New Manistee disc golf course officially open

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Manistee County Community Foundation president and CEO Laura Heintzelman and Tom Oele (center front) cut the ribbon at the Manistee's First Street Beach Family Disc Golf Course surrounded by members of the city of Manistee Parks Commission and other attendees on May 20.

Free discs were handed out to youngsters who attended an official ribbon-cutting ceremony on May 20 for the First Street Beach Family Disc Golf Course in Manistee.

Kids retrieve their disc from a disc golf basket during a ribbon-cutting ceremony held at Manistee's First Street Beach Family Disc Golf Course on May 20.

MANISTEE — Disc golf's popularity is taking off across the country, and in Manistee a ribbon-cutting ceremony held Saturday helped welcome those of all skill levels to try it for themselves.

While Manistee's First Street Beach Family Disc Golf Course technically opened in the fall, the official grand opening ceremony brought dozens out to celebrate that accomplishment.

Work on the course began on May 26, 2022. The Manistee County Community Foundation awarded $22,500 to the city of Manistee for the course in 2021 through its Minger Family Endowment funds.

"We are just excited to continue to add to the Douglas Park and First Street Beach," said Laura Heintzelman, president and CEO of the Manistee County Community Foundation. "We just see this as a continued investment in our community and I’m excited to see the turnout here today and all the kids and families that can't wait to play on this new course."

A young disc golfer readies her throw after a ribbon-cutting ceremony held May 20 at the First Street Beach Family Disc Golf Course in Manistee.

Manistee City Council approved the disc golf course in February 2021. The department of public works donated roughly $20,000 in labor and materials to develop the course.

Tom Oele, a former parks commission member, helped design the 18-hole course with the intent of drawing local families to the burgeoning sport.

"It's amazing to see kids have a new activity in Manistee," Oele said. "The vision started off as a family course, but it mutated from age 1 to age 100 – you see everyone using this, which is beyond our wildest dreams."

Daniel Campbell was among those in attendance on May 20, representing Pizza Hut which helped sponsor the ribbon-cutting celebration. Campbell is no stranger to the course and visits it frequently along with other members of the Manistee Disc Golf Club, since its soft open took place in 2022. "I'm out here every day I get off (work)," Campbell said. "We get out here as much as we can, we try to answer people's questions (and) kind of give them a little feel of the game and how to play it."

Daniel Campbell holds up his disc golf bag which bears a tag indicating his membership in the Manistee Disc Golf Club.

Campbell says the first step to learning how to play disc golf is "to just have fun."

"It's a sport that's super easy to pick up; it's not complicated and you don't want it to be complicated – you literally just grab a disk and it's like whipping a towel," Campbell said.

"Disc golf in Manistee is not going to go away."