Title
Receive a report on the Royal Oaks Disc Golf Course and support making the course a permanent recreation feature; support installing a temporary disc golf course at Toro Park and/or Lake San Antonio, and provide comment or recommendations to staff.
Report
RECOMMENDATION:
The Parks Commission is asked to receive a report on the Royal Oaks Disc Golf Course and support making the course a permanent recreation feature; support installing a temporary disc golf course at Toro Park and/or Lake San Antonio and provide comment or recommendations to staff.
SUMMARY/DISCUSSION:
At the February 1, 2024, Parks Commission meeting, Commissioner Kelly Stracke and community member Nick Kite provided a presentation on disc golf and a potential design for a disc golf course at Royal Oaks Park. The Parks Commission supported the idea of installing a temporary course on a trial basis to determine potential impacts.
In October 2024, the temporary Royal Oaks Disc Golf Course was installed by a volunteer group of disc golf enthusiasts and Parks staff. Since that time, the course is played every single day by five to ten disc golfers and on the weekends, large groups of players take part in the sport. According to UDisc analytics, over 1,000 rounds have been played by more than 440 unique players. More than likely, those numbers could be approximately doubled as only about fifty percent of golfers use the app to track their play. UDisc also tracks the distance traveled to the course. A vast majority of the players are coming from ten to twenty miles away, although more than 120 golfers have come from fifty to over a hundred miles away. Previous analytic reports stated that golfers had come from over ten different states. According to comments received from users, the Royal Oaks Park course is like playing four unique courses due to the environment and terrain.
To date, there have not been any impacts that Parks staff have witnessed, nor have any complaints been lodged by the public. The course users are very conscientious of other park patrons and have helped maintain the course by providing vegetation abatement, installation of hole signage and overall stewardship of the park. The course has also garnered media coverage from KSBW, Monterey County Weekly and other sport specific publications.
Parks is seeking input from the Commission on moving forward with making the course a permanent recreation feature at Royal Oaks Park. Currently, the baskets are on loan from a local organization and Parks will need to purchase baskets, create tee pads and install signage. The total cost for making the course permanent is approximately $15-20,000. Different funding sources are being looked at such as Measure AA, Parks annual budget, donations and community support. Parks is currently discussing the option of having individuals or organizations sponsor holes or the entire course. Many agencies and jurisdictions that have disc golf courses, partner with local disc golf groups for funding and maintenance.
Staff requests that the Commission support moving forward with making the Royal Oaks Park Disc Golf Course a permanent recreation feature and installing a temporary course at Toro Park and/or Lake San Antonio.
Prepared by: Bryan Flores, Chief of Parks (831) 796-6425
Approved by: Randell Ishii, MS, PE, TE, PTOE, Director of Public Works, Facilities and Parks