Silicon Valley Disc Golf Club

Dear SVDGC Member,

Thanks for all your help in 2003! We’ve installed some hillside RAILINGS, planted lots of BUSHES and TREES, provided BENCHES for most of the tee areas and created something somewhat original that we’re calling “BAG TREES”. Hellyer Park Disc Golf has never looked so good.

The ANNUAL MEETING and ELECTION is scheduled for SATURDAY, JANUARY 31ST @ 9AM. The location is 3880 S. Bascom Avenue #115, San Jose, CA 95124. It’s going to be a busy day as we’re scheduled to ALSO have a WORK DAY FROM 10:30 AM TO 2 PM. See you at one or both of the venues.

BEN MEYER has put in a great year of help with his directing/conducting of the DOUBLES LEAGUE on Thursday evenings during the spring and summer. When the sun starts to shine most of the day again we’ll be back at the League, probably towards the end of April.

JASON FAUTH, BEN MEYER & JIM CHALLAS were the inspired WATERING CREW who spent a lot of their summer and fall Saturday mornings providing water to all the trees, bushes and vines that have been planted over the years. The watering-guys look forward to recruiting some additional muscle for next summer’s watering and ask that anybody with a guilt complex contact us about the beginning of May.

Thanks are also due to ERIC STACKNICK & STEVE GANZ for their continuing efforts in directing/conducting of the MONTHLY TOURNAMENT that occurs on the 2 Saturday of every month. Our financial survival depends largely on the efforts of these dedicated players/workers.

As we go forward into 2004 there is the very real possibility that we’ll be able to open the long awaited FRONT NINE. In September we had a meeting on-site at Hellyer Park with the Park & Recreation Department and plans for the expansion were discussed. We’re going to tweak the BRIDGE design and get the O.K. from the P&R Dept. and proceed to concurrently present our plans to the necessary agencies involved in the creek crossing: SANTA CLARA VALLEY WATER DISTRICT, STATE FISH & GAME & U.S. FISH & WILDLIFE. If we can gain the various agency approvals for the temporary pedestrian bridge, then we can SET-UP the bridge in MID-APRIL and REMOVE it in MID-OCTOBER. Good luck to us and get your wallets ready.

See you at the course!

Dear Disc Denizens of Hellyer Park,

The new year has arrived and it’s time for the Annual Meeting of the Silicon Valley Disc Golf Club. Join us at 9 AM on Saturday, January 25, at 3880 South Bascom Avenue, Suite 115, San Jose, CA. Enclosed is your proxy in the event you are unable to attend the meeting. Use the enclosed, postage-paid envelope to return your membership application, annual dues, donations and proxy. Just as a reminder, the Silicon Valley Disc Golf Club is an IRS 501(c)3 non-profit charitable trust and your donations are tax deductible and greatly appreciated.

We used your donations recently to plant 8 Sycamore trees, 8 rose bushes and 24 Toyon bushes. We placed a couple of new basket locations on #17 & #18. There’s a new bench on #16 and the hillsides are sprouting rock hedges. The rock hedges prevent your errant putts from rolling down the hillside as well as putting a stop to the slide shots up the hillside. The next regularly scheduled work day is the 5th Saturday of March or March 29th. We’ll be there at the usual time of 10 AM to 2 PM.

The most consistent money-maker for the Club has been the monthly tournament. We’ve averaged about $150.00 per month and our continued thanks go to Mark Bruce for conducting this event almost every 2nd Saturday of the month for the last 3 years.

We’ve developed a sponsor program for benches. For $500.00 you can have a bench located at either a front or back tee location and you’ll be acknowledged with a placque on the bench. The bench will be park-quality with a seat-back and be anchored in with cement footings.

Thank you for your continued support of disc golf at Hellyer Park. Your money and time spent to improve the course has benefited untold numbers of your fellow disc golfers. Spread the word and we’ll see you at the course!

Dear Party Hardys,

The 5th Birthday Party of the disc golf course at Hellyer Park is masquerading as a
Work Day on Saturday, November 23rd. Bring yourself and your tools and your party needs and help us work and then party from about 10 AM until 2 PM’ish. There will be plantings of trees and shrubs as well as general clean-up and repairs. Lots of thanks go out to Ben Meyer and Jim Challas for their dedication in watering the trees and bushes during the last 6 months. Last year in 2001 we had some great help from Al Johnson in watering and keeping our plants alive.

It’s hard to believe that we’ve been at it for 5 years. There were about a dozen people present in November, 1997, when we were led by Tom Schot in constructing the course on the Saturday morning of the weekend before Thanksgiving. By that alternoon we were playing the course. And we haven’t been the same since.

Speaking of constructing, we now have an architect drawing up plans for the temporary pedestrian bridge that’s needed for us to realize the completion of the course at Hellyer Park. The temporary pedestrian bridge will be in use from the middle of April through the middle of October and will be assembled and disassembled each year. The full 18 hole course will be open during those months between mid-April and mid-October. When the bridge is disassembled in mid-October we have to remove the baskets on holes 3-9 and we’ll be back down to our “rainy season” course for half the year.

When we have an acceptable drawing of the bridge, we then apply to the Santa Clara Valley Water District and State and Federal agencies for permission to cross the streambed. With some luck and lots of money we’ll see the full course open by summer of 2003! Estimate for the bridge cost is about $3,000. The remaining baskets and signs will be about $5,000 and the concrete tee pads will be about $5,000.

We’re planning another Work Day in December on Saturday the 28th. Typically we have work days on the 5th Saturday in a month when there are 5 Saturdays. In 2002 the 5th Saturdays fell on holidays Easter, Labor Day and Thanksgiving), so we’ve slightly changed the schedule. Hope to see you in November and December.