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When Tom Butler was a student at Arizona State University, he witnessed the beginning of disc golf in the Valley.

Courses were constructed at Tempe Beach Park and Vista Del Camino in Scottsdale in the 1980s as the game began getting traction alongside the popularity of ultimate frisbee.  In disc golf, players throw a frisbee at a basket.

Over time, the game has steadily gained traction in the U.S., which is home to more than 7,000 courses – including roughly 75 in Arizona.

It is one of the fastest growing games in the country, according to AARP, which estimates 50 million rounds of disc golf have been played globally in 2021. 

Now, Butler is campaigning to have Ahwatukee to have its own disc golf course at Sun Ray Park. 

An Ahwatukee resident since 1987, Butler said he’s excited about that prospect for many reasons.

 “One is my love for this game – it’s just so much fun,” he said. “Secondly, I am so excited to potentially be able to ride my bike two miles to a disc golf course and play whenever I want.”

Butler’s campaign for a course at Sun Ray Park started after he learned that Udisc – advertised as “The App for Disc Golfers” – showed that the closest course to Butler was 17 miles away at Vista Del Camino Park. 

He decided to connect with the office Ahwatukee city Councilman Sal DiCiccio, whose office laid out the plan that residents must follow in order to try and get a pars amenity added in their community.

DiCiccio’s Chief of Staff Sam Stone said his office wants to support any person that comes in with an idea to add a disc golf course or similar outdoor activity venue. However, community support for the project is an important factor in deciding whether it will happen. 

The same holds true for a campaign by Ahwatukee residents Carrie McNeish and Jill Ostendrop for pickleball courts at Desert Foothills Park. They too were told by Stone to gather evidence showing a demand in their neighborhood for a park.

The 3-year-old 16-court pickleball complex at Pecos Park is great, the two Ahwatukee women say, but unfortunately, a lot of other pickleball players think so too.

“The Pecos courts are always overwhelmed,” said Ostendorp, who has set up an email address – [email protected] – for residents to express their support at Desert Foothills Park, which the city never finished and which has room to accommodate pickleball courts.

Ostendorp brought their plea to the Phoenix Parks and Recreation Board earlier this month, but didn’t get much reaction from it beyond a thank you.

She told the board they’ve already received 400 emails supporting the courts and that most of them were Ahwatukee residents living within two miles of Desert Foothills Park. 

She asked the board what the next steps were. No one on the board answered.

Butler said a disc golf course at Sun Ray Park makes sense because there’s “room there to add something like this and not take away from existing uses of the park.”

Added Stone: “Our residents always appreciate new recreational opportunities, especially new outdoor recreational opportunities with everything that’s going on with COVID. This is another great thing that people can do outdoors in very safe circumstances.” 

In June, Butler was notified by Albert Santana, city assistant parks director, that a nine-hole course, is moving forward. 

City Parks and Recreation Department Gregg Bach said his department’s staff “is working with a group that expressed interest in adding a disc golf amenity to Sun Ray Park. 

“The department plans to engage residents who live

in the neighborhood near

the park and evaluate community interest. After that process is completed, the department plans to take the item to the Parks and Recreation Board with a recommendation.”

Butler said parks officials asked him to do public fundraising for the baskets, which cost between $400-$500 apiece. 

Butler hopes to bring his campaign to the Parks and Rec Board next month.

“I’ve started fundraising and I’ve got quite a response,” Butler said. “By the time this project gets approved by the parks board, we will have all the capital and we’ll be able to get the installation going as quickly as the city can move.” 

Butler has set up a Facebook page, “Phoenix Sun Ray Park Disc Golf Course Project,” with updates on his campaign and advice on how community members can help.

He has also posted a proposed layout of the course on that page.

If the course moves forward to the design phase, Stone said the rec board will ask citizens to raise $5,000 to pay for it – “something that’s pretty doable,” he said. 

Butler is looking forward to bringing a game that people of all ages can play to his local community. 

“I have people in my immediate friend group, I have people that I’m meeting weekly who are very excited about the potential of the course because they’re familiar with the game,” he said, “but they know that there’s nowhere within 20 miles of our community here where they can play.”