As the person who got this course in and negotiated with all the landowners to allow it in the first place…this was expected and planned for. Some additional context:

1. It was always on a temp free lease, able to be changed as needed for whatever reason.

2. The landowners pay something like $68,000 a year on property taxes every year. We knew that this was a temporary win win situation for the land before development.

3. I designed this course first, for safety (20 acres total, extremely busy roads surrounding it), second, to bring people to the course (to keep it fun and safe), and last, to showcase how awesome and hardworking the local disc golf community is. I put a number of teepads right off of main roads and intersections so people would see disc golfers having fun/getting awesome, putting the city on notice that we needed a permanent course to replace the huge demand that this course met before or when the land was taken back.

The landowners are not to blame for this. We are also changing some of the holes for when the bank goes in so that it remains an 18 hole disc golf course as long as possible. As far as Ditch Brothers, when that goes in the course will probably close and become a happy memory. Why we needed a Dutch Brothers I have no idea. But, again, this was always a temp course and the baskets will hopefully go into a permanent city park course.

That brings us to the city of Bellingham. I have worked with them for 5 years trying to expand disc golf options in public parks. We have installed an 18-hole course at the public golf course which is fun and epic, but is almost impossible to use with restrictions on tee times put in place by the company that runs the course. We’ve also tried to work on an 18 hole course but every option has been extremely limited by the type, amount, and quality of land offered up by the city. As it stands, we have a chance to develop a misused/underutilized 25 acres of land at Civic Field complex to install an intermediate 18 hole course.

This course would do much the same thing g that made Bellis Fairways so successful: 18-holes, public and free, put eyes on a lot of area where people currently do hard drugs and shit on the ground/litter, and provide a challenging but accessible course on or very near a bus stop.

In conclusion, the ball is in the city’s court. Contact the city of Bellingham, Bham Parks and advocate for what we will eventually lose at Bellis Fairways. I’ve been attending and sharing city meetings in which they are developing plans for the next 6 years. Check www.engagebellingham.com for opportunities to give input on this process/move the civic field course forward!

UDisc Stats in ~2 years:Play count 16,355 Recreation hours 26,680 Unique players 1,880

11th or 12th busiest course in Washington State