East Gwillimbury resident helps design town's 1st local disc golf course

Yorkregion.com
Nov. 6, 2023

During the pandemic, 29-year-old Holland Landing resident Brandon King got into the sport of disc golf. The only problem with his new-found hobby was that there was nowhere close by to play.

“At the time, the closest course was Sandy Hollow in Barrie,” he said.

Disc golf became one of the fastest-growing sports in North America during the pandemic, as lockdown restrictions made it one of the few accessible sports to play, and King jumped in headfirst. “It was something that consumed a lot of my time,” he said.

But driving to Barrie every time he wanted to play disc golf got tiring, so King contacted the Town of East Gwillimbury about building a local disc golf course. Much to his surprise, the parks and recreation department responded, and he was out at Sharon Hills Park with town staff. King went from a recreation disc golf player to a course designer as he put together a layout for a nine-hole course at the park with the help of town staff.

“I wanted the course to be accessible to beginners, but still challenging,” he said. In disc golf speak, that means that there are a number of shorter holes around 180 feet apart, with a few holes over 300 feet apart that only the more seasoned disc golf players can reach in one shot. “Those holes provide a bit of challenge and something to work towards as a beginner,” King said.

The course loops around the outside of the soccer field and tennis court and into a natural wooded area. The park did provide a unique design challenge for King. “I had to make sure that discs weren’t flying onto the 404,” King said, referencing the highway that shares a fence line with the park.

East Gwillimbury general manager of parks, recreation and culture Aaron Karmazyn said the pilot course has been successful and well-received by the community. The costs for the basic design, signs and equipment was included with the 2023 parks operations budget. Karmazyn said the success of this model and pilot project to date can be applied to other parks and communities in East Gwillimbury over time.