Safety actions to implement at the disc golf course at Miller Park was discussed at the Fair Oaks Recreation and Park District (FORPD) Board of Directors

FAIR OAKS, CA (MPG) - At the Oct. 16 meeting, the Fair Oaks Recreation and Park District (FORPD) Board of Directors considered possible actions to improve safety at the disc golf course that opened at Miller Park in 2020.

Many community members have reported incidents of hits or near misses by errant discs, as well as yelling and rude behavior from disc golfers. In response to these concerns, the district hired consultant Leonard Muise with Whirlwind Disc Golf to review the course and submit a report outlining potential safety improvements.

Parks and Facilities Manager Sean Ventura introduced the report, stating, “There are ways the course can improve and there are ways the course needs to improve.” In particular, there are areas of concern around the playground, creek, pedestrian pathways, and picnic areas, as well as various holes on the course with limited visibility for players. These issues cause a risk of injury for other park users, in particular for children as they walk to and from the nearby Earl Legette Elementary School.

Potential mitigation measures include relocating some course tees and baskets, installing trees to create a fairway corridor, installing netting and new landscaping to reduce discs entering other spaces, improving signage and visibility, and stricter enforcement of course closure times. Other measures could also be considered, such as fencing areas of the course or redirecting pedestrian pathways but those could be more costly to implement.

The district was also considering the possibility of relocating the course to another park, such as Gum Ranch Park, Fair Oaks Park, Phoenix Park or Bannister Park but the district would need to ensure that an alternative site wouldn’t present the same challenges. The district could also just remove the disc golf course entirely but Ventura cautioned that there used to be frequent homeless encampments in that area of the park, which have been eliminated since the disc golf course was installed. With course removal, Ventura  said, could be a resurgence of those encampments, requiring staff time and effort to handle ongoing cleanup.

During Public Comment, many residents shared negative experiences they had interacting with some of the disc golfers. One resident, whose property borders part of the course, has found more than 100 discs in her yard and players frequently knock on her door, sometimes early in the morning or into the night, asking to enter her yard to retrieve lost discs. While some have been polite, she said others have been very rude and aggressive, with some even kicking in her back fence to get into her yard, causing her animals to escape into the park.

Another neighboring property has suffered similar problems. A park tree fell onto their back fence many years ago and was not repaired, so golfers frequently trespass onto their property to retrieve lost discs. And when told to leave, many are extremely rude to the property owners. 

Many residents shared incidents of golfers yelling and cursing at children and families who are trying to use the park, and many had stories of very near misses with errant discs. They said that the park no longer feels welcoming to families, and that children cannot freely run and play at the park without fear of injuries or altercations. Residents said that they understand the golfers enjoy playing the course, but safety for all park users should be the priority.

One mother recounted how her young daughter was hit in the face by a disc while she was near the playground, and instead of apologizing, the golfer yelled that she was in the way. That child is now afraid to play in the park, and many other families have stopped visiting the park for the same reason.

One resident said that despite many golfers using the course responsibly, sometimes the bad actions of a few can ruin it for everyone else. He said the cost of mitigation or relocation are nothing compared to the possible cost of litigation if someone gets seriously hurt.

More than a dozen disc golfers also spoke during the meeting to explain how important the course is as a recreational opportunity for the community. They said they didn’t want to see the course removed or relocated, and they hoped the district would consider the safety improvements so the course could remain at Miller Park. Many said they were shocked to hear of the bad behavior of some players, and there was discussion about the formation of an official disc golf user group that could partner with the district to enforce course rules and closure times.

Vice-Chair Delinda Tamagni said first on her to-do list is fixing the fences of properties that border the course and putting in signage informing players those areas are private property and lost discs will not be recovered. She also suggested installing cameras on that side of the course to ensure compliance. Another item of immediate concern is enforcing course closure when children are coming to and from school, and Tamagni said the closure times need to be extended to include the earlier release time for kindergarten.

“The idea of an adult cussing at a small child is abhorrent, and I think everyone would agree about that. We cannot be doing that as a community,” said Tamagni. She said the next steps should include working with a user group to create a roster of volunteers to oversee enforcement at the course, and to look at mitigation plans to improve the holes that are causing the most issues. Tamagni said, “We have a lot of work to do.”

Director John O’Farrell said he wants to find other parks with disc golf courses and look at their best practices for mitigating safety risks. And he asked staff to come back with specific costs for the various safety recommendations.

Director Darren Mounts said, “There’s obviously a very strong user group here for disc golf, and I think it’s really going to depend on that group stepping up to really help us come and mitigate some issues that we’re seeing right now.” He said the disc golfers have to be more active ambassadors of the sport and “self-police.”

“Safety is paramount,” said Mounts, “and it’s gut-wrenching to hear stories of children being hit or near misses. I understand all of the concerns, and they’re big concerns, and they are concerns of ours. And we’re going to work together to try to address them.”

Director Raymond James Irwin said he was sorry for the issues that families and neighbors have been dealing with: “I take it seriously. I know our board takes it really seriously.”

Irwin said the course can remain at Miller Park but there needs to be a lot of collaboration with a user group to enforce the rules. Irwin added that children need safe areas to play, so some of the baskets have to be relocated.

Chair Ralph Carhart said the safety issues are significant: “I don’t think we can ignore that.” He said the holes that are causing the most issues should be closed immediately until the district figures out a solution. He said that Fair Oaks Park could be a viable option for the course’s relocation, so he asked for that option to be further explored. And he added that they need to get the word out that players will be ticketed for breaking the rules.

The board directed staff to immediately move forward with extending the closure hours, adding more signage, formalizing a user group to oversee enforcement, providing specifics on hole relocations, and analyzing possible course relocation to Fair Oaks Park. The board also asked for monthly updates.

The next Fair Oaks Recreation and Park District board meeting is scheduled for Nov. 20.