Kiwanis Park in Battle Ground will soon feature a practice course for disc golf ], which will expand access to the growing sport in North Clark County.
Vancouver Disc Golf plans to install the course on Sept. 3 and will unveil it to the Battle Ground community during a grand opening ceremony from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Sept. 4.
“The community feedback has been really good,” David Gascon, of Vancouver Disc Golf, said. “It was all privately funded through fundraisers and donations and so it’s not going to cost the city anything.”
Gascon said he hopes more kids will pick up the sport with the addition of the course. He chose Battle Ground for the installation because the city was the first one to respond when the organization reached out to municipalities to see who would be interested in a course.
“I live out in Battle Ground, so I kind of had it in there, but I think that the sport is pretty new, so like anywhere that we put a course, I think there would be demand eventually if it was gone about the right way and made accessible,” he said.
Gascon said the new course will give newer players a “good stepping stone” to hone their skills so they can prepare for more advanced courses like Blue Lake in Fairview, Oregon.
He said the course took a total of six months to plan. It’s intended to be small and will include five baskets where people can take shots of varying distances from 60 to 120 feet. Gascon said they hosted two fundraising events at Leverich Park in Vancouver to help fund the course. Each of the events featured between 40 to 60 players who paid around $25 to participate. The proceeds went toward the construction of the practice course at Kiwanis Park in Battle Ground.
“It was tough to organize because they were professionally-sanctioned events, so everyone who played did get player ratings,” Gascon said. “The events were recognized on a professional level, which always has its own set of obstacles because they have their own standards they expect everyone to abide by. They were fun events.”
At the grand opening celebration, there will be giveaways, which include various discs that were donated by the community. He also plans to hold a raffle for a gift basket. A food vendor and professional coaches, who can teach people how to play, will also be present.
Gascon started hosting events 11 months ago after he noticed there was a high demand for disc golf in the area. He said that made the decision to install the course “a no-brainer.”
He noted the similarities and differences between disc golf and regular golf.
“Disc golf is basically like ball golf, except you throw a frisbee instead of hit a ball,” Gascon said. “It’s scored the same way. We still have birdies and bogeys (and) pars. It’s just played in a little bit different of a format.”
He said each frisbee has its own mold that serves a certain purpose, similar to how different golf clubs are designed.
“Some of them pan to the left, some of them pan to the right, some of them are meant to go 500 feet, some of them are meant to go 200 feet, so it really just kind of depends on the disc,” he said.
Gascon said Vancouver Disc Golf plans to open a larger 18-hole course in Battle Ground in the future. It is currently in the planning stages. He also plans to raise more money to make improvements to Leverich Park, which will include the addition of more signs and will make the course more presentable.
Kiwanis Park is located at 422 SW Second Ave. in Battle Ground.
For more information on Vancouver Disc Golf, go online to vancouverwadiscgolf.com.
