Disc golf is ready to be played. The new disc golf course that was completed in March is at the end of South Washington Avenue, saddled between Elm Creek and a few houses that survived the flood in 2007. THE CREATION of the course began in December.
“It was already an effort in progress when I got involved,” said Daren Baldwin, pastor of the Nazarene Church.
Baldwin credited Donna Houser, a neighbor to the church, for piquing his interest in the sport locally.
“I was curious because I learned how to play disc golf in Emporia, where my brother [Daniel] went to college. I was interested and they let me be involved with the planning process a little bit.”
Baldwin said the idea for a local disc golf course came from Kara Godfrey, who said she thought it would be a good activity for area youths.
Godfrey and her husband, Tony, pastor of Harvest Baptist Church, moved to Iola from Texas, where he was really into disc golf — a sport many college-aged students play.
Baldwin agreed.
Emporia, home to Emporia State University, has several disc golf courses and is where Baldwin got his start with the sport.
“My brother lived next to Jones Park, which is one of the better courses in the state,” Baldwin said. “They host some international tournaments even. I got started when he was throwing. I’m not a great thrower, but it’s like one of those things like regular golf, you don’t have to be a professional at it to enjoy it. As long as you have some great people to throw with.”
As a member of Iola’s Community Involvement Task Force, Kara brought the idea to the group, who endorsed it.
Kara, Houser and John Robertson, a grant writer with Thrive Allen County, helped work on a grant application from the Healthcare Foundation of Greater Kansas City. In August 2014 they received a $25,000 grant for the park.
Most of the money went toward creating the course. Some went to SAFE BASE, the school district’s after-school program, which now offers a class on disc golf. Another portion of the money has gone toward promotion of the course and to the purchase of the discs needed to play the game. These discs will be handed out at the official grand opening of the course on June 24 and to students at Allen Community College. Also, a small amount of the grant has been set aside for the pickleball club, which will use it to upgrade their courts on North Cottonwood Street.
“To me, [disc golf] is something almost anybody can do,” Baldwin said. “I have some nieces who are 5 and 9. If I go out and see my brother, we can take the two of them disc golfing. They aren’t going to hit world-distance putts. They don’t need a course with 500-yard holes. That can be detracting to people that are starting up.
“Even though this is a smaller space and the holes are close together, it can really benefit the families of the area and amateur disc golfers as a whole.”
Tony Godfrey invited his friend J.D. Hillstead up from Oklahoma to help out with the layout of the course. Hillstead, who lives in Miami, Okla., plays and has helped layout disc golf courses before. Godfrey, Hillstead, Baldwin and Joe Springer each helped plan the course during the fall.
According to Baldwin, there weren’t any blueprints when he got involved. They planned the course at the end of South Washington Avenue because the land was vacant. After the flood in 2007, many homes had to be demolished.
“The city really went, ‘what are we going to do with this space?’” Baldwin said.
The foursome gave their blueprint to the City of Iola. Some things needed to be changed. On hole 2, the design had it located on top of foundry material. That had to be moved because the ground wasn’t stable.
Baldwin said that he didn’t give a “whole lot of input,” on the final course design, but liked where things were headed.
The course was put together from December through March. City parks crews did much of the labor, such as putting up the concrete slabs where golfers will tee off.
Baldwin had this advice to potential newbies of the sport: “Find somebody who already plays, maybe watch tutorials on how to throw. You can start with just one disc. I’ve got an all-purpose disc. You can drive with it, but it’s not going to be the longest drive. You can putt with it, but it’s not going to be the most stable putt.”
After getting the hang of the sport, Baldwin said golfers can end up with a multitude of discs.
The course is now open and free to play. The official grand opening will be on June 24 from 6 to 8 p.m. There will be free hot dogs and free discs.
New disc golf course ready for beginners
