Naperville disc golf course to reopen

With a dedication and a ceremonial first throw, Naperville Park District on Saturday, June 27, will reopen the Knoch Knolls Park disc golf course.

The Naperville community is invited to celebrate the grand reopening of the disc golf course at Knoch Knolls Park at 10 a.m. Saturday at 336 Knoch Knolls Road, Naperville.

Following brief remarks by the Naperville Park District board president and others, the course will officially open with a ceremonial first throw. Expert disc golf players will be on hand to demonstrate how to throw a disc and to give other tips for beginners. Guests also will have the opportunity to participate in a series of "Putt for the Pie" contests.

The disc golf course at Knoch Knolls Park originally opened in 2000 as a nine-hole course and concrete tee pads were added in 2006. Naperville resident and disc golf enthusiast Tom Wehrli worked with Disc Golf Hall of Fame player Gary Lewis to design the original course. Funding for the first course was provided, in part, by donations from local individuals and organizations.

With the sport of disc golf growing quickly in Illinois and nationally, players flocked to the Knoch Knolls course and soon looked for ways to expand it from nine to 18 holes. The Naperville Park District was able to include the course expansion in the Knoch Knolls Nature Center project, which was funded in part by an Open Space Lands Acquisition and Development grant from the Illinois Department of Natural Resources.

Design of the overall project began in 2012, and preparation for the disc golf renovation began in 2013 when a herd of goats helped clear five acres of invasive brush for the new holes. Installation of the new tees and baskets continued through the spring of 2015.

Disc golf experts Steve Matul and Doug D'Arcy worked with project manager Peggy Pelkonen to design the new course layout. Close to parking, restrooms and the DuPage River Trail, the Knoch Knolls course is conveniently located and offers views of open fields and woodlands along the West Branch of the DuPage River.

Disc golf is popular with young adults, but the sport also provides an opportunity for families to spend time together outdoors.

"I see parents staying with their kids while they are playing the game and walking the course together," Wehrli observed. "There are a lot of guys who play, but I also see lots of young kids with their parents."