Following a pilot program to introduce an 18-hole disc golf course to the Lake Padden Golf Course, the course’s operating company, Premier, moved to solidify the sport’s place at Lake Padden with seasonal fees.
City Council unanimously approved fees of $15 in the off-season and $21 in-season during a Monday meeting.
The pilot program began in July 2021 on the front nine holes of the Lake Padden Golf Course. The program included four tournaments in October, November and December, collecting $16,723 in revenue.
Steve Janiszewski, park operations manager, said the tournaments were exciting and energetic, despite some apprehension from golfers toward sharing the course.
Though the two sports will overlap on the course for the first nine holes, Mike Fosnick, director of operations at OB Sports, assured the council that the overlap will not affect play.
Off-season for golf coincides with the arrival of cold weather in the fall and early winter, but disc golfers can still be found on the course despite the chill, which makes the duo’s seasons mesh well, Fosnick said.
“Golf, in general, has seen quite a big uptake at Lake Padden golf course in the last couple years,” he said. “The capacity of regular golfers has increased dramatically. We have not seen those capacities in the off-season,” which makes more room for disc golfers.
Disc golf tees and baskets are also placed off of the course’s green, so golfers need not be worried about the turf being ruined with increased foot traffic.
The pilot program saw a positive response to the $15 fee as the course is difficult enough to justify the money, Fosnick said, but the $21 rate hasn’t been tested yet. In the future, senior and junior rates can be revisited after reaction to the fees is further observed.
