By K.D. Norris
WKTV Contributor
In the past couple decades, the community sport of disc golf has literally and figuratively
taken flight in West Michigan, and it could be argued that some of the best courses to
play begin with launch pads in the Kentwood Parks and Recreation system.
While the city may be mostly known for its innovative, off-season events — the annual
Fall Fling and the mid-winter Freeze Fest — one of the areas premier disc golf
businesses has nothing but praise for the city’s year-round courses and its
commitment to the recreational sport; past, present and future.
“West Michigan was an early adopter of disc golf and has been a hotbed for the sport
since the creator of disc golf, Ed Headrick, founded the Professional Disc Golf
Association in 1976,” said Shea Abbgy, owner of Great Lakes Disc. “For the
first 30 years of the sport, growth in its popularity was steady but minimal. Starting in the
the early 2000s, the PDGA started seeing steady annual growth.”
And that growth was only slightly slowed by the COVID pandemic.
“During Covid, players in areas with disc golf courses installed found that you could
practice social distancing while playing and an enormous amount of new players found
the sport,” said Abbgy, a long-time partner with the City of Kentwood’s disc golf program
whose business opened in 2015 and is located at 4321 Kalamazoo Ave., near the
corner of 44th Street.
Kentwood has welcomed the expanded popularity and demand.
City courses improved, new course planned
Laura Barbrick, Kentwood Parks and Recreation Market and Events Coordinator, said the
city is committed to many community sports and disc golf is certainly one of them.
“We’ve offered youth disc golf lessons and skills clinics in the past and will continue to add new programs in the future to grow the sport with our residents,” Barbrick said. “We also host two disc golf tournaments each year in partnership with Great Lakes Disc … (Abbgy) helps coordinate our tournaments, has helped plan and design our disc golf courses, and is well connected with the disc golf community.”
Not only are there two full-time disc golf courses operated by the city, at Old Farm Park and Jaycee Park, but both have been or will be improved by last year’s voter approval of a parks millage.
And plans are for a third course at Covenant Park, where there is currently
only winter “pop-up” disc golf play.
“Kentwood will soon be breaking ground on Phase III of renovations at Jaycee Park
which include upgraded baskets, tee pads and signs for the disc golf course,” Abbgy
said. “Part of the (millage funded) proposal for Covenant Park was a disc golf course for
the property which would be Kentwood’s third disc golf course in their parks system and
lay the ground for larger disc golf events to come to Kentwood.”
Two annual events support Kentwood Little Free Pantry
In partnership with Great Lakes Disc, the city hosts two disc golf tournaments, the Fall
Fling at Old Farm Park, planned for November, and Freeze Fest, planned for February
2024.
According to Abbgy, the city and his company will be hosting the ninth annual Freeze Fest
at Jaycee Park, scheduled for Feb. 17.
“The success of the Freeze Fest led us to add a second annual event, the Farm Fall Fling at Old Farm Park, in 2018,” he said. “This Nov. 11 we will be hosting the sixth annual Farm Fall Fling at Old Farm Park. Both events are food drives for Kentwood’s Little Free Pantry.”
While both events can be as much a weather challenge as a course challenge, both
typically host 120-140 players at each event, and have seen over 180 players some
years, he said.
But on any given weekday, or weekend, players and flying discs are flying in a first-
come, first-served style course play.
About Kentwood Parks, Great Lakes Disc
For more information about the Kentwood Parks and Recreation programs visit here.
For location of the city’s Disc Golf parks with disc golf courses, visit here. For more
information about Great Lakes Disc, visit here.
