Cornwall gets creative using green space for new 9-hole disc golf course

Cornwall is getting creative with its green space as it plans to install a temporary nine-hole disc golf course next to its town hall.

"Disc golf is a game played just like traditional ball golf, the rules are very similar," said Dennis MacKenzie, the Islander who first brought forward the idea of installing a course.

"You count a stroke every time you throw a disk as opposed to hit a ball. It's played to an elevated basket which has chains hanging from it in order to catch the discs. But the rules are the same as golf," he said.

MacKenzie has had a big hand in helping plan out the course. He first became interested in the sport through friends on the Island.

"I'm actually a veteran with PTSD and this is what I've been using as my medicine essentially," he said.

Free and accessible

"We have two beautiful courses on the Island ... that are just pristine walks through the woods that I've used a lot just to ground myself. And that's where I really got into the game," he said.

The town has put aside $10,000 for the course, said Deputy Mayor Cory Stevenson.

"This should be there for at least five years from what I gather now," MacKenzie said.

Work to install the course begins next week and is expected to be ready by next Saturday, he said.

The course will be free to play for anyone in the community, and if Islanders don't already have their own discs, there will be some available to be borrowed at the library located inside the town hall, MacKenzie said.

"It was actually a great time because the town of Cornwall is in a bit of an expansion phase and they're trying to figure out what to do with their green space so it all kind of worked out very, very well," he said.

The timing has been perfect, MacKenzie said, as the sport's popularity continues to grow on the Island.

"Disc golf is at a great point now. We're about to host the Canadian nationals for the second time in a row," he said. "It's just a great time to be able to have a course and show off the town."

Tickets for the event sold out in just 36 hours, MacKenzie said.

But the major driving factor in installing the course has been to do something with the free green space that would draw people from all walks of life to enjoy, MacKenzie said.

"The big thing is that the town of Cornwall was looking for an activity that is accessible for all ... it's something that's easy on the body and all levels can play. It's a game for everybody."

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