Clover Dell could be home to disc golfers

Disc golfers could be the next users of Clover Dell park, and draw more people into Sedalia.

Two disc golf enthusiasts talked to the Sedalia Park Board at its meeting Thursday about designing an up to 36-hole course here.

Kevin Montgomery is an amateur disc golf player of 20 years who recently move here from Kansas City, where he is a member of the Kansas City Flying Disc Club. Montgomery, a member of the Professional Disc Golf Association (PDGA), has helped design and install several courses. Jack Lowe, of Kansas City, is also a member of both organizations.

Disc golf is similar to traditional golf except the object of the game is to throw a disc into a basket raised from the ground.

It is a sport on the rise. The PDGA has more than 16,000 members who play on about 3,000 courses worldwide. The PDGA had 900 sanctioned events that doled out a total of $1.2 million in cash prizes to winners.

“A lot of people just don’t realize how big it’s getting these days,” Montgomery said.

The Park Board has $100,000 earmarked for a disc golf and off-leash dog park at Clover Dell in its special projects budget for 2009-2010. But, the board has yet to finalize a list of projects.

“If the Park Board chooses; it’s (disc golf course) something we can definitely do,” said Park Director Mark Hewett.

A preliminary master plan for Clover Dell included a small disc golf course, but more room has opened up with the elimination of the Sedalia Youth Football fields expected to be built at the new high school. The flat, open land has a small pond that could be used in the course. Very few disc golf courses have a water feature, which is something players enjoy. The space could support up to 36 holes. Montgomery recommended a nine-hole technical course (ideal for beginners), then adding a championship-level 18-hole course. Nine baskets could be used as temporary holes for tournaments and create holes that had never been played before.

Disc golfers walk the course, which typically amounts to three miles.

The terminology for disc golf is similar to that of traditional golf. Holes are typically 300 to 350 feet, and are par three or par five.

Mowing is essential to maintaining the course, Montgomery said.

“If the course gets tall, people won’t want to play,” he said.

The department would have to buy baskets, tee signs, concrete tee boxes, benches and trash cans. Montgomery estimated the cost of a 27-hole course at between $30,000 and $40,000. The nine-hole course could be open for play in spring 2009, with the course finished by summer 2009. The championship course could be finished by summer 2010 and ready to host a PDGA sanctioned tournament.

Tournaments are typically two-day events. Lowe called it a “destination sport.”

“People will drive to your course, just to play it, and if they like it they’ll come back,” Montgomery said.

Disc golf, which is played in every season and weather, is an inexpensive sport for people of all ages, Montgomery said. Beginners can use one disc. Discs can range from $8 to $30 a piece. More serious disc golfers use different discs for different purposes, just as a golfer uses various clubs such as a putter, driver, wedges and nines. It takes about two hours to play 18 holes, Lowe said.

“It’s a sport that’s very addictive,” he said.

In other business, the board discussed an addition to a parking lot at Centennial, which would provide 42 more parking spaces. The project is estimated to cost between $70,000 and $80,000. The addition could be another potential special project for the board’s improvement list.