Looking to get out during the pandemic? Try disc golf

With COVID-19 keeping people indoors, it can be hard to find a reason to get out and get some exercise.

But, during the pandemic, a new outdoor activity has been introduced to Terrebonne Parish, disc golf.

Recreation District 2-3 has added disc golf equipment to Summerfield Park and the Terrebonne Parish Main Branch Library.

Instead of hitting a ball with clubs, disc golfers throw plastic discs, similar to Frisbees, with the “hole” being a metal basket. The object of the game is to get the disc from the "tee" to the basket in the fewest throws.

The course in Summerfield Park, at 707 San Antonio Blvd. in Houma, is small in size, and described by local players as more like putt-putt than actual golf.

The idea to bring disc golf to Terrebonne Parish was brought before the Rec. 2-3 board by board member Ryan Paige, who played the sport in college. 

“Having a little bit of experience with it, I just knew there was no place to play in Houma,” said Paige.

Paige said he got in touch with a member of the New Orleans Disc Golf Club to discuss which park would best be utilized for the sport, and how to design the course. The idea of having the rentable equipment at the library came to him after he heard a library in Lafayette rented out fishing poles for the public to fish in a nearby pond.

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“What spurred my idea was I saw that they were allowing library members to come in and rent a fishing pole,” he explained. “That got me thinking, ‘man that’s such a cool concept,... Is this a way we can lower the bar to entry?’ ”

According to Rec. 2-3 Chairman Chris Chaisson the total cost for bringing disc golf to Summerfield Park was roughly $7,000, which was spent on installing the metal baskets and tee boxes, the turf mound a thrower stands on, for the nine-hole course.

It also bought eight bags containing three discs each, which were donated by Rec. 2-3 to the Terrebonne Parish Library for library members to check out using their library card. A three-disc set can be checked out for five days at a time. 

“This is a great way to introduce a sport at essentially free,” said Chaisson.

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James Daigle, 27, an enthusiast of the sport, said prior to its creation, he had to drive to New Orleans or Lafayette to play.

“It’s like anything else though, and I’m from here so I can say this," Daigle said, "but Houma recreation, like sports and stuff, it always seems to be lagging compared to your Lafayettes and Baton Rouge and New Orleans.” 

According to Daigle, when a new course pops up enthusiasts quickly flock to try it out. Asked how long the novelty would last, he said it would depend on the design. He said a course which was made in Marrero a few years back is still seeing significant use. 

As for the nine-hole course at Summerfield Park, Daigle says he likes having the area to play, and he and his friends will come out two or three times a week after work to play a 15-minute game together. 

According to Emily Theriot, a clerk at the Terrebonne Parish Library, the bags have been checked out 22 times since June 4. They check out an average about five to six times a month, she said.

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Daigle said he’d love to see a full course in the area, and people from other cities would travel here to use a new course.

“I feel like we’re kind of missing that," Daigle said. "If we had tournaments and stuff, we know hundreds of people that would come and sign up.”