# What are these steel objects in the park? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [August 14, 2017, 3:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-these-steel-objects-in-the-park/793605 "2017-08-14T03:16:50Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![salinqmind](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/3ec8ea/32.png) [@salinqmind](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/salinqmind)\ **Post date:** [August 14, 2017, 3:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-these-steel-objects-in-the-park/793605/1 "2017-08-14T03:16:50Z")
This is kind of vague, but today walking in a town park, we saw these objects in the wooded trail area of the park, here and there. They looked like metal baskets or cages, mounted on steel poles, about 3 feet high, not real big. There was nothing in them. I can’t for the life of me think what their purpose could be. We live in Central NY State. Anyone have any idea? I may call the parks and recreation department tomorrow, but I have a feeling I will get a ‘duh, whut?’ for my efforts. ---
**Author:** ![Defensive\_Indifference](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/defensive_indifference/32/6502_2.png) [@Defensive\_Indifference](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Defensive_Indifference)\ **Post date:** [August 14, 2017, 3:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-these-steel-objects-in-the-park/793605/2 "2017-08-14T03:20:42Z")
Did they look like this: [https://pmamusements.com/wp-content/uploads/Frisbee-Golf-20160321-223212-1.jpg](https://pmamusements.com/wp-content/uploads/Frisbee-Golf-20160321-223212-1.jpg) That’s a target for frisbee golf. ETA: Though, I guess those wouldn’t be in a wooded area, so I got nothin’. ---
**Author:** ![GusNSpot](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gusnspot/32/436_2.png) [@GusNSpot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GusNSpot)\ **Post date:** [August 14, 2017, 3:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-these-steel-objects-in-the-park/793605/3 "2017-08-14T03:33:24Z")
No picture or much of an explanation but I would guess they are trash container holders for plastic trash cans or for plastic sacks. Trail walkers or small parks do not normally need big 55 gallon trash containers. Picture or drawing would help a lot… ---
**Author:** ![scr4](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/59ef9b/32.png) [@scr4](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/scr4)\ **Post date:** [August 14, 2017, 3:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-these-steel-objects-in-the-park/793605/4 "2017-08-14T03:34:24Z")
> [@Bayard](#): > > Did they look like this: > > [https://pmamusements.com/wp-content/uploads/Frisbee-Golf-20160321-223212-1.jpg](https://pmamusements.com/wp-content/uploads/Frisbee-Golf-20160321-223212-1.jpg) > > That’s a target for frisbee golf. > > ETA: Though, I guess those wouldn’t be in a wooded area, so I got nothin’. It’s [“disc golf”](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Disc_golf), and many disc golf courses _are_ in wooded areas. ---
**Author:** ![Snarky\_Kong](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a183cd/32.png) [@Snarky\_Kong](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snarky_Kong)\ **Post date:** [August 14, 2017, 3:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-these-steel-objects-in-the-park/793605/5 "2017-08-14T03:49:39Z")
> [@scr4](#): > > It’s [“disc golf”](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Disc_golf), and many disc golf courses _are_ in wooded areas. You “corrected” him with a cite that also says frisbee golf is used. ---
**Author:** ![salinqmind](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/3ec8ea/32.png) [@salinqmind](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/salinqmind)\ **Post date:** [August 14, 2017, 5:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-these-steel-objects-in-the-park/793605/6 "2017-08-14T05:25:13Z")
Frisbee golf target! THAT IS IT! Thank you, you people are so smart! ---
**Author:** ![Isilder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/cc9497/32.png) [@Isilder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Isilder)\ **Post date:** [August 14, 2017, 5:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-these-steel-objects-in-the-park/793605/7 "2017-08-14T05:27:33Z")
Sure, we have them out here too. Not that we bothered to partake in this activity. It might be called golf, but maybe the 19th hole is why people go to real gole ?? ---
**Author:** ![Defensive\_Indifference](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/defensive_indifference/32/6502_2.png) [@Defensive\_Indifference](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Defensive_Indifference)\ **Post date:** [August 14, 2017, 2:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-these-steel-objects-in-the-park/793605/8 "2017-08-14T14:06:57Z")
Huh. I didn’t realize there were many courses in wooded areas. I only played once or twice, maybe 20 years ago, and it was in a fairly open area. Anyway, I’m glad I got in with the first right answer! Woo-hoo! I never get in first. ---
**Author:** ![carnivorousplant](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnivorousplant/32/3563_2.png) [@carnivorousplant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carnivorousplant)\ **Post date:** [August 14, 2017, 2:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-these-steel-objects-in-the-park/793605/9 "2017-08-14T14:15:32Z")
> [@Snarky\_Kong](#): > > You “corrected” him with a cite that also says frisbee golf is used. Now _that_ is snarky! 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Francis\_Vaughan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/francis_vaughan/32/3093_2.png) [@Francis\_Vaughan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Francis_Vaughan)\ **Post date:** [August 14, 2017, 2:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-these-steel-objects-in-the-park/793605/10 "2017-08-14T14:29:10Z")
