New disc golf course opens in Austin

AUSTIN (KXAN) - Disc golfers in Austin and across Central Texas will have a new local venue come Saturday as a new, from-the-ground-up disc golf course opens in Roy G. Guerrero Colorado River Park.

Festivities at the course will start at 8:30 a.m. Vendors, live bands, food, raffles and rounds of golf are available. The opening ceremony is at 10 a.m. and rounds of golf start at 10:30 a.m. with all players starting at Hole No. 1.

"We’re thrilled to unveil this course that serves as not only a great boon for disc golfers, but also a great model of teamwork between our clubs, individuals, businesses and the Austin P[arks] A[and] R[ecreation] D[epartment],” said Gordon Maxim-Kelley, president of the Waterloo Disc Golf Club.

The course begins near the parking lot of Krieg Softball Fields off of Pleasant Valley Road.

For more than a year, the Austin Parks and Recreation Department has worked with Austin Parks Foundation, local disc golf clubs and businesses -- such as Waterloo Disc Golf Club, South Austin Disc Association and Disc Nation retail store --  to develop the course. 

Through professional course development provided by PARD; rigorous nature preservation measures and erosion control; and the blood, sweat and tears of many volunteers, this 18-hole professional-level course is ready for its debut, according to Maxim-Kelley.

He said until most recently, this area of the park has been known as a site for transient activities and make-shift camping. The course developers hauled off hundreds of pounds of trash, as well as construction debris during course construction. Fairways were designed to work with the natural setting, and course architects managed to preserve the trees and the already-established park layout.

“Though we provided significant sweat equity to clean up this area and get it in shape to function as a disc golf course for people who already love the sport, one of our ultimate goals is to introduce more people to disc golf and this great recreational opportunity,” said Maxim-Kelley.
 
Part of the money raised Saturday will be donated to the Montopolis Little League and Educational Disc Golf Experience.