INNISFAIL – The Innisfail Kinsmen Disc Golf Park will be double the size beginning in 2025.
On Oct. 28 the Town of Innisfail's council approved an amendment to the back nine course design, allowing the service club to finally go ahead with the project that will soon give disc golf enthusiasts a total of 18 holes to play on.
Council was told on Oct. 28 the amendment called for the moving of the #10 tee box further away from the little gazebo next to Napoleon Lake.
However, Town of Innisfail Mayor Jean Barclay, the lone council dissenter to a motion to pave the way for the Kinsmen to develop the back nine, said she had problems with the designs of the 12 and 14 holes as the baskets and concrete pads are designed to sit just off a nature trail.
“Aesthetically, I don't think a basket and a cement pad tee box look great in that area, and I can't imagine people walking on that trail, which they do, having disc golf being played at the same time,” said Barclay. “This trail is being taken away from the people that use that space for other things.”
Steven Kennedy, the town’s director of operations, replied to Barclay’s concern that due to the length of the hole the sight lines are in place to make sure there is no interference if anyone does come onto the trail.
“We looked at that and gone through it a number of times with the Kinsmen, and we feel comfortable there would be a lower risk of interference with people walking on the trail, being that the sidelines are quite short,” said Kennedy.
Council then approved the motion to allow the motion to pass by a vote of 5-1.
Following the meeting, Tim Ainscough, the Kinsmen’s treasurer and disc golf project coordinator, told the Albertan the service club will have to wait until 2025 to develop the course’s back nine.
“The Kinsmen would have liked to install some or all of the back nine as soon as possible, unfortunately with how late it is in the year we’ll likely have to wait until spring,” said Ainscough. “That said, the Kinsmen will work with the town to have everything in place to move forward with construction early in the spring.”
He added the Innisfail Kinsmen will also be working on selling sponsorship of the back nine holes to interested businesses.
It was in October of 2021 when the Kinsmen completed the course’s front nine. The service club has been planning the back nine since 2022.
On Oct. 21, Ainscough and fellow Kinsmen Donnie Hill appeared before council to give a full presentation on the project’s history, including the back 9 project.
Ainscough told council there had been some “growing pains” with the full project, as well as expectations on a level of maintenance.
“Some people had different ideas. When we built the course and when we worked with administration it wasn't going to be like a golf course, and it wasn't going to be manicured, and we worked through that and everyone bought into it,” Ainscough told council, adding a final back 9 design was submitted to council last Aug. 27, with a council walk through of the plan at Centennial Park on Sept. 19.
“And to date, there's been no incidents or concerns raised to the Kinsmen, and I believe there's only been one raised to the town,” he said, adding any impacts to the area’s ecosystem has “definitely” been on the Kinsmen’s radar.
“To date I don't believe there's been any impacts on the ecosystem as a result of the front nine,” said Ainscough, adding it’s been estimated that a total of 8,000 rounds of disc golf have been played at Centennial Park over the past two and half years.
“In fact, I would suggest that there's probably more impacts with a lot of other uses that go up there, including dog walkers and what not, that will have a bigger impact than the individuals throwing some discs.”