Some people would like to see Anna Jean Cummings Park welcome a disc golf course. Photo from SCParks.com.
Some people are worried about an idea for a disc golf course at Anna Jean Cummings Park, saying it would bring “flying projectiles” to a quiet mid-county open space, according to a petition that is currently making the rounds in Soquel. Supporters of the course counter that they are just looking for a place to play.
Neither supporters nor opponents are ready to say too much about the possible course at the park, which would involve enthusiasts lobbing plastic discs at metal poles. Still, as the “flying projectiles” petition indicates, sentiments are definitely strong.
Luke Dahlen, a Spanish teach from Soquel High School, is working on a proposal for the course right now with the help of students and members of the school’s disc golf club. Dahlen says he’s keeping relatively quiet because he wants to finish his proposal before angry, park-adoring neighbors come after his recreational disc golf dream with torches and pitchforks. He is says he’s excited about his unfinished proposal, though.
“It’s kind of a gray area where you don’t want to get people fired up over something that isn’t there yet, but at the same we are working on it,” Dahlen says.
Dahlen says a full-sized 18-hole course would be too big but thinks a smaller 9-hole course would work beautifully on the topography of the park, which is next to Soquel High School. If not, he and his students might try to settle for trying to get an even smaller course—about half the size—on high school property itself. The school disc golf club is currently without a course, and students often drive to either to Pinto Lake in Watsonville or to De Laveaga Park to practice.
Not everyone is on board, though. The petition against the course cites possible of environmental damage and safety concerns. It reads, “Disc golf is akin to regular golf—fast moving projectiles that regularly travel at speeds of 50-80 mph.”
Lisa Sheridan, one of the originators of the petition, says the course wouldn’t fit in with the existing park and trails. “It’s very hard to mix people that are walking on trails with people that are playing disc golf,” she says.
Sheridan adds that there can be damage to bushes because every time a player throws a rogue disc, they must walk exactly to where it landed, tear through any brush that might be in the way, and throw the disc from that exact spot.
Dahlen plans to have more information next month. “We still want to get the information out there. I just really want to wait,” Dahlen says.
They hope to have a plan to submit to the county’s parks and recreation department in March.
