McCormick Park Disc Golf Course

The sport of disc golf is extremely simple in its most basic form. It is played in the same manner as golf, but instead of hitting a ball with a club, players throw discs that resemble small Frisbees. Instead of manicured lawns and greens that take large amounts of maintenance and fertilizers, disc golf is played in open fields and among trees, with the goal of ending up in a basket at the end of each hole. The sport of disc golf has been gaining popularity rapidly in the last few decade as testified by the number of new courses being installed all over the country. There are currently 12,859 members of the Professional Disc Golf Association (PDGA). The number of active recreational players tops 500,000 in the United States alone.

Disc golf courses come in many different shapes and sizes as well a great variety of terrains. The only real requirement is suitable land. There are “Championship” level courses that involve long holes reaching over 1000’ in length, and there are beginner level courses where most holes are just a couple hundred feet in length. The course proposed for St. Helens would be built with the “beginner” to “intermediate” level player in mind. This way, it would attract people who want to check out the sport for the first time, and still hold the interest of the most advanced player due to some key design elements. Disc golf courses are typically free, encouraging players of all budgets. We believe that keeping the focus at the “intermediate” level will encourage new players and families to participate in this activity that is new to the City of St. Helens.

After completing a walkthrough of McCormick Park, we believe that an 18-hole course is feasible given the available space. This proposal aims to address the key aspects of installing and maintaining a public disc golf course. Below is a layout of the preliminary design locations for each of the 18 holes of the proposed McCormick Park Disc Golf Course.