Detroit now has its own disc golf course, located on the old golf course on Belle Isle. So, how exactly did
Detroit Disc Golf come to be? "It all started on a gloomy night in a gloomy bar…" says co-founder Chris Haag. He and his friends used to live in the suburbs where they had five disc golf courses within minutes of their homes. When they moved to Detroit, there wasn't a single course within 45 minutes.
After that one fateful night at the bar in 2011, Haag and his friends decided they were going to build a disc golf course in Detroit. After deciding a citywide course wasn't practical they thought, why not Belle Isle? They started working with Detroit's Parks & Recreation Department and within a couple of months hosted their first disc golf tournament on Belle Isle. About 150 people came to play and another 100 came to watch. "I've had people say to me it was the most spectated and received the most media attention of any disc golf tournament they've seen," says Haag.
Haag – along with Andrew Frazier, who owns Up in the Air Disc Golf in Waterford; Nick Oliver, who owns
Commotion Designs and handles all of their graphics and print materials; as well as dozens of others who rallied around them and volunteered their time to make it happen – stayed in touch with park management through that winter and spring. Finally Belle Isle management suggested they use the old golf course – 32 acres of land with a ticket booth, covered bridge, a lake, and a small river. So Haag and the core team of Detroit Disc Golf organizers and over a hundred volunteers hosted the second annual Battle at the Belle in 2012 with food and beverage sponsors, live bands, even a puppet show. Around 400 people came out for the two-day tournament, and people even camped on the island.
The course they used for the tournament was a temporary one. Detroit Disc Golf received official approval from Belle Isle to build their course in the park just this spring. As soon as that happened, the
Michigan Disc Golf Organization donated three baskets, and just a few days later a private donor gave them 16 more – a value of around $8,000 in donated equipment. "In a snap of the fingers we had all the equipment we needed to build the course," Haag says. They spent two months on the layout and design, and just last week completed the installation.
Detroit Disc Golf is now open and is currently offering free play year-round (except for leagues and tournaments). As maintaining the course is not without its expenses (like $1,200 every time they need to cut the grass, which is a minimum of twice per month), they are talking about organizing as a nonprofit and are currently running a fundraising campaign through
Detroit's own Patronicity at
Detroitdiscgolf.org.
Haag described this as his "feel-good hobby to be involved with the city;" the guys aren't in it for profit. Their ultimate goal is to bring the
Professional Disc Golf Association World Championships to Detroit in a few years. "This is a bottom-up project; if people didn't want it, it wouldn't be there."
Source: Chris Haag, co-founder of Detroit Disc Golf
Writer: Nicole Rupersburg
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