And here was me thinking some sort of gibbet. Perhaps for midget poachers. ---
**Author:** ![LSLGuy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lslguy/32/5813_2.png) [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)\ **Post date:** [August 14, 2017, 2:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-these-steel-objects-in-the-park/793605/11 "2017-08-14T14:46:06Z")
> [@Isilder](#): > > Sure, we have them out here too. Not that we bothered to partake in this activity. > It might be called golf, but maybe the 19th hole is why people go to real gole ?? Most [del]Frisbee®™[/del] disc golf sessions end with a picnic in the same park / forest where the course is. At such picnics the beer is cheaper and the service is quicker than at any traditional golf course. ---
**Author:** ![Darren\_Garrison](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/darren_garrison/32/92_2.png) [@Darren\_Garrison](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darren_Garrison)\ **Post date:** [August 14, 2017, 2:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-these-steel-objects-in-the-park/793605/12 "2017-08-14T14:52:21Z")
> [@Francis\_Vaughan](#): > > And here was me thinking some sort of gibbet. Perhaps for midget poachers. How many midgets can you poach in the typical park? ---
**Author:** ![Ludovic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7ab992/32.png) [@Ludovic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ludovic)\ **Post date:** [August 14, 2017, 2:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-these-steel-objects-in-the-park/793605/13 "2017-08-14T14:59:29Z")
None: you grill them instead. ---
**Author:** ![Pixel\_Dent](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/bc8723/32.png) [@Pixel\_Dent](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pixel_Dent)\ **Post date:** [August 14, 2017, 3:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-these-steel-objects-in-the-park/793605/14 "2017-08-14T15:07:54Z")
> [@Bayard](#): > > Huh. I didn’t realize there were many courses in wooded areas. I only played once or twice, maybe 20 years ago, and it was in a fairly open area. In the areas I’ve lived wooded courses are at least as common if not more common than open ones. In the old days when you just stuck up a few baskets in a field somewhere open courses were probably more common. These days with towns hiring architects to design community courses paths through the woods are much more common. ---
**Author:** ![gnoitall](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/bb73d2/32.png) [@gnoitall](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gnoitall)\ **Post date:** [August 14, 2017, 3:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-these-steel-objects-in-the-park/793605/15 "2017-08-14T15:09:32Z")
> [@Darren\_Garrison](#): > > How many midgets can you poach in the typical park? And how gently do you have to float them into the simmering water so their yolks don’t break? Ewww.:eek: ---
**Author:** ![Leo\_Bloom](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/leo_bloom/32/10377_2.png) [@Leo\_Bloom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leo_Bloom)\ **Post date:** [August 14, 2017, 3:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-these-steel-objects-in-the-park/793605/16 "2017-08-14T15:10:00Z")
Sheesh, you guys had all this time, and now I’m first: Midget gibbet. Band name. ---
**Author:** ![LSLGuy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lslguy/32/5813_2.png) [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)\ **Post date:** [August 14, 2017, 3:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-these-steel-objects-in-the-park/793605/17 "2017-08-14T15:27:07Z")
As long as the bag limit is at least 1, in most cases poaching isn’t necessary; you can take all you can find. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Darren\_Garrison](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/darren_garrison/32/92_2.png) [@Darren\_Garrison](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darren_Garrison)\ **Post date:** [August 14, 2017, 3:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-these-steel-objects-in-the-park/793605/18 "2017-08-14T15:35:42Z")
> [@LSLGuy](#): > > As long as the bag limit is at least 1, in most cases poaching isn’t necessary; you can take all you can find. 😃 Well, if you have [nerves of steel](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HoRx3buyBxU) you can. ---
**Author:** ![blondebear](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/blondebear/32/1022_2.png) [@blondebear](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/blondebear)\ **Post date:** [August 14, 2017, 3:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-these-steel-objects-in-the-park/793605/19 "2017-08-14T15:54:44Z")
There are 116 established “frisbee golf” courses in New York according to [dgcoursereview](https://www.dgcoursereview.com/browse.php?private=1&paytoplay=1&zip_distance=25&cname=&city=&state=37&country=1&zipcode=). I use the website all the time when I’m on the road. There are a **lot** of disc golf courses around the country in all kinds of different terrain. One of the more unusual locations I’ve played in was in the badlands of Makoshika State Park in Montana. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [August 14, 2017, 4:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-these-steel-objects-in-the-park/793605/20 "2017-08-14T16:42:04Z")
In my experience, most disk golf (especially on college campuses, where it’s quite popular) is played with random trees or lightposts designated as the targets. But I think some parks worry that constantly getting hit by frisbees will damage tree bark, so they offer the basket-things as an alternative. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-these-steel-objects-in-the-park/793605.md?page=2)