Disc golfers rejoice at new Queens course – but some residents want it gone

New York City’s first official disc golf course in Highland Park is facing criticism from longtime park-goers who say it’s creating a nuisance.

The 10-hole course opened in May as a one-year pilot program that was only approved after years of advocacy by disc golf enthusiasts. The game is very similar to golf, with players tossing dense discs (smaller and heavier than a standard Frisbee) into chain baskets. The new course covers a roughly 3-acre section of Highland Park, which straddles Brooklyn and Queens. But the setup has put the disc golfers in competition for space with regular park-goers looking to grill, go for a walk, or ride a bike, according to interviews.

Maria Quinones, 59, first noticed the metal baskets while on a walk last month. As she inspected the unusual object, a disc came whizzing by.

“There was a family there with two young children and we were talking to them,” she said.

“I don’t know where this disc comes from, flying, and almost hit the child. I mean, literally inches away,” she added. “Thank God the father grabbed him on time.”

The disc slinger soon emerged from the trees and apologized, Quinones said.

“I’m like, ‘Do you not see us here?’” she recalled saying.

“’Well, this is a golf course,’” she said the golfer replied. “I said, ‘No, it’s a park.”

She later looked up more information about the course, which reminds players to yield to other park users. Quinones said the course should be moved somewhere else.

“It’s an accident waiting to happen,” she said.

A petition against the course at Highland Park had 85 signatures Sunday.

Disc golf players who fought for the course are scrambling to prevent more encounters like the one with Quinones.

“Though it’s new to New York City, [disc golf is] truly for everyone. It’s an incredibly accessible sport,” said 27-year-old Alex Bender, who lives near the park and is the co-founder of the New York City Disc Golf Association.

“Our big focus is on making sure we are being a positive presence in the community,” Bender said. “That’s just kind of the essence of disc golf. It’s a positive outlet and there’s a good record of being stewards of the park and creating spaces for people to connect with one another.”

Colin Babcock, 26, drove from Washington Heights with two friends to play the course on Friday.

“Nice little way to get outside and, you know, enjoy a park,” he said.

The sport has exploded in popularity in recent years. There are more than 15,000 courses around the world (with the vast majority in the U.S.) — more than double the number of courses in 2017, according to UDisc, an app for disc golfers. Players carry a variety of discs for different purposes, like a long distance toss or a putt.

The third hole in Highland Park is feet from roaring traffic on the Jackie Robinson Parkway. Babcock wasn’t worried about mistakenly tossing a disc onto the roadway.

“You gotta be pretty bad if that happens, you know?” he said.

Longtime disc golfer Betty Kean, 30, said that she understood other park users’ concerns.

“I think that’s super valid. It is,” she said. “This is a very unique situation in New York City where we’re coming into a park that has been here for a really long time. And we as a club want to just always respect the fact that this is not necessarily our community and this is a brand new sport that people are not used to.”

The sport is as much about accuracy as power. But the layout of the holes creates danger for other park goers, according to Sophie Gonick, an NYU professor who lives nearby.

“I can’t believe [the parks department] would install such a thing that is so clearly a liability, too. It just seems to be kind of insane that they’re putting themselves at risk of being sued for quite a lot of money if somebody gets seriously hurt,” she said.

“It’s not like that you’re at risk of being seriously hurt by a pickleball going rogue,” she added.

Highland Park administrator Portia Dyrenforth said she and her colleagues are paying close attention to feedback about the course.

“We are taking very seriously all the feedback that we’re getting,” she said.

“Obviously we’ve gotten multiple letters from people concerned about safety in the course and concerned about it taking up precious public space,” she said.

Dyrenforth said she had no record of any injuries associated with the course. She emphasized that the course is a pilot program and said that the parks department would soon be adding signage to emphasize to players the importance of respecting other park-goers.

“We still may have to make adjustments to the course to make it more comfortable for everybody,” Dyrenforth said.

Local Councilmember Sandy Nurse said her office had fielded five or six complaints about the disc golf course.

“As with anything new, people have really strong feelings. We want to make sure everyone is safe and everyone can enjoy the park,” Nurse said.

She credited parks officials for being attentive to the issue.

“I know that they’re going to be responsive to the community and figure out something that works out ultimately,” Nurse said.

Not all longtime park-goers are opposed to the new course.

Bayo Chanderdatt, 68, has lived near the park for decades — and is now a disc golf convert. Like many New Yorkers, he learned about the sport for the first time after seeing the baskets in Highland Park.

“I thought they were garbage bins. Then I saw these guys were playing with the Frisbee. … I followed them and I asked them how to play because I play a little golf,” he said.

He was sold.

“I went and I bought a set of Frisbees,” he said.

Bushwick resident Damien Yambo, 45, was walking his dog near the disc golf course.

“To be honest, I’m completely neutral about this. New York needs lots of places for lots of different types of people. Often things have to overlap. [Like] having a place for people who like to play disc golf, which is not me, but I respect that people do,” Yambo said.

“We all have to share these spaces. We are starved for parks here.”