Beaver Creek Park's disc golf course is open for play

After the project stagnated for a few years, the disc golf course is complete and open for competition in Beaver Creek Park.

"It's not that difficult of a course. It's definitely for all ages, elderly to young children," course designer and lead construction person Jake Rodgers said.

Located on the east side of Rotary Pond, the nine-hole Normandy Coulee Disc Golf Course opened to the public June 14 thanks to the efforts of Jake Rodgers, a disc golf enthusiast for at least 20 years, along with the Havre Trails group, park manager Chad Edgar and host of volunteers and donors.

Rodgers said he heard about the possibility of a course a couple years ago and became involved after the original push died out.

He said he's played since he was a young kid, getting hooked on the sport at the course on the Montana State University-Northern campus and expanding to play on courses around Montana in Missoula, Helena, Great Falls and Lincoln, among others.

He said that when he came on board with the project the idea was to have the course located near Bear Paw Lake, but Rodgers said this wasn't an ideal location.

So Rodgers explored the park looking for the perfect location and came up with the centrally located Normandy Coulee site, which has lots of parking, access to restrooms, the nearby lake, enough moisture to stay green longer than some areas of the park and accessible terrain.

"It's a little long," he said, "but not very many steep hills or anything like that."

They are also installing a bench at the top of the hill so players can enjoy the view while they take a breather.

At the beginning of the mowed course, a sign shows player the course map with par scores and distances on the holes listed. The course rules and the directions on how to play the game are also listed on the sign.

The course rules, including no motorized vehicles or smoking, be careful to wait for any players ahead to clear the shot area and keep dogs on a leash, are meant to protect the park, the course and the people using the course.

"It's pretty much the same rules as golf," Rodgers said. "The person with the lowest strokes wins, or the lowest throws in this case. You can use Frisbees if you want, but there are drivers, mid-rangers and putters that have different variations of discs you can use. You basically just need one of each one of those three or even just a driver is all you need. "

The disc golf discs basically are smaller, heavier and more aerodynamic than the standard Frisbee disc.

Rick Sedahl at Northstar Athletics in Havre said that, much like golf clubs, the discs run from some basic designs of each to more specialized discs - a basic driver is designed to travel a long distance, but a specialty driver might be used to make a shot curve right or left.

Starter discs run $5 to $10, he said with a pack of the three varieties at around $25, and higher end discs run as much as $25 each. Sedahl agreed that anyone can start playing with an everyday Frisbee before deciding to invest in disc golf discs, which the store started carrying after finding out that no one had any in town after the course at Northern opened.

"Just like any sport, as people get into it more, they like to get the specialized equipment so they can do better," he said, such as with a putter disc which is softer so it's less likely to bounce out of the metal disc golf basket.

Other than having a park-use permit, there's no charge to use the course and reservations are not needed, Rodgers said.

If there is enough interest, he added, he'll add another nine holes to make it a full 18-hole course, which he said he is already starting to form ideas about.

"It's a lot of planning that you gotta do. Safety and convenience are the two top things" Rodgers said. "I don't want somebody having to hike up a tall mountain just to get to a tee-off. that would take away from the fun for some people."

How to Play

  1. Disc golf is played like ball-golf but using a disc. One point is counted each time the disc is thrown and each time a penalty is incurred. The goal is to acquire the lowest score.

2. Tee throws must be complete within or behind the designated tee area. 

3. After tee-off, the disc must be left where it lands. The next throw is made from behind the disc's front edge closest to the basket. 

4. After tee-off, the player whose disc is farthest from the basket throws first. The player with the fewest throws on a basket will be the first to tee-off on the next hole. 

5. Within 10 yards of the basket, a player may not step past the point of the disc landing spot in making their putt.

6. A disc that comes to rest in the net counts as a completion of that hole.

7. A player may not move, alter, break, bend or hold back any part of a tree or bush between the lie and the hold. However, the player may obtain relief from water, debris or loose branches.

8. A disc that lands more than 6 feet above the ground is considered unplayable. In this case, the disc must be placed on the ground directly below and thrown from there (I throw penalty).

9. Do not throw until the players ahead are out of range. If people are on the fairway, call "fore" to alert them.