons center around insurance and handicap accessibility.

I'll try to explain it as best as I can remember from our meeting this morning:

1. Because Devens is not yet a town and is instead run by MassDevelopment (a state agency), it does not (or cannot) offer general insurance to cover the course. If someone falls and wants to sue, they could sue MassDev as well as Brian and me and anyone involved in building the course. Because MassDev, Brian, and I do not want to get sued, we have decided to close the course. If Devens were a town, this would not be an issue because the course would be covered by the town's insurance policy.

2. Since Devens is technically a State entity, it has to follow laws concerning the ADA (American Disabilities Act). Everything that Devens installs on Devens has to be ADA-compliant, be it walking paths, observation towers, playgrounds, and disc golf courses. Obviously, making a disc golf course in New England handicap accessible is nearly impossible, especially on the Hill. Again, if Devens were a town, they would not have to follow these requirements, I believe.

So, what can we do? They suggested that we (Devens Disc Golf Club) form an LLC or non-profit organization and then rent the Hill from MassDev for $1/year. We would have to get our own insurance, just like any group that rents a soccer field does now, for example.

They said we can continue to work on the course, raise money, etc., but must post a "The Course Is Closed" sign on tee 1. This should protect everyone from anyone who decides to ignore the sign, play anyway, and fall.

Once we form our group and get insurance, the course will officially re-open. Until then, stay tuned.

If you were planning on helping Sat. thanks, but I won't be going over until later to put up the sign.

N. B. Kenney Signs Up as Birdie Sponsor!

More good news from the Hill. Local plumbing and HVAC contractor, N. B. Kenney Company, has signed up as a Birdie sponsor for $300! Yahoo and thank you, Steve!

Specializing in challenging and complex projects, the work of N.B. Kenney Company, Inc. can be found some the leading schools, universities, government and municipal buildings, hospitals, laboratories, and housing projects in the Northeast region. Our dedication and meticulous attention to quality and safety is unmatched in the industry.

Here are our current sponsors. Would anyone else care to join this exclusive list? Only 11 Ace sponsorships left!

Ace Sponsors

1. NEFA
2. Hanscom Credit Union
3. Innova
4. James family
5. Devens Recreation Department
6. Devens Grill
7. Gemini Dogs

Birdie Sponsors
1. Family Fun Spot
2. N. B. Kenney Company

Also: Borderland Disc Golf has loaned us four baskets.

Saturday Workday

Who's in for Saturday? Let's finish 18 and 12. Rah rah rah! Maybe we'll install some baskets if I get my act together and buy some locks. Go team go!

9 AM. Somebody bring a chainsaw....please!

Then we'll play and enjoy 18 beautiful holes for the first time. Wow, it's only Tuesday and I'm already looking forward to Saturday. That can't be good.

Gemini Dogs Sponsors a Hole!

Woof! Good news! Gemini Dogs has officially sponsored Hole 9! Yahoo! I hear that the owner really loves disc golf. Hole 9 will now be known as the "Canine Hole". Get it? Honestly, how do I come up with these gems?

Anyway, thank you very much to my wife Michelle for agreeing to sponsor the hole. "Our marriage has never been better!" she joked. "John has spent basically every weekend since April building the course and we never see each other. I figured it was the least I could do!"

Attention dog lovers: Gemini Dogs is holding a Howl-o-ween Festival and Open House this Sunday, 12-4 in Littleton, MA. Stop by and bring your dog too. More details here.


Rumor has it that two more sponsors are in the pipeline, so get in while you still can. Contact Brian before it's too late! He is on fire lately! Yow!

Here are our current sponsors. Would anyone else care to join this exclusive list? Only 11 holes left!

1. NEFA
2. Hanscom Credit Union
3. Innova
4. James family
5. Devens Recreation Department
6. Devens Grill
7. Gemini Dogs

Also: Borderland Disc Golf has loaned us four baskets.

Playing on Thursday

MattS, AndyG, and I are meeting Thursday at 4pm to get a round in, check on the cement, and possibly install a basket or two (depending on if we can get some locks). Email me if you can join us.

8 Holes Are Planted!

Yesterday was a great day in DDGC history -- we installed our first pole sleeves. The past few weeks Rob Walker has been working on making some metal pole sleeves and locking tabs and gathering the cement and other supplies we needed. We installed the six sleeves that he made, the one Borderland DG gave us to use as a model, and the one that came with the Innova basket.

