COVINGTON, Ky. — As disc golf continues to grow in popularity across the United States, Covington leadership moved to make the sport a permanent staple within its flagship park.
Concrete pad tee boxes have already been poured for Devou Park’s own 18-hole disc golf course. Public Works crews are dressing up the areas around the pads with gravel and fixing challenges related to the slopes.
“We’ve got three tees left to do,” supervisor Jason Roberts said.
Covington’s Parks and Recreation Manager Ben Oldiges said the baskets for the course are en route to Covington from Georgia. Volunteers will install the baskets upon arrival.
Oldiges said that engagement speaks to the increasing popularity of the sport, especially here in the Greater Cincinnati area, and that Covington has long sought to engage with that popularity.
“A disc golf course is something that we have been missing for a very long time within the Covington parks system,” Oldiges said. “This new course is going to bring a new massive and passionate crowd to Devou Park, and because of this, the influx of people will affect the urban core in a very positive way. It should bring energy, excitement, and enthusiasm to a park that already has a high level of energy in place.”
Covington began its planning a year ago. The location and layout for the course were approved by the Devou Park Advisory Committee in November 2021. It’s funded by the Devou Trust and Devou Properties Inc.
As current plans stand, the course will be open to the public for free play year-round during park hours, which are from dawn to dusk. Covington Parks and Recreation will also organize tournaments, including one tied to a grand opening ceremony later this fall.
Oldiges praised the work of Dr. Ryan Freibert, who plays the sport semi-professionally and served as a consultant and planner for the course’s creation.
“Dr. Freibert took the lead in the design of the course and has been instrumental in the implementation process,” Oldiges said. “This project would not have been possible if it wasn’t for the countless hours and time he has put into this initiative.”
During a presentation to the Covington Board of Commissioners on Jan. 11, Freibert mentioned the LWS Open, a Disc Golf Pro Tour event held annually at Idlewild Park in Burlington since 2018, and that a million-dollar contract that had been recently signed by a professional player; both indicators of disc golf’s surging popularity.
“There is a lot of money coming into this sport,” Freibert said. “It’s not just kids throwing frisbees in a park.”
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