Christchurch Disc Golf course endorsed by community board

Christchurch City Council has advised that the temporary disc golf course in Bottle Lake Forest Park, a production forest and recreational park located north-east of Christchurch, is staying put following endorsement from the local Waitai Coastal-Burwood-Linwood Community Board.

The course came about by community volunteers in October 2022, led by the family of New Zealand’s youngest disc golf champion, Jayden Watkinson with support from Christchurch City Council Regional Park Rangers.

Disc golf is played much like traditional golf. Instead of a ball and clubs, however, players use a flying disc (not to be confused with a frisbee).

Having started in California in 1975 with the invention of the metal basket, the game is wildly popular in the US, where one disc maker estimated more than 5000 people were joining the sport in the US every day.

The sport shares with ‘ball golf’ the object of completing each hole in the fewest number of strokes (or, in the case of disc golf, fewest number of throws).

A golf disc is thrown from a tee area to a target which is the ‘hole’. The hole can be one of a number of disc golf targets; the most common is called a Pole Hole an elevated metal basket. As a player progresses down the fairway, they must make each consecutive shot from the spot where the previous throw has landed.

The trees, shrubs, and terrain changes located in and around the fairways provide challenging obstacles for the golfer. Finally, the ‘putt’ lands in the basket and the hole is completed. Disc golf shares the same joys and frustrations of traditional golf, whether it’s sinking a long putt or hitting a tree halfway down the fairway.

While the disc looks like a ‘frisbee’ there are a number of differences. A frisbee will sometimes be lighter than a disc and much more domed, with a deeper rim than a disc golf disc, even when compared to a putter. A frisbee will also carry a larger overall diameter than their more compact disc counterparts.

One of the main differences between a disc and a frisbee however is their flight characteristics. Frisbees are made to be thrown but with less of a specific purpose or expectation. Discs on the other hand are generally made to have a very specific flight pattern. For example, some will go right, some will go left, and some will go mostly straight.

Commenting on the endorsement of Bottle Lake Forest Park in Christchurch, Kelly Watkinson shared “At the time, my son Jayden had been playing disc golf for just one year and had taken out the most coveted disc golf tournament, the New Zealand National Championship.

“With dreams of competing at the highest level in the US Amateur Championships and World Amateur disc golf championships, Jayden devised a plan to create what we believed would become Christchurch’s best course for the community.”

The project also doubled as a chance to help Watkinson get to the World Championships, as he had the goal of setting up a disc golf tournament fundraiser.

With a small team together, the group approached Christchurch City Council Regional Parks Team Leader Warren Hunt to consider the proposal of creating a disc golf course in the forest.

“To our surprise, Warren was fully supportive and wanted what was a widely unused area of the forest to become a great community resource,” added Kelly Watkinson.

Directed by Jayden and his brother Judah, the team cleared the forests under canopy of shrub, cut out holes, developed pathways and built natural wooded structures.

The project received a wave of positive feedback from families in the community and residents in the area following an open day in late August this year.

Warren Hunt advised “there’s the misconception that disc golf is just popular for younger people – but users are everyone from young kids in sporty families to the general public looking for fun, it’s so varied.

“It’s a fantastic way to get out and about and enjoy a healthy bit of competition.”

Disc golf can be played by people of all ages and abilities. It’s a low cost, easily accessed sport, available at times convenient to participants and requiring limited commitment.

Images from top: Jayden Watkinson testing out the new Christchurch disc golf course in Bottle Lake Forest Park. Credit: Christchurch City Council; Australian Disc Golf Championships; New Zealand Disc Golf