Crestline seeks funding for disc golf course

CRESTLINE – The village of Crestline may soon have a new entertainment option, in the form of a disc golf course at the new Roundhouse Park. 

Spearheaded by disc golf enthusiast and Crestline native Rob Shawber, the village has plans to build the Bulldog Country Disc Golf Course once funding is in place. The Parks & Playgrounds committee, led by councilman Clayton Herold, has been working on versions of the course since June. 

“If you look at the surrounding area, a lot of other parks have disc golf courses,” Herold said. “Disc golf is growing, and we want to provide as many options for recreation as we can for the citizens of Crestline. This is something we do not have, and it’s something that really fits into our plans for the new park.”

According to Shawber, he raised the idea of a disc golf course for Crestline many years ago, but council was not receptive to installing a course then. As the popularity of disc golf rose, so did local interest in creating a course. 

“It’s the first time we’ve been able to bring something of recreational matters to the city and I’m really proud of it,” Shawber said. “I was more persistent this time and got the unanimous yes.”

According to the Professional Disc Golf Association (PDGA), the sport was formalized in the 1970s. Currently there are more than 5,000 disc golf courses in the United States and Canada. 

Crestline’s disc golf course would join Aumiller Park Disc Golf Course and Reservoir Ridge Disc Golf Course as the only courses in Crawford County. 

The Bulldog Country Disc Golf Course will boast a full 18 holes on the village’s far west side, and will serve as an anchor for the new Roundhouse Park. The final version of the project was approved by the committee at its Sept. 26 meeting. 

“Some (holes) will be out in the open and some in a wooded area, eventually across a stream,” Herold said. “There’s a lot of tapestry about the location and the venue we’ll be at.”

The biggest obstacle facing the village right now is funding. The total project cost for the disc golf course is estimated at $9,000. 

“We’ve got our work cut out for us,” Shawber said. “By Oct. 20 I need to put in a steel order for the fabrication of the baskets, and by then I hope to raise the first $6,000. But we’ve gotten a lot of great response, nothing but positive feedback. Everybody sounds like prospective yeses.”

According to Herold, all donations towards the course must go through the village of Crestline since the course is a public project. Donations of any amount are being accepted; donations of $500 or more will result in an individual or business name placed on the tee marker sign at one of the 18 holes.

Shawber assured that the course would be beneficial not just to entertain the citizens of Crestline, but also to bring foot traffic to the area.

“If you’re an avid disc golfer and into it as much as I am, you travel all around to play the sport,” Shawber said. “People come out of state to play a disc golf course if it’s built right. This course will boast the newest set of disc golf baskets approved by the PDGA; when we put in these new baskets we’ll be ahead of the game.”

More than anything, though, the creation of the Bulldog Country Disc Golf Course will represent a personal victory for Shawber.

“It’s almost emotional,” he said. “I’m just happy to do it and have my name behind it to bring something good to the community. You can be nine years old or 90 and be able to play this game. And nothing will be more satisfying than to throw that first disc when we drop it in the ground.”

Donations can be sent to the Village of Crestline, c/o Bulldog Country Disc Golf Course, at 100 North Seltzer Street, Crestline, OH 44827.