Rob met me in the parking lot at 9:30 with his truck loaded with 640 pounds of Quickrete (8 80-lb bags), six 5-gallon jugs of water, the metal sleeves, a wheelbarrow, hoe, and other tools. We transferred some of the weight to my truck, put it in four-wheel drive, and both headed into the woods. We felt like real men, doing manly things with our trucks filled with tools and building supplies.

We started with Hole 5 since it is along the main road and decided to move the basket back a little more into the woods. Shortly after we started Pete Nevius joined us and we quickly planted the pole. Rob and I were pretty happy with how easy things went, especially since neither of us had any cement experience. Rob had asked around and picked up some good hints from Sean Franchi though, so we weren't totally unprepared.

We moved down the road to Hole 15 and moved it slightly to the right. Next was Hole 6, Hole 9, and Hole 14. Pete had to take off, so we stopped for lunch, and relaxed in the parking lot for a bit. Getting up was a bit tough, but Rob and I headed over to do Hole 13, 12, and 11 and finished just as it was getting dark.

We probably used too much cement for each pole, but we figured it was easier to use one bag per hole and not worry about it setting in the wheelbarrow by the time we got to the next hole.

Now I've got to go buy some locks and after that, we'll install the four Borderland baskets and the one Innova basket. It was really hard not putting in a basket yesterday, but we wanted to make sure the cement had set before we tried anything. Hopefully no squirrels or wood nymphs mess with our cement before it dries.

> More pictures

Pole Planting Day -

Clearing Begins on 18

Yesterday, Dave and I both took a day off from work and started clearing 18. It was a beautiful Fall day and it was great to be outside. We cleared about half the fairway and put up some next tees signs for 16 and 17 before we called it a day.

I have to share a great post Pete T left on the NEFA boards last night that absolutely made my day this morning. I appreciate the kind words, Pete!

I went by Devens last Saturday and can attest that hole 18 has the potential to be a great NE finishing hole but is going to be a bear to clear to get the length to make it so.

Overall the course is shaping up well with a couple funky holes but some that already are memorable for the right reasons (like K-9)

Having seen the woods last fall when hole #1 was a dream to now I got nothin' but respect for the amount of work John and company have put and it will just get better with the planting of the first baskets.

Like they said in Field of Dreams- "If you build it, they will come...", but bring your hiking boots cause there is some serious vertical - Rindge is a pancake compared to Shipleys hill.

Here are some photos:

Hole 18

Hole 18 Scoped Out

Before the chili event, Pete T and I scouted out hole 18 and we think we've found a good one. It's going to have a dramatic tee either over a very cool rock ledge or through another rock valley (like hole 8). It'll crest a hill near a small grassy landing zone and then head down the hill with the basket somewhere in the middle of the hill, making for a tough putt.

I'm really happy how this came together since it's near the exit road and hole 1. Thanks again for helping Pete! Ironically, Pete helped lay out the first few holes way back when and now he's back for the last hole. :)

Rob reported in and said he has made sleeves for the Borderland baskets. If he has time this week, he's going to set the sleeves in cement and Dave and I will plant them possibly on Thursday. Stay tuned. Holy crap, maybe we'll have a few baskets in by next weekend!

Chili on a Beautiful Fall Day

On a beautiful Fall day yesterday, the putters were flying around Devens common at the 2nd Annual Chili Cook Off. While Dave taught a group of kids how to play, Brian worked the crowd and let people know what we've been up to. After I set up the baskets, I just ate chili.

All in all, it was a fun afternoon. We also gave the Devens Grill a box of loaner discs to help build more interest.

More pictures here.

Devens Chili Cookoff Demo

Eat Chili on Saturday!

I'll be at the course tomorrow (Sat.) around 10 or so. At about 12:30, some of us will be doing demos and spreading the word at the Devens Charity Chili Cookoff being held at one of our sponsors, the Devens Grill. $5 gets you all the chili you can eat. Stop by and say hi.

The Grill is about a 1-minute drive from the course near the gas station, hotel, and Dunkins. When leaving the course, go left, up the hill on MacArthur.

