Swartz Creek View

Swartz Creek disc golf course could open this summer




SWARTZ CREEK — Discs could fly yet this year at a new disc golf course in Swartz Creek – a course the designer says will offer some unique features not available at other courses in the area.

Mike Suchodolski, one of the driving forces behind the project, was out on the property over the holiday weekend, using a rotary cutter he rented to mow the fairways and other areas on the 20-acre city-owned parcel on Bristol Road just west of Miller Road.

“I’m extremely excited about this course, and everyone I’ve brought out so far says the same,” Suchodolski said. “They’re excited to see the finished product and to play it.”

The Swartz Creek course, which as yet does not have an official name, offers a deceptively rolling terrain, he said.

“It looks flat from the road, but once you get out there, you realize you’re going up and down hill,” he explained. “There are elevations on the course that you don’t really get anywhere else. It’s a pretty decent elevation change.

“We will also keep as much of the foliage and low-lying brush and bushes as possible. We will be leaving just about all of it. We will do everything we can to not cut any of it out … mainly because there is a lot of wildlife on the property. We’ve been out there several times and run into quite a few deer and smaller wildlife, and we want them to stay.”

The course also will have a couple of blind holes, and places where players will have to throw over brushy areas. Players also will play around some drainage areas and a small swamp.

“We will also make island holes, some man-made islands, and there is a lot of out of bounds to play against,” Suchodolski said. “We plan to make it fun for everyone, yet challenging.”

Suchodolski said he hopes to have baskets in the ground soon.

“The plan is to have it up and running this summer,” he said. “After this summer, we will be able to improve on it more. This summer, we plan to get the baskets in and make it playable.”

Sponsor opportunities are available for various elements of the course. Suchodolski said he will post a list of items, such as baskets and stairways, on the Facebook page “Swartz Creek Disc Golf Course – name tbd.”

The cost to sponsor a hole will likely be $350 to $450, depending on the cost of concrete.

He also is looking for artists who might be able to paint some of the culverts onsite.

“For the 18th hole, we’re looking to have a sculpture made that you can see from the road, a dragon or something holding a disc golf basket,” he said.

Other area disc golf courses are located at the YMCA on Pierson Road, Goldenrod on Irish Road, Mott Park in Flint, and the Holly Recreation Area.