Disc Golf

Tamanend Park has a disc golf course thanks to Matthew Bochantin.  Matthew Bochantin is a member of Troop 1776 located in Titusville NJ.  His Eagle Scout Community Service Project was to design and install a beginner friendly nine-hole disc golf course.

 

"My dad taught me to play disc golf when I was 13 years old.  I had a lot of fun and for my Eagle project, I wanted to give back that same love of the sport to my community.  This course was designed for beginners and families to enjoy disc golf as a fun sport to do together." – Matthew Bochantin

 

Starting in early 2013 Matthew solicited many different state and community parks in the area trying to find one that was willing to support the addition of a disc golf course.  After many rejections he found Tamanend Park and they were very interested.  So in February 2014 with ice and snow on the ground he set out and made his preliminary design.  Desiring only the best Matthew convinced