New Disc Golf Course to Open at Mine Kill State Park

The New York State Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation (State Parks) today announced that its first permanent disc golf course in the Saratoga-Capital Region will open at Mine Kill State Park in North Blenheim. The course opening will take place on Saturday, August 9, 2014 at 9AM just outside the Mine Kill pool complex, featuring a ribbon cutting ceremony, an Ace Race and other great disc golf games.

“We are thrilled to welcome the first disc golf course to a State Park in the Capital Region,” State Parks Commissioner Rose Harvey said. “Disc golf is a fun and easy way to get outside with friends and family at New York State Parks. The Mine Kill Disc Golf Course will be a magnificent new destination for one of the fastest growing sports in the Catskills and Capital Region.”  

Disc Golf is played similar to traditional golf with tees, holes and strokes per hole, but with plastic flying discs used instead of a ball and clubs. A golf disc is thrown from a tee area to an elevated basket, which is the "hole." As players make their way down the fairway, they take each consecutive throw from the spot where the previous throw landed. The player with the fewest throws wins.

In addition to Mine Kill, disc golf courses are available at Beaver Island, Darien Lake, Evangola, Joseph Davis, Lakeside and Wilson-Tuscarora State Parks in Western New York, Franklin D. Roosevelt in the Lower Hudson Valley, and Gilbert Lake State Park in Otsego County.

The Ace Race tournament at Mine Kill State Park will make a great introduction to disc golf for players new to the sport. An Ace Race is like a hole-in-one contest with a bit of a twist; all players must throw the same type of disc on every hole. Players only count holes in one (Aces) or when their disc strikes a part of the target basket. Prizes will be awarded to the top finishers at the MKDGC Ace Race.  Players will also receive 2 prototype discs, a towel, baseball cap, a mini-marker disc and other great items upon registering.  

Admission to the Ace Race is just $25 per player.  

Players interested in exploring the new Mine Kill disc golf course on their own can borrow a disc at the park or pool office.  There is a $10 deposit per disc required for using a disc for the day.  Disc purchases may also be made at the park for $10 per disc.  Admission to the park from late-June to Labor Day is $3 per vehicle from 9am to 5pm.  

For more information on the Mine Kill Disc Golf Course Ace Race event, or to learn more about the terrific sport of disc golf, please contact the park office at (518) 827-8690.