Kent State Tuscarawas opens disc golf course for students, community
NEW PHILADELPHIA ‒ Disc golfing's popularity continues to grow around the country, and enthusiasts of the sport have another place to play with the opening of a course at Kent State University at Tuscarawas.
The nine-hole course, which is about 3,000 feet long, snakes around the southern part of the campus on University Drive.
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The course was designed by student Kyle Schaar of Dover, who has been playing for about 10 years.
"I thought it was just a real fun way to add value to the campus and to the community. We've already had people playing, and they don't even know where the tee pads are yet," said Schaar, a senior studying information technology.
There is no charge to use the course, which is open to students and the general public.
The course at Kent State Tuscarawas is the third to open in Tuscarawas County. There are also courses at First Baptist Church on the south side of New Philadelphia and the Deis Hill Disc Golf Course at Dover City Park. The Deis Hill course is rated the fourth best in the state of Ohio by users of Discgolfscene.com.
How did disc golf come to KSU Tusc?
The idea for the KSU course came about one day when Shannon Bailey, the campus' information technology manager, was walking from the Science and Advanced Technology Center to Founders Hall and saw Schaar, a student worker at the IT department's help desk, playing disc golf.
That gave Bailey the idea that Kent Tuscarawas needed a disc golf course. Schaar agreed to design it, and Bailey got permission from Dean Brad Bielski.
"I thought it would be a really cool thing to have on campus," Bailey said.
The course uses unused land on the campus. Much of the land is in a 100-year flood plain and cannot be built upon, so the university tries to put activities there, he said.
"It's been an exciting experience," Schaar said about designing it. "All the support's been really great around campus, the grounds crew and everybody just super supportive and excited about the project. I've enjoyed it."
Low-cost project
The course was relatively inexpensive to build. Bailey estimated that the project has cost around $7,000 so far, which includes baskets purchased from the Disc Golf Association and 15 bags with three discs in each bag for people to be able to check out from the campus library.
Unlike golf courses, disc golf courses are low maintenance.
"That's one of the best parts about disc golf courses and why they're such a draw for park systems is because the biggest part is installation and the maintenance is so low," Schaar said. "There's no special mowing. The baskets are made to last year-round."
There is still work to do on the course. The concrete tee pads have not been installed yet, nor have the tee signs.
The ultimate goal is to expand the course to 18 holes.
Reach Jon at 330-364-8415 or at jon.baker@timesreporter.com.
This article originally appeared on The Times-Reporter: Kent State Tuscarawas opens nine-hold disc golf course
