An underutilized Cathedral City park may soon see more activity if a local casual sports group has its way.
The news: Jon Berg, representing the Coachella Valley Discers, made his case for a disc golf course at Patriot Park in front of the city’s Parks and Community Events Commission (PACE) on Sept. 6.
- The cost to the city would be minimal, if there would be any at all, Berg said, as his organization would supply the equipment and help with installation.
- Commissioners, including item sponsor Robert Puentes, were generally supportive of the idea, asking city staff to explore the proposal for further discussion next month.
Closer look: Disc golf is similar to the golf you’re used to in that players try to score par or below. Instead of holes in the ground several hundred yards away from the tee, however, players aim and throw custom Frisbee-like discs at baskets mounted to poles that are up to 400 feet from the tee.
- In Patriot Park, Berg said, the holes would be about 225 feet long, and players would always be aiming away from traffic passing on Date Palm and Dinah Shore drives.
State of play: Berg and his fellow discers have been exploring multiple options in the valley – including a park in Palm Springs — that would allow them more opportunity to play. The group currently holds a monthly event at Palm Royale Country Club in La Quinta and meets weekly at Hovley Park in Palm Desert.
- “We appreciate having it, but it certainly doesn’t meet our needs as we’re growing,” Berg said of the Palm Desert park. “We can only play at limited times, as you can imagine, with all the soccer there.”
Bigger picture: Disc golf is experiencing a boom similar to pickleball. Both are among the country’s fastest-growing sports. Berg, whose Coachella Valley group has 400 members active on Facebook, said disc golf saw a 67% increase in new players over the last two years.
- Worldwide there are about 70,000 active members of the Professional Disc Golf Association.
Bottom line: “I like the idea that it’s catering to adults,” Commissioner Erin Hyland said during the Sept. 6 meeting. “We don’t have a lot of activities in our parks that are specific to the adult population, so I really, really like that about it.”
