Rick Bannan / [email protected]

Those looking to play a round of 18 will have a North Clark County option, so long as they bring their discs and leave their clubs at home. 

During a virtual open house, Clark County staff presented the planned 18-hole disc golf course for Hockinson Meadows Community Park. Forty undeveloped acres of the park, located at 10910 NE 172nd Ave., Vancouver, are scheduled to break ground this spring with the course opening up in the fall.

Clark County Public Works Project Manager Troy Pierce said the development is more than just the course, which will be designed up to Professional Disc Golf Association (PDGA) standards. The project also includes 1 mile of hard and soft trails, a 50-foot bridge that connects the trails and course to the rest of the park, and a 225-square-foot shelter. The course will be located north of the existing playground structure at the park.

A disc golf course is not currently offered by Clark County Parks, Pierce said. During the county’s 2015 Parks, Open Space and Recreation plan (PROS) process, a number of participants throughout the greater Clark County area wanted to see a disc golf course put in place.

Frenchman’s Bar in west Clark County was initially eyed for the park until it was determined to be better suited for habitat preservation. The Hockinson Meadows location was approved by the Clark County Council in 2016.

In the time since its approval, the initial concept has changed to include the trails and a bridge over a tributary to China Ditch. The additions increased the cost from $70,000 in public funding supplemented by donations to about $455,000, which will be paid out through park impact fees the county collects on new development.

Each hole will include a tee pad, hole marker, bench and basket. The pads will use ecogrid paving and will feature concrete blocks in the center of the pad with gravel fill on the perimeter. Pierce said the pad design was selected because of the wetlands in the course area. 

The new trails will link to the existing system in the rest of the park. The course will have the same operating hours as the rest of Hockinson Meadows.

The county contracted with Battle Ground-based Tapani Inc. for construction, which is scheduled to begin May 2, weather permitting, Pierce said. The course is expected to be completed and ready for use in mid-October.

Ryan Weston, a landscape architect for the firm WSP, said no trees at the park will be taken out in order to build the course.

“We tried really hard to maintain all of the natural elements and beauty of Hockinson park that makes Hockinson park what it is,” Weston said. 

He said his firm worked extensively with the county to maintain the wetlands and other environmental aspects of the area as they devised the course.

Weston also addressed concerns about an increase of illicit activity at the course, which he said would likely be the opposite with “having (more) eyes on the park” from golfers.

The project will rely on existing parking at Hockinson Meadows. Weston said traffic engineers looked at whether parking needed to expand, but determined what was already there is sufficient.

Like the rest of the course, the baskets are also up to PDGA tournament standards.

“They’re the highest-quality baskets that are available,” Weston said.

He said the architects worked closely with local disc golfers to design the course layout.

“There’s a variety of hole lengths, locations and difficulties, so it helps maintain interest in playability for the disc golfers,” Weston said.