Membership Comments from 03/28/17 Email

April 12, 2017 in Announcements

Comments received in response to the email sent by the SFDGC Club Officers on March 28th, 2017.

Amazing, well written. I wholeheartedly support the club’s decisions regarding the baskets and am excited for the future.
What a great decision. I know that I’m moved away as of about 1 year ago, but I still like getting these e-mails and suggesting and implementing many things y’all do to and for my new local club.
Also, if possible to setup a straight donation page I would toss a few bucks into that. Looking forward to that e-mail 🙂
I’ve only been playing the sport for about eight months I love being able to go to playin the park enjoy time with my family and friends keep up the good work and I had a question about starting a disc golf course in the town of Pacifica how do I go about organizing it through the city what are my first steps thank you
Very excited to have the Mach X baskets put in! Great quality baskets that are worth the clubs investment. Very proud to be part of this club.
Mach X baskets are not aesthetically pleasing and do not maintain the traditional styling of the hallowed Mach III. I believe the Mach V basket to be a much better choice for our aesthetically stunning course. Mach X baskets are plain ugly, and abstract function is being given too much weight. Mach V baskets are the right balance between form and function imo.
Thank you, for the time and thoughtful energy put into this project. Also for the very clear communication. Very proud to be part of such a well organized club. New Mach X baskets will be a great addition to ggp
I am very much in favor of replacing the baskets, and love the idea of the orange number plate. That being said, Why are we not also power coating the cage and top assembly? They will have minimal impact on the overall appearance from a distance, the metal being too thin to really stand out in the woods that much, but it would help with possible corrosion in the future, as well as looking striking when you get within about 100 feet. Overall very excited!
Personally, I don’t like how the Mach Xs sometimes push out softly thrown putts. However, this is only a quibble, since clearly they are well made and will be an upgrade from what is in the ground now. So I support the decision to install new Mach Xs at GGP.
As a person who went to city hall for disc golf in SF and set up numerous Safari courses pre the Marx Meadow permanent course I fully support the idea of replacing the baskets. Mach Xs are wonderful and I think the orange would look very nice in the park. GO FOR IT!
I totally support the installation of new baskets and am excited to see our home course take the next step. Thanks for this informative letter – this is my first year as a member and I look forward to participating in the next work day. I will keep my eyes out for any and all GGPDGC newsletters!

Keep up the great work.

