TONTOGANY — Centennial Park in Tontogany has a new feature “fore” its residents. With the assistance of a
grant, there is a new 9-hole disc golf course in the park.
Matt Shanahan, who is in his second year as a village councilman, wrote the grant and volunteered the
labor for the installation of the course.
The Wood County Park District grant provided $4,200 toward the course. The cost to the village was just
$50 for the costs to purchase and the installation for the cost over and above the forecasted amount.
“We saved a lot of money by doing the labor ourselves,” Shanahan said. “We tried to keep our park budget
to focus on bringing families to the park.”
Visitors to the course must BYOD — bring their own disc or discs.
“It’s great for families or for anyone,” he said. “It’s good exercise by walking the course and throwing
the discs.”
Shanahan said it takes around 45 minutes for most people to complete the course. He carries four
different discs, but he said an average player can navigate the course with any disc and does not need
multiple discs to play.
Much like traditional golf, he uses different discs for different length of shots. He has a driver, a
mid-range disc and a putter or what is called an approach disc.
The course that opened in September.
Shanahan said that Otsego Local Schools students, including a high school gym class, have used the
course. Because of the proximity to the schools, elementary students are also frequent visitors to the
park and he expects many of them to play on the course.
Plans are already on the agenda for next year’s Tontogany Fest to have a disc golf tournament.
“It’s a great activity for all ages,” Shanahan said.
The layout, which covers 2,357 feet, will soon be posted at the course on a map at the course. It is
designed so it will not interfere with the basketball court, the soccer goals or the playground. There
is no fee to play.
“Our goal is to draw people to the park and the village,” Shanahan said.
Most of the holes are considered par 3 but there are three longer holes which are par 4. The longest of
those is 345 feet.
