City’s new disc golf course unveiled
by Dan Holland
Residents of Broadview Heights and surrounding communities can now take advantage of a brand new nine-hole disc course located at The Fields of Broadview Heights. An official ribbon cutting ceremony held May 22 was sponsored by the Broadview Heights Parks & Recreation Department.
Disc golf enthusiast Joe Cruz, who frequently practiced on his lunch breaks at the rolling, wooded site located between the upper and lower soccer fields near Chippewa Creek, approached Parks & Recreation Director Amanda Hutcheson last fall with an idea to build a course.
“Putting in a disc golf course is something I wanted to do for a long time,” said Cruz during the event. “Last October, I sent an email to Amanda [Hutcheson] with the idea, and she was pretty excited about it. I came here and laid it out, and we got the funding and the approval to put the course in. It’s been a hit so far, with a lot of people playing it.”
Cruz’s Broadview Heights-based employer, IMEG, donated $500 toward the course. A $1,000 grant was also received from the Northeast Ohio Disc Golf Alliance, he explained.
“I was familiar with this park and I thought this would be a good spot to put in a course,” Cruz said. “So, I came and walked it, sent Amanda a map and a plan and it went from there. She put it through city council and the mayor, and it was approved and we went right to work. That started in October, and in April we put in the baskets, concrete tee pads and the signage.”
Michael Knepp, president of the Northeast Ohio Disc Golf Alliance and John Gensel, president of the Parma Disc Golf Club, were on hand for the event.
“I love growing the sport of disc golf every day,” said Knepp. “I’ve been in front of at least five mayors during my three years as club president, pitching disc golf to the municipalities. It’s all about growing the sport and offering another recreation activity in our local park system for all the residents in the area. To see these families and kids out on the fairways is what it’s all about.”
“This park is a beautiful piece of land to drop this course into,” added Gensel. “It’s a very fun and challenging course. It’s great to have an opportunity to share the game with the community. It promotes fitness and well-being, and it’s a great place to hang out and enjoy the great outdoors.”
Each hole on the course, which is a combination of open fields and wooded terrain, features a concrete tee pad and sign denoting the length of the hole, which varies between 190 feet and 330 feet with a three or four par.
“For me, the combination of open and wooded fairways is the best part of disc golf; it plays in all terrain and all weather,” said Cruz. “This course has a lot of holes in the woods that require a lot of hiking. It’s approximately eight stories up and seven stories down to complete it.”
The addition of the course reinvented the section of park property, said Hutcheson. “It was an area of the park that was not used very much, and now it’s been cleaned up; it’s been repurposed, and we have people of all ages now utilizing this area,” she said. “They have a passion for it, and they want to see it flourish. I couldn’t have done it without Joe Cruz – It just took one email to change the whole direction of this area.”
Photo: Joe Cruz cuts the ribbon to the city’s new disc golf course with the help of his children, Sophia and Gavin, along with city officials and members of the city’s recreation department. Photos by D. Holland.