This city could be getting further into the swing of disc golf.
Barrie councillors passed a motion Wednesday night to have staff investigate the feasibility, needs and cost to develop a nine-hole disc golf course on city-owned land adjacent to Park Place that includes the public and disc golf community. Staff would then report back to the infrastructure and community investment committee by October 2024.
Coun. Jim Harris, who brought the idea to committee, said his interest in this property dates back to 2019 when he walked the site with city staff with the idea of doing something to make it more active.
“It’s a very under-utilized piece of property and, as I knew at the time, (the city) had no real plan for it,” said the Ward 8 councillor. “Recognizing how popular the sport is, how accessible the sport is, both for individual ability and age and finance, I came back to this space.
“But we need to find out some details around the cost associated with doing this, and logistics," Harris added.
Councillors also passed a motion to investigate the feasibility of updating the parks strategic plan in 2025, with related costing, and report back on the results of the investigation.
These motions still require city council approval before any action is taken, which could come March 27.
Disc golf is played much like golf, but instead of a ball and clubs, players use a flying disc, which is to be thrown into an elevated basket. Players with the fewest throws win each hole, or the game.
Barrie’s Sandy Hollow site on Ferndale Drive is among the most used courses in Canada, Harris has said, but it may need to be used in the future for the city’s landfill needs.
Harris describes the Park Place site in question as having a quasi-walking path, with some sensitive environmental conditions, that could be used as an introductory nine-hole disc golf course. He’s said it’s not large enough for a soccer field or ball park.
If approved as a new disc golf site, Harris said his community project fund could pay some of the cost. Each councillor has this fund, with $25,000 for the term of council (2022-26), for projects within their ward.
A memo from city manager of parks planning Kevin Bradley said staff support the need for this study when considering the proposed timing of the closure of the existing disc golf course at Sandy Hollow.
Bradley also said the city should not undertake stand-alone studies on an individual sport-by-sport basis (pickleball, cricket, disc golf), but advance a parks strategic plan to provide community-driven, sustainable and city-wide direction for all aspects of the city’s investment, service delivery and strategic initiatives guiding the future planning, design, acquisition, improvement, management, operations, programming and use of city parks, natural heritage land and open spaces.
The Barrie Disc Golf Club, which operates at the Sandy Hollow course, had approximately 200 players last season at its various weekly events, although many more casual players visit the Sandy Hollow property.
The Sandy Hollow course is 20 holes spread across approximately 15 acres in the buffer zone between Barrie’s landfill and the surrounding community.
