Posts tagged Course

On July 15, Sudden Valley general manager Dave Wareing had sent an e-mail to Sullivan and other volunteers who helped run Mossy Roc, stating the course would be closed immediately, and all of the disc golf equipment would need to be removed by Monday morning. The e-mail went on to state that anyone who was not a Sudden Valley Community Association member or resident would be considered a trespasser at the park once the course was closed.

His e-mail ended the six-year agreement where Sudden Valley provided the land, but the disc golf club volunteers maintained the course at their own expense, Sullivan said.

Wareing said he decided to close the course – after getting the approval of the Sudden Valley Community Association’s Executive Committee – because he felt it would become a financial burden and a potential liability risk.

The main problem was the heavy use of the gravel parking lot, he said. The lot was breaking down and chuckholes were making it difficult to get in and out of the lot from the road. On busy weekends, some of the disc golfers would park right off Lake Louise Road, creating a hazard for drivers, he said.

“The disc golf course became a victim of its own success,” Wareing said.

Sudden Valley considered paving the parking lot for the disc golfers for about $19,000, but the board decided against the proposal, according to the July edition of the Sudden Valley Views, a community newspaper. Clark Champion, finance committee and board member, told the newspaper there were not enough reasons to pave the area “considering the lack of involvement the disc golf group has shown in the SVCA.”

Sullivan said volunteers were willing to meet Sudden Valley’s requirements without receiving any money from the association.

“We haven’t received a dime from Sudden Valley,” he said.

For six years, Sullivan said he and his volunteers removed trash, cleared brush, discouraged illegal activity in the park and created a piece of property safe for the public to enjoy. Recently, one of the disc golfer’s refilled pot holes in the parking lot with his own gravel, Sullivan said.

“We did so much work at no cost to Sudden Valley,” Sullivan said. “As far as we knew, things were going great.”

Before Mossy Roc became a disc golf course, it was an abandoned, over-grown property where Sullivan and co-founder Bob Johnson would take their dogs. The two met one day while walking their pets through the woods and discovered they were both avid disc golf players.

The co-founders and three other volunteers transformed the 34-acre, forested property into a 26-hole disc golf course, Sullivan said. One more hole was planned for installation Aug. 15, on the course’s six-year anniversary.

“It’s absolutely heartbreaking,” said “Big Mike” Leslie, a professional disc golfer and one of the five people who helped start the course. Leslie said he put in about 700 hours to help transform the property into a park.

“It had vandalism and garbage everywhere, and we cleaned it up,” Leslie said.

Wareing said if the disc golfers wanted to rent the course from Sudden Valley, he would “consider” taking that to the board. In the meantime, the property will be used as a dog park and a place for picnics and nature walks only for Sudden Valley members and residents, he said.

Wareing said he was no longer interested in the volunteers maintaining the park.

“The current volunteer process is not sufficient to protect the association or provide what’s needed,” he said.

With the closure of Mossy Roc, other disc golf courses – such as the already busy one at Cornwall Park – could see increased use. Leslie said he plans to play at a course in Ferndale that he designed and helped install about one year ago.

Meanwhile, Sullivan said he is trying to find a way to start a new course at little to no cost.

“We’re homeless looking for a home,” Sullivan said.