Parks and Recreation Commission Meeting Packet - January 25, 2007

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JAN07PR PGS.rev 12/27/06 6:30 PM Page 35 I� isc golf, with its flying discs and holes that are closer to the sky than the ground, may not be quite what you think it is. And if you're not careful, the sport may just hit you in the head before your facility is ready to handle it. 'The sport of disc golf is growing quickly. In fact, disc manufacturers esti- mate incredible growth in the next few years for the unique sport of disc golf, which tasks players with landing a disc into a person -sized basket on a pole, or "hole." Harold Duvall, part owner of Innova Champion, a disc manufacturer says, "We've seen steady annual growth in the neighborhood of 15 percent over the past 20 years and expect that yearly growth to continue for the next 20. At this rate, communities and regions with existing courses will need roughly twice their current disc golf capacity in just five to seven years and many con-ummni- ties haven't vet started." Duvall's obser- vation begs the question: are park and recreation facilities ready for the jump in disc golf popularity? by Chuck Kennedy Course Development and Increased Play Disc golf., sometimes referred to as Fris- bee") golf, is played like regular golf except that a disc: is thrown in place of using a club to hit a ball. Players start from each tee and make sequential throws playing their next throw from their previous lie like golf until holing out into a metal basket. "The player tak- ing the least number of throws after 9 or 18 holes is the winner. Players carry a bag of discs with dif- ferent flight characteristics that typi- cally includes several for driving, ap- proaching and putting. The sport offi- cially became disc golf in the 1970s following the invention of the basket by founder Steady Ed Headrick. He watched players informally making up their own games by using objects like trees, light poles and fire hydrants as targets. A nine -hole recreational disc golf course requires a mininncuu of five acres and a championship course requires upwards of 30 acres.. To support this growth, park and recreation managers will need to find public property where disc: golf players can be free to throw and toss.'Fhey should also look at the viability of developing private facilities I ather than public courses that are the standard in most communities. For example, the metro area of the twin cities of Minneapolis and St. Paul, Minn., has been a hotbed of disc golf activity. There are currently 30 courses within a half-hour drive of the inter- state that loops around the cities. More than half of the suburbs either have public, courses or have determined they don't currently have suitable property for one. There are a number of ways for park and recreation departments to deal pos- itively with growth, and even produce income to more than justify the cre- ation of one. If you don't have disc golf in your community yet, you may dis- cover ways to economically justifj! and fund a new course. One of the most straightforward— but not necessarily the easy ways to generate funds for a new coutse—is to collect sponsorship for the basket, 'rAR<S&B E CR c A7 I Ohl JANUARY 2007 35 -4--