Site on Weyauwega-Fremont School District property

By Greg Seubert

A parcel of Weyauwega-Fremont School District property that includes frontage on the Waupaca River will soon be home to Waupaca County’s newest disc golf course.

Bob Hall played a key role in developing the Waupaca Educational Disc Golf Exchange (WEDGE), a nine-hole disc golf course that the Waupaca School District owns and maintains.

He now wants to do the same in Weyauwega on property that was once home to a course.

“I approached the school here when I was looking at area disc golf courses that needed improvement,” Hall said. “This was one close to Waupaca and we have a group of guys who work on courses and I sent a letter to the school and offered help. If you’re looking to abandon the course, I’ll buy the baskets. If you’re looking to fix it up, I’ll fix it up. They replied that they’d like us to fix it up.”

Hall and his crew have been working with Wes Schroeder, the district’s buildings and grounds director, to prepare the course for an opening in the near future.

“He’s been really wonderful letting us do what we want,” Hall said. “We just want to fix up the course and make it the most beautiful course in Waupaca. That’s what we’re doing. We’re carving fairways out now and we have baskets ordered.

“We’ve been working on it since we got the go-ahead in March,” he said. “We’re just about done with carving out the fairways, so our next task is to install sign posts and baskets and get people playing on the course. We want to do that by the time summer’s here.”

Opening soon

The course will be open to the public after school and on weekends.

“It’s a great opportunity for us,” Schroeder said. “Bob reached out to myself and high school principal Jodi Alix and asked about the possibility of donating some labor and materials to do some improvements here of the existing course.”

Schroeder figured the course first opened between 2006 and 2009.

“When I got here in 2014, a lot of the components were missing,” he said. “The baskets were gone, it was kind of overgrown and I didn’t see it used a whole lot. Vandalism’s kind of been the big issue here over the years with stuff being destroyed or stolen.”

“One of the students found one of the baskets in the river,” Hall said.

“I think he has some great ideas, simple things like making the baskets easily removed and secured with a padlock,” Schroeder said. “That’s going to be great.”

“When I walked through here in January and saw the course, it is just beautiful,” Hall said. “They have a trail system that goes through there. I asked if we could go into the woods with a course and he said, ‘Sure.’ I designed a course with 18 holes and he said, ‘Well, we’ll do nine and see how it goes.’ We have nine brand-new holes and they are going to be absolutely beautiful. It’s a beautiful piece of property.”

The property includes frontage on the Waupaca River.

“I designed it with two tee pads on each hole,” Hall said. “One is for teaching so the school has an easier course. The longer one is more challenging for more experience playing. I offered to teach a course if the (district) wants, but that’s up to them.”

Popular sport

Disc golf is similar to golf, but instead of a ball and clubs, players use a flying disc. The object is to complete each hole in the fewest strokes – or, in the case of disc golf – the fewest throws.

The sport has grown in popularity in the past year, thanks to COVID-19, according to Hall.
“You’re outdoors, you’re socially distant, you’re getting exercise,” he said. “Disc golf has just exploded in the last year and that’s due to covid. People are looking for things to do as a family. You go to Fleet Farm and buy a disc for 10 bucks and you’re playing. This is a perfect sport. I have an 8-year-old grandson and he can beat me on some holes. He’s out there having fun.”

Waupaca’s course was closed temporarily last year, but later reopened.

“Emptying the garbage cans at the course has gone from a semi-monthly project to every other week,” Hall said. “This course here is going to take a lot of pressure off the Waupaca course. Waupaca’s the only other course in the southern part of the county. There are a lot in Clintonville, New London, Marion. Once people see this and how beautiful it’s going to be, it’s going to be amazing.”

Waupaca has a handful of other disc golf courses besides the Waupaca course. Clintonville has three at Clintonville High School, Olen Park and Rexford Elementary School; Manawa has one at Manawa Middle School; Marion has one; and New London has one in Hatten Park.

Schroeder expects Weyauwega’s course to be a hit.

“When you have something nice like that and new, people are more apt to use it,” he said. “I think it’ll be a great thing for the community.”