HUNTINGTON BEACH : Disc Golfers Teed Off at 2-Month Loss of Course

Disc golf players are teed off that the city will temporarily close the grassy and tree-lined 18-hole course at Central Park for the summer and relocate it to an adjacent dirt site.

“There are a lot of unhappy disc golfers; it’s going to hurt everybody,” said player James Hunt, adding that summer is the peak season for the popular sport.

City Community Services Director Ron Hagan said the disc golf course will be closed from mid-June until mid-August to make irrigation and turf improvements and prepare for an upcoming equestrian event.

Disc golf is one of the fastest-growing sports, in which Frisbees and other plastic discs are thrown into “disc pole holes,” or chain baskets, Hunt said. As in golf, the player with the fewest throws wins the game.

Players said they oppose being displaced and forced to play in an undeveloped area of the park during the summer months.

“There are no obstacles (trees), and basically it’s a dust bowl down there,” champion professional player Travis Reynolds said of the temporary site.

Reynolds also said the course, which opened 17 years ago, is the only 18-hole public championship course in Orange County. The nearest comparable course is in La Mirada, he said.

Hundreds of players from throughout Orange County use the course each week, Hunt said.

More than 800 players who frequent the course have signed a petition urging city officials not to close the course for more than 30 days. Players have also embarked on a letter-writing and telephoning campaign to city officials.

Hunt said the city should hold the horse show at another site or find a park site with grass, trees and shrubs to relocate the disc golf course.

The park area will be turned into a show jumping arena for the GTE Directories Summer Classic equestrian event Aug. 8-13. The disc golf course was closed for six weeks last summer to accommodate the event, in which proceeds benefit the Huntington Beach Art Center that opened in March. The event raised $91,000, and the goal for this year is $125,000, city officials said.

Disc golfers, however, charge that it is unfair to players to take away their recreational activities to accommodate the horse show.

But Hagan said the improvements will enhance the disc golf course for future use.

“I’m bending over backward to relocate them while making improvements that will benefit them the rest of the year,” Hagan said.