With warmer Spring weather and drying ground, players have returned to the Crandall Park disc golf course.
In a recent appearance before the Glens Falls Recreation Commission, professional disc golfers Jaimen Hume and Greg Hill reported that last year the course drew at least 600 individual players with at least 4,500 games played. However, Hume and Hill believe the number of disc golfers was substantially higher— player statistics are drawn from players’ score keeping, but many players only come to play the course and do not compete.
The course’s first tee is across Fire Road from the Glens Falls YMCA and the Glens Falls Recreation Center. It has 18 “holes” and extends 3,944 feet through the rear of Crandall Park from Glen Street.
The course was designed and constructed in 2020 with the assistance of dozens of local volunteers under the direction the Crandall Park Beautification Committee, President Elizabeth Little Hogan and her husband Dr. Robert Hogan. It had a grand opening weekend in June of 2021, with a Learn to Play Day and recreational and professional tournaments with nearly 250 people participating.
Disc golf is played using rules similar to traditional golf, only disc golfers throw discs or Frisbees at a raised basket. The tee is a rubber mat for players to stand and throw from. All holes are Par 3 for difficulty, making it good for beginners and families but difficult enough for experienced players. The course is free. Players have to bring their own discs or Frisbees.
With the popularly of disc golf proven by its very successful first season, Hume and Hill are now proposing to create a second nine “hole” disc golf course at the City’s Haviland Cove Park. There is also a disc golf course at the Moreau Recreation Park. Hume and Hill believe having three disc golf courses within a five mile radius would make the Glens Falls Area a destination for disc golf players.