(Photo: CDT Disc Golf Facebook)

Demand at the CDT Disc Golf course has exceeded expectations since its opening almost a year ago in Riverview.

Spokesperson Blake Reynolds says it began as a dream to have a disc golf course in his own backyard and he underestimated how much of an impact this passion project would have on so many Riverview residents.

He has requested an additional $10, 000($5000 requested with an additional $5000 in-kind support) from the Town for the continued growth of the course, “The Disc Golf community is growing significantly, and people are coming in from all over Atlantic Canada, coming in from Riverview. They are realizing what we have here, but what we are finding over the last six months, it is starting to set fire in the community.”

Reynolds says over 6700 rounds of disc golf were played in Riverview in 2022, and over 10, 000 since the course opened in the fall of 2021.

Within the first six months of the opening, around 80 percent of the traffic was not from Riverview, but they are seeing those numbers rise.

“We formed a Board of Five members to ensure that we stayed organized and set ourselves up for success. We now have a dedicated group of over 25 volunteers that help with course maintenance whenever it is needed,” Reynolds says.

There are currently more than 25, 000 disc golf courses in 79 countries, and at around 90 percent of them, participants play for free.  There is no charge to play in Riverview.

“The goal of this disc golf course is to reduce as many barriers to getting out and enjoying the sport outside. I think that, as we grow, I’ve had more volunteers than I ever expected. I think there were five or six of us when we began and so there will always be needs on the course and hundreds of man-hours already spent by the volunteer community, but I wouldn’t think that(charging to play) is something we’d ever do at this particular course,” Reynolds adds.

The CDT Disc Golf Course is located behind Claude D. Taylor School on Whitepine Road.

Reynolds says their vision is to become the best family-friendly par three disc golf course in Atlantic Canada, if not all of Canada.