By Mason Edwards, the Chattanooga Times Free Press
Disc golfers and outdoors enthusiasts will have something new to check out this weekend with the grand opening Saturday of an 18-hole disc golf course at Enterprise South Nature Park.
The event comes two years after the decision to add the course, a project that cost $25,000, according to officials. Saturday's gathering will celebrate the cooperation between Hamilton County Parks and Recreation, Prodigy Disc Golf and community volunteers. A tournament will follow the ribbon-cutting.
Park Superintendent Allison Harr is excited that her facility can offer such a new amenity that — while accommodating to sport enthusiasts of all ages — is also designed at a championship level.
"The ribbon-cutting ceremony is going to be integrated into the tournament," Harr said. "We'll have players teeing off, and we're going to announce the course, how it came to be and give thanks to the people who helped make it happen.
The disc golf community in Chattanooga is elated over the new course’s inherent challenges, natural beauty and historic significance. The course was designed by three-time United States Disc Golf Championship winner Will Schusterick, who was also the number one disc golf player in the world in 2012.
"The local disc golf community in Chattanooga is actually one of the largest in the Southeast, but they really have been underserved," Schusterick said.
Named after the now-abandoned dynamite storage bunkers dotting Enterprise South Nature Park’s landscape, the Corbettas disc golf course adds a new location for one of the most popular cities in Tennessee for disc golfers. The region has players of all skill levels, from beginners to players ranked in the top 100 in the world.
“Everyone was very excited,” local disc golfer Adam Martin said about the announcement. “We all heard that we were going to be getting a championship level course, and getting a new course is always like Christmas for disc golfers.”
According to Schusterick, parks often put disc golf courses on land unsuitable for any other purpose, and with a relatively small cost compared to other sports fields and low maintenance costs, disc golf courses are easy and affordable for parks to add and maintain.
"It does take somebody who has played a lot of those courses before to be able to design and lay one out,” Schusterick said. "A championship level course would be much longer with par fours and par fives... the difficulty level is going to be raised several notches in comparison to your typical recreational disc golf course.”
Chattanooga local Andrew Bushey has played disc golf for fifteen years, and– when compared to the Sinks, found the Corbettas will have about double the playable length, with tighter fairways, more challenging elevation and more trees to maneuver around.
Even with all the excitement around the new championship park, Schusterick and Martin both stressed the accessibility, affordability and community associated with playing disc golf in Chattanooga. Harr explained that as long as one is able to walk the course and terrain, they should be able to also play.
“It's one of the fastest growing sports in the world for a reason,” Schusterick said. “And it's just very inclusive for every demographic level that is almost incomparable when you look at any other sport… the cost of entry is really, really small... all you really need is one $8 disc to get started.”
Disc golf resembles golf with its language and play style, but instead of landing golf balls into holes on the green, disc golfers aim for metal baskets that catch the disc. Like in golf, players must throw from wherever their disc lands.
“The disc golf community loves helping new people and helping grow the sport,” Martin added.
The Corbettas doesn’t open to the public until Sunday, so if you want to warm up for the new park or try disc golf for the first time, there are a few other courses available in the region. The Sinks is an 18-hole course off Highway 58, and it’s one of the most played in Tennessee. Camp Jordan hosts another 18-hole course, while Southern Adventist and Pleasant Park feature nine-hole courses.
The event celebrating the park begins at 10:00 am at Enterprise South Nature Park, located at 190 Still Hollow Loop Road, Chattanooga, TN. Harr planned to spend time celebrating everyone who helped make the Corbettas possible, and she has an optimistic outlook on the new addition to her park.
"As long as people are active and want to have fun, I think disc golf is going to continue to grow,” Harr said. “It’s fairly inexpensive and can be learned pretty easily.”
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