Brandon Twp.- A proposed disc golf course here may take a detour for a change of scenery.
During a May 6 meeting, the township board discussed the possible installation of a 9-hole disc golf course at the community park, 1414 N. Hadley Road. The development of the course has been touted as a way to provide additional recreation at no cost to the township, as construction and materials would be provided through donations and hole sponsors. However, board members have expressed concerns over the placement of the majority of the course in the passive tree library phase of the park.
Those concerns were cited once again at the meeting and as the board struggled with the issue, a new plan was proposed.
The board has agreed to have the parks and recreation subcommittee consult with disc golf course planners to see if the course could be rerouted into a planned active area of the park.
The suggested route would use the area that is planned for baseball fields.
‘I think it’s a great idea and we should see if we can put it somewhere else,? said Trustee Dana DePalma. ‘There is so much time before ball fields come, we could put (the disc golf course) there, and then five years or more from now when ball fields come, we could move it.?
While baseball fields have always been part of the park’s strategic plan, the cost of the fields has delayed their development.
Trustee Jayson Rumball, also on the parks and recreation subcommittee, plans to do a walk-through at the park later this month with Township Supervisor Kathy Thurman, Recreation Director Fred Waybrant and two disc golf industry friends.
‘I think (the disc golf course) is something we will end up doing eventually,? said Rumball, who added that it would likely stay a 9-hole course, but two launch pads on each hold could convert it to 18 holes and make tournament play possible.