If you build it, they actually will come. On May 18, close to 50 people turned out for chance to play at the new Guilford disc golf course.

The disc golf course at Bittner Park—the first in Guilford—has been built over the last few months following formal approval of the course in fall 2018. The course is 18 holes and was approved by both the Planning & Zoning and Inland Wetlands commissions.

Disc golf is a game that combines Frisbee and golf. A golfer is given a disc and has a certain number of throws to reach the “hole,” which is a stand with a chain basket sitting on top. The course will require little maintenance and would be maintained by volunteers.

To construct the course, no large trees were taken down, but some brush and dead or narrow trees were removed to make way for the course. No heavy equipment like a bulldozer was used. Parks & Recreation Director Rick Maynard has said this is not an invasive project for the environment, but that volunteers were keeping an eye out to make sure no local wildlife was harmed as the course came together.

With warm weather now upon us, members of the professional disc golf association were invited to come play at the new Guilford course on May 18. Maynard said the event was a good way to test the course for any issues before formally opening it to the public.

“We heard good things and I think people like it and I think it is a place people are going to want to come back and play when we are finished,” he said. “What we did is we had portable baskets and our designer did this to try to get feedback from people before we put the final baskets in. A boy scout is doing the final baskets as an eagle scout project.”

In terms of paying for the course, Maynard said donations are very close to hitting the $12,000 total for the project.

“We are pretty darn close,” he said. “I don’t know what the signs [on the course] are going to cost exactly when we get those done, but if there is another sponsor that would like to donate, we welcome it.”

Maynard also thanked big donor to the project like the Guilford Rotary Club and Guilford Foundation Youth Advisory. He said community support made this project possible.

“It’s great that people can come out and really enjoyed this,” he said.