Skip to content

Kent to buy disc golf equipment for parks

The district will be purchasing portable equipment as a kind of trial program for the sport
24428723_web1_200715-GFG-A1-Photo-July15_1
Dan Macmaster goes to sink a put during the first-ever disc golf tournament held in Grand Forks. The District of Kent is purchasing portable disc golf equipment to let locals get a sense of the sport before looking into a permanent course for the community. (Jensen Edwards/Grand Forks Gazette)

Disc golf is coming to Agassiz.

During Monday night’s council meeting (March 8), council voted to spend $1,500 to purchase portable disc golf equipment.

The idea of bringing disc golf to the community had been proposed by a number of people in the community.

Most recently Simon Braun had sent a letter to council about the game, but Laurens van Vliet had also brought the idea forward back in 2015.

The most recent meeting of the Parks, Recreation and Trails Committee featured a full discussion about the sport, including whether it would be better to have a permanent or portable disc golf set up.

Currently, there are no suitable areas within the District of Kent for a nine-hole course, as most parks are too small and feature multi-use areas that could be impacted by the hard flying discs.

RELATED: Agassiz’s Centennial Park to get $90K upgrade

Van Vliet, in the committee meeting, said that permanent set up of one or two baskets in Centennial Park could be possible, and preferable than the “flimsy portable disc golf baskets.”

However, the master plan guiding Centennial Park doesn’t include space for a disc golf course, and any equipment would need to be taken down for things like the Fall Fair.

Director of Community Services and Projects Jennifer Thornton said in the meeting that portable disc golf equipment would be better to help introduce the community to the sport, setting it up as a sort of trial before any large capital costs or dedicated spaces are considered.

The disc golf baskets being purchased by the District of Kent will be held at the Community Recreation and Cultural Centre, and will be able to be signed out by residents.

RELATED: It’s a bird, it’s a plane, it’s a flying golf disc!

This would act as a pilot project to help gauge community interest as staff continue to look into finding a permanent location for a disc golf course in Agassiz or Harrison.

Possible locations include Mount Woodside and the East Sector Lands, although staff have yet to find one that works unequivocally.

There are currently four disc golf courses between Abbotsford and Hope, three of which are publicly available at no cost. The smallest one is in Chilliwack, at Walden Park.



news@ahobserver.com

Like us on Facebook and follow us on Twitter