An Airdrie resident is hoping to help bring the first disc golf course to the city.
Self-professed disc golf enthusiast Adam Martin presented to Airdrie City council at their March 1 meeting. His presentation delved into the sport of disc golf and why the City of Airdrie should look into designing and constructing a local course.
“I started playing disc golf in 2020 due to COVID-19 cancelling pretty much everything else I was able to do,” Martin said. “Ever since then, I’ve been an active member of the disc golf community. Adding to that, I hate driving 30 minutes to play a round of disc golf.”
Similar to traditional golf, the sport of disc golf involves throwing a frisbee or disc from a tee pad into a chained basket, with the objective of landing the disc in the basket in as few throws as possible. Courses typically include nine or 18 baskets, with each “hole” ranging in difficulty and length.
According to Martin, disc golf has increased in popularity in recent years. The sport saw a notable spike in usership last year, when pandemic-related restrictions meant many other recreational activities were not allowed.
“Fifty-million rounds were played in 2020, with more than two-thirds of those played in North America,” he said, referencing statistics from UDisc – an app used by players of the sport. “Baker Park in Calgary had 18,700 rounds scored in 2020. Sixty per cent of all disc golfers play at least once a month, with 50 per cent of new disc golfers playing up to five rounds in their first month.
Martin added there are more than 11,500 courses worldwide, and more than three courses were built every day in 2020.
“Seventy per cent of those courses were built in the last decade, to show the growth in the last 10 years and how popular this sport is getting,” he said.
Despite the lack of a course in Airdrie, Martin said the sport has caught on locally as well, with the Airdrie Disc Golf Club boasting 112 members. He attributed the sport’s popularity to its affordability and accessibility, in addition to its social and health benefits.
As for where a disc golf course could be located in Airdrie, Martin suggested Chinook Winds Regional Park or East Lake Regional Park as ideal locations, given East Lake’s proximity to Bert Church High School. He said a nine-hole course requires roughly 10 acres of space.
“We really like the idea of the youth coming out and growing our junior level of the sport, especially in these days, when kids are kind of glued to their screens and need more opportunity to go outside,” he said.
In terms of the cost and maintenance of building a local course, Martin claimed top-end courses cost roughly $3,000 per hole, with the costs needed to fund the installation of the baskets and cement tee pads, as well as additional garbage cans and signage.
However, he said courses can be constructed for much less than that by utilizing volunteers and choosing temporary wood-frame or gravel tee pads, rather than cement.
Disc golf courses are also very low-maintenance, he added, only requiring clearing the pathways in the winter, cutting the grass in the summer and minor upkeep of the equipment.
Following Martin’s presentation, councillors expressed enthusiasm at the possibility of bringing a course to Airdrie. Some members mentioned the idea has come forward to council previously.
Coun. Ron Chapman asked if there is a potential for conflict between disc golf players and non-players in a public park setting. Martin replied its is possible, but that courses are typically designed to keep the playing area away from other park visitors.
“Our community members, we always strive to be safe and to make sure we’re not throwing toward other users in the park,” he said. “Baker Park being an example, it’s a very busy park – there are lots of pathways and lots of other park users – and we’ve been able to very easily co-exist with those people.”
Council ultimately voted in favour of a motion for City staff to meet with Martin to discuss the feasibility of constructing a disc golf course in Airdrie. The vote passed unanimously.
“As we have seen with pickle ball, it kind of appeared and then blew up, with everybody wanting to play,” said Coun. Tina Petrow. “I think we responded really well to that and I’d like to see us respond to some of these other recreation asks as they come forward, no matter what that looks like.”
Scott Strasser, AirdrieToday.com
Follow me on Twitter @scottstrasser19
