Disc golf is a low budget, easily accessible activity that many communities in the Okanagan have embraced, except for Kelowna.<\/p>\n
Kelowna has one public disc golf course on Knox Mountain, but it\u2019s currently closed for a water main renovation. <\/p>\n
Even though setting up a public disc golf course would cost just a few thousand dollars, Central Okanagan Disc Golf Association board member Charlie Picken said there aren\u2019t any left in Kelowna.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe haven\u2019t had much luck in Kelowna,\u201d Picken told iNFOnews.ca. \u201cWe\u2019ve had a few opportunities that were brought to us by the city but then last minute was like, \u2018oh we can\u2019t do this.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n
He said when the association has tried to get more disc golf courses the city has cited environmental reasons and other use cases for the land like soccer fields or pickleball courts.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe main thing is land in Kelowna, to the City of Kelowna, is really valuable as it should be. Parks are important, but I don\u2019t think they get the real picture on how disc golf could be great for anyone,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
Picken and the association recently built a course in West Kelowna, Wild-Horse Disc Golf Course, and he said installation only cost $800. The typical cost for a disc golf course is less than $10,000 total and they can fit within general park space.<\/p>\n
With the Knox Mountain course closed and the only other one on private land, Picken said people have to travel to nearby communities to find disc golf courses.<\/p>\n
There are five courses in the South Okanagan, one in West Kelowna, one in Lake Country, six in the North Okanagan and three in Kamloops. Big White Ski Resort also has a disc golf course that\u2019s free to use in the summer.<\/p>\n
Knox Mountain\u2019s course is set to open later this year after the water main is repaired, but Picken said there\u2019s an optimistic effort to open up more courses to help grow the sport.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe put a petition out for anybody to fill out this petition, send it to the mayor, send it to the city, share it on social media, and the city has told us that they have heard the call for more courses and are going to help us out,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
Disc golf saw a huge spike in popularity in Kelowna during the pandemic.<\/p>\n