Great email guys, really well done. I fully support the move to the Mach X’s and ready and willing to help however I can. Especially by buying one off the old baskets! 🙂 Greatly appreciate your guys work and dedication!
I would like to thank everyone who contributed so much time into this project. The Mach X would not be my first choice but I stand behind your decision and I look forward to seeing them in the ground for Birthday Bash!
Just read the excellent letter from the Club. I’ve only been a member for a few years here but I know good leadership when I see it. I’m proud to be a member of this Club, and I fully endorse this effort to replace the baskets. Looking forward to the Birthday Bash!
Most consistent catching target available IMO. There are other targets that do and accept different types of puts better but nothing gives the reliable performance of the Mach X where you know if you throw the same put over and over you will get the same result. No spit throughs and no bounce outs!
I enthusiastically SUPPORT the decision choose the Mach X baskets. 🤘
I like the basket choice. I would also have been happy with Innova Pro 28s, but slightly prefer the Mach X. Special thanks to Shawn Mercy for his excellent research.
I’d also like to express my tremendous gratitude to everyone who has made the club and the course so wonderful for so long. The club leaders have been fantastic, and the maintenance and BP achievements have been amazing. Your leadership and stewardship are the best disc golf gift I get every year, for 10 years running.
THANK YOU SO MUCH!!!
Can we make it a 36 holes course, creating a new short layout for beginners, with the old baskets? Peace!
I support the plan to install X’s
I’m highly disappointed in how this process has turned out. I feel like the democratic process was abandoned because the answer was not what the officers wanted to hear. I’m sorry to be blunt, but that’s how I feel.
This is a completely nearsighted move for multiple reasons:
1. The turnout for the basket meeting was the highest turnout for a club meeting that I’ve seen. So by doing this, we are now discouraging attendance and participation in important club functions, because it sends the message that frankly it doesn’t matter what the majority responds (when asked) if it’s not the “right” answer. I’ve heard complaints often about people who don’t show up to meetings, and now that we got what we wanted (participation in the process) we decide to kill it.
2. This precedent means that in the future, elected club officers can do what they please. This is the money from everybody, and it wasn’t like the vote was 49%/51%. It was heavily in favor of “no”…overwhelmingly against. What exactly is the rationale for overruling the majority? What is the OK to spend everyone’s money on a proposal that the majority have voted against?
3. I get that the club officers believe the Mach X will last longer, and that it “catches better” – a statement I wholly disagree with – and one that is not based on a shred of empirical evidence. However it far oversteps the job to silence the overwhelming majority because “these are (in our opinion) better”. At the end of the day, the club voted against the proposal on multiple grounds, and the response is “no, we know what’s best for you, we’ll do this anyway”. The disproportionate amount of weight given to the construction of the basket itself, at the expense of the player experience demonstrates that the rubric for the decision making by the officers does not reflect that of the average club member in this regard.
4. An email newsletter feels like just trying to sneak it past the goalie. I can’t believe this was the chosen course of action. It feels like just trying to take the path of least resistance and ask forgiveness instead of permission. Furthermore, the phrasing of the email to make it sound like additional due diligence was what the club asked for with their “no” vote is blatantly misleading. Most members voted no to the basket itself. Others felt that DGA was favored in the process.
However, at the end of the day, the reasons are irrelevant. If the democratic process is invoked (as it was in this instance), it’s only right to see the entire process through democratically. I’m writing, not due to my personal preference, which you’ll note I’ve neither pushed here nor publicly, but because the reasonable wishes of the majority are not being represented by our leadership.
I love each of our club officers. Every one of the four of them are awesome people that I’m proud to know and be a fellow club member with. None of this critique is a reflection on how I feel personally, nor is it an attack on their character. However, that is not going to cloud my critical thinking, because this is a very, very botched process.
I offered my help multiple times, and was never taken up on it. I know for a fact that Innova would have our backs if something was wrong with the baskets we would order from them, and I would confidently bet that DGA would offer the same. Both companies were willing to abandon protocol and aggressively bid for the opportunity. The only legitimate differentiating factors in the candidates are a cross-chain inner chain pattern, and a slightly better weatherproofing process. All this is to say that claiming that we’ll get a couple more years of longevity from basket A vs. B – at the expense of the approval of the constituents – is a poor decision to make as elected leaders. Please do the right thing and represent the wishes of the whole club.
I just wanted to drop a note of both appreciation and accolades for our SFDGC Executive team. I recieved the announcement email regarding the 2017 course upgrades; signs and baskets. The communication provided was well written, very informative, provided us a logical line for all SFDGCs decisions and is truly an enthusiasm generator. I support these decisions made on our behalf by the SFDGC BOD for aquisition and installation of 18 New Mach X targets and 18 New tee signs. Cheers to all these efforts!
I am ok with the Mach X baskets. My personal preference would be the Discatcher 28. I think that any new baskets would be nice to have and a step in the right direction. What I am not OK with is the lack of action on new baskets based on everybody griping. I think that we should pull the trigger already, and if you don’t get the basket you want….. so what? They will be new and you will get used to them quit complaining.
Hi club… thanks for the update. I understand this is a very volatile subject, and I think you did a GREAT job at communicating to the club. I think “international orange” is going to become a signature feature of the course, and I’d like to offer a high five to whoever thought of it.

I don’t have an opinion of “Mach X” vs. “something else.” IMO, as long as everyone is throwing at the same (PDGA-approved) target, it’s a level playing field.

