LOUISVILLE, Ky. — A new disc golf destination is taking shape in Louisville, and organizers said the community is helping design it from the ground up.
What You Need To Know
More than 40 acres have been cleared for the new Derby Disc Golf Park inside Tom Sawyer State Park
Community members are helping design the course layout, including testing hole placements
Local volunteers and businesses said the project is strengthening community pride and participation
Organizers plan to open the park in phases over the next two-plus years, with expanded trails and public access beyond disc golf
More than 40 acres have already been cleared for Derby Disc Golf Park, a project inside Tom Sawyer State Park.
Director of Derby Disc Golf Park, Reed Nunnally, said community members are playing a hands-on role in shaping the course layout.
“We’ll be working with our community, designing holes,” Nunnally said. “Going around and letting the people that throw left-handed or throw right-handed, t’s different shot shapes, and really kind of find those signature holes and fun lines. But the community is everything, and that’s why we’re doing this.”
Volunteers placed temporary baskets throughout the property to test the land and explore possible hole designs. They said that involvement is about more than just building a course; it’s about building pride.
“It helps to develop a sense of belonging in the community,” volunteer Frank Mattingly said. “It helps to develop a sense of pride. Just maintaining areas, keeping them clean, just really helps everybody get an overall feeling of well-being.”
Local business owner Alex Faulkner, who recently opened a new Bomb Discs location in Louisville, said the project is helping bring together disc golf clubs and new players across the city.
“Louisville was in need of more community involvement, and that’s exactly what we’re doing,” Faulkner said. “We can reach out to new players and build new players and help grow the parks in our local communities.”
Organizers said the park is not just for disc golf enthusiasts.
“This isn’t just for disc golfers,” Nunnally said. “We’re opening up a huge part of Tom Sawyer to trails and access to Goose Creek, so the community at large and the wildlife can enjoy the park as well.”
Nunnally said the project is expected to roll out in phases over the next two-plus years, with portions of the course opening as they are completed.