On the 21st of October, 2021 Burlington Parks, Recreation & Waterfront (BPRW) is excited and to announce the grand opening of the new permanent 9-hole disc golf course at Schifilliti Park, located in the New North End of the City, next to the Miller Community & Recreation Center at 130 Gosse Court.   This is the first permanent disc golf course in Burlington.

During the COVID-19 pandemic, BPRW developed several new initiatives to increase opportunities for outdoor, safe recreation. One such program was the temporary disc golf course installed in the wooded area surrounding the ball fields for the winter. The course used low-cost materials such as 5 –gallon buckets, wooden stakes and in-house printed signs. Based on positive community input for the temporary course, BRPW added a permanent course with staff and community support. 

“We are thrilled about the addition of a family-friendly 9-hole disc golf course at Schifilliti Park next door to CP Smith, Hunt Middle School, Sarah Holbrook Teen Center and the Miller Center. The new course is yet another no-cost activity families can enjoy in our parks. Thank you to Disc Golf VT, BPRW staff and community volunteers for making the course possible,”, says BPRW Director Cindi Wight. 

Chris Young, of Disc Golf Vermont, designed the course and players of all abilities and ages will likely find the course fun and challenging, with a mix of narrow wooded fairways and wide-open field shots.  Players of all levels, especially beginners and children, are encouraged to play.  The course is free and open to the public.  

Young states ,“It’s been a great experience working with BPRW to bring a free-to-play 9-hole disc golf course to the greater Burlington community. This will be a valuable asset to the two neighboring schools, the Miller Community Center, the area colleges and to Chittenden county, getting folks outdoors, building friendships and staying active.”  

Following several hours of volunteer work on Thursday to put some finishing touches on the course, Chris Young held a clinic for beginners to teach them the basics of disc golf.  In the future, to make the game more accessible to folks, BPRW plans to have some rental discs available  at the Miller Center, for those that don’t own discs. BPRW also plans to install a kiosk with information at the course start, and the course will be added to the UDisc app where players can use the online scorecard.  

The new course is expected to be a popular recreation amenity in the parks. 

BPRW Athletic Program Supervisor, Jen Cotton, adds that “Disc golf is one of the fastest growing sports and it has especially skyrocketed over the last year and half during the pandemic, so putting a course in Burlington makes a lot of sense.  It’s a great family-friendly outdoor recreational activity and we definitely anticipate it getting a ton of use right away.  I’m looking forward to seeing people of all ages using the course and spending quality time with friends and family.  I’m also very excited to add more disc golf programming, now that we have a home course to run them at.”

The course is open during daylight hours.

Don’t Have your Own Discs?

Discs can be borrowed for no charge from the Miller Center front desk area. All you need to do is provide a driver’s license (or student ID) and you can sign out a set of two discs (mid-range and putter.) For any disc(s) not returned, there will be a $15 charge per disc.