I’m also looking forward to bidding on a basket for my backyard!

If the Executive Commitee is trying to push this through under 7.1a then I say under 2.2 this action is not in the spirt of goodwill because it was shot down before and is now being forced through without a vote.
I’m in favor of new baskets and at the moment the Mach X’s seem to be the best choice. We can’t wait for an improved basket that may or may not hit the market. It’s also my understanding the X’s have an improvement coming up (that perhaps we should publicize).
The Mach III baskets should be first offered for purchase to the Hole Sponsors for each respective hole, at a reasonable price.
Absolutely agree with all the reasons given for the choice on the baskets – Good work, great choice, and can’t wait to see them!
It’s a good plan. Go for it. Happy to help with installation and I can store some of the mach III’s in my garage if they need a temporary home.
I play disc golf which involves putting a disc into the basket. Do we all have preferences on the type of baskets? Yes, but at the end of day, it’s a FREAKING basket. Be glad we are able to get new baskets and have officers who put loads of time in behind the scene. Also, if parks and rec won’t approve a colored band, it should be an easy decision to stick with DGA
I love you guys.
Time is now
I am not a fan of Mach X baskets, but admittedly am mostly uninformed as to what the options for the course are.
Hello friends! Love what you guy are doing and I support your Mach X decision. Personally, it doesn’t matter much to me – I’m fine with the existing baskets – but I know that new baskets will make a lot of people happy. I think y’all made a very logical decision, and I think that the vast majority of club members will come to the same conclusion about the Mach X if they have the same information to consider in the same decision the club officers made. If Innova 28’s (which seem to be the popular choice) are definitively off the table because of color issues with the park… can we have a simple club vote on the actual options that exist? I’m sure that if the options are Mach X vs. Prodigy? vs. MVP Portal vs. Keep old baskets vs. Tone Poles vs. whatever else (and Innova 28s are no longer possible), then the group vote will result in the same end game – Mach X’s – and everyone will feel included, including the vocal minority. I assume that a vote using this format – a Google form – would be fair and inclusive, and should include a required confirmation of current member status. Bummed to see this turning into a headache for the club officers, but I can definitely see validity from both sides of this issue and I think a simple vote could heal all wounds.
Fine letter. Glad to see improvements to the course. Excited for new baskets and am somewhat impartial to the model, though the durability argument makes good sense for DGA. I too have seen the corrosion evident on a number of courses with the Innova baskets. Feel free to count this as a yes vote, if counting. Hope to see new baskets by the Birthday Bash and would hate to see this decision get stalled out even further for months. I do wonder why the park is so opposed to brighter baskets, when it could help on the recognizability & safety front. With the popularity of the sport and course, it’s not like we are exactly a low profile backwoods sport anymore. Are we supposed to wear camo and nobody told me? 🙂
Thank you, guys, for all that you do! Clearly, it’s a thankless job, and no decision made will please everyone. Most of us have had a chance to throw at the Mach X basket since several courses in the area have them…it seems to me they favor the hard putter. Which is great for me since I tend to putt hard, but not everyone does..maybe there’s a basket with less bias for any specific putting style? If there are other basket types that a lot of club members really want, I suggest we get one of them and set it up in the practice sleeve so everyone can spend some time with it. At the end of the day, however, I’m down with whatever we end up doing. We’ll all be throwing at the same baskets, and disc golfers learn to adjust to anything!
It is my opinion as a club member and regular golfer at GGP that our current baskets are fine as is. Their is lots of chatter of us “needing” new baskets for one reason or another. Even though I am not a huge fan of Mac IIIs, they are not broken and work fine. I’d like to see our club focus on what I think are more important issues to spend our time and money on like planning for the long term future of the course, ie. tree planting and heavy duty infrastructure upgrades to the course. We can upgrade our baskets at anytime. We cannot, however, plant mature trees at anytime. Lets not undermine the future of our course for a short term want.