Today's Devens Treasure

I found this coffee mug back in May when I was clearing hole 8. It was buried under some leaves to the right of the huge boulder and I placed it at the foot of a nearby tree. I came across it again this Saturday while playing and decided it was time to add it to our museum.

It's your basic mug (made by Arrowhead), but has a little style and flair to it. My friend, Mr. Internet, couldn't help me find any info on it unfortunately. Strangely, there's no coffee mug museum out there.

How Far Can You Throw?

This dude holds the record for distance at 712 ft! That's over two football fields (237 yd)!

If you think you can beat him, enter this contest.

Discraft Offers $10,000 Big D Bounty! Each year, the biggest of the big arms gather in search of the next distance record. It's called Big D in the Desert, and Discraft is proud to announce our $10,000 Big D Bounty. Set the new record* with a Discraft driver, and the cash is yours. The event is scheduled for Oct 16 - 17 at the California / Nevada state line, so make plans fast to be there for Big D!

• When: October 16 - 17, 2006
• Who: Event is open to anyone
• Competition: each day from 10 am until 6 pm
• Entry fee: $20 USD, 80% payout, all entry fees in cash at the location
• Format: 15 shots per day, 5 per round, one after another thrower as usual

16 Is Cleaned Up & Mr. #1 NEFA Man Visits

Brian, Justin, and I finished cleaning up hole 16 yesterday so now it's ready for play (no more trees lying in the fairway). I also cleared the junk brush along hole 1's fairway and swished it so now it looks a little nicer. Now if you fade left before entering the woods, the junky shrubs won't be there to stop you and you'll continue on down the hill. :)

Since it was so nice out, we decided to play instead of doing more work. Brian ducked out after a few holes to go grab his son and Justin and I continued on. I got a call from Matty Brier and Mr. #1 Pro in NEFAland Mike Dussault who were up watching the Ultimate tourney going on at Rogers Field. We joined them on hole 1 and showed them the first few holes before I had to take off. It was great having the #1 NEFA Pro check out the course!


I took a bunch of pictures. See them here.

Photos from Saturday

Work & Play: 10/07/06

Click to see all.

Fall Cleanup Saturday 9AM

I could use a few arms and legs this Saturday as I clear new holes 16 and 17. We have to cut up some long branches and drag the leftovers away. Then I'd like to hit 12 and tidy up the top, unless someone else already has. How about it?

We are almost done with Phase 1! Just one more hole to design. The four Borderland loaner baskets should be in the ground soon too. I think we have finally figured out a good way to do it. Hopefully by Halloween.

As you can see below, Brian is having a good week getting sponsors and has snagged the Devens Grill, Devens Rec. Dept, and has got Dunkin Donuts on the hook. It's only a matter of time before I order our first 9 baskets.

Parking may be limited due to a huge Ultimate tourney this weekend. I am going to drive in, but I would rather you guys didn't.

We'll play after the work is done, of course. Looks like a beautiful Fall day on tap.

BTW, I proudly finished DFL at the NEFA Finals last week. I guess I've been spending too much time working on this course and not enough time playing. Ugh.

The Devens Grill Sponsors a Hole!

The Nut Man is on a roll! Yesterday he got the Devens Grill to commit to sponsoring a hole!

This was really a no-brainer for the Grill. They are the only bar/restaurant on Devens and they serve up some very good food. The owner is a great guy and is already considering installing a basket next to the building. He is also going to keep a box of loaner discs at the bar. Nice! Stop by the Grill Oct. 14 for their 2nd Annual Charity Chili Cook Off. We'll be there giving disc golf demos. See their website for more info.

Here are our current sponsors. Would anyone else care to join this exclusive list? Only 11 holes left!

1. NEFA
2. Hanscom Credit Union
3. Innova
4. James family
5. Devens Recreation Department
6. Devens Grill
7. Gemini Dogs (pending)

Also: Borderland Disc Golf has loaned us four baskets.

Devens Recreation Sponsors a Hole!

Our biggest Devens supporter, Kathy Wiberg of the Devens Recreation Department has just notified us that they are officially sponsoring a hole! Yahoo and thank you!

Here are our current sponsors. Would anyone else care to join this exclusive list?

1. NEFA
2. Hanscom Credit Union
3. Innova
4. James family
5. Devens Recreation Department
6. Gemini Dogs (pending)

Also: Borderland Disc Golf has loaned us four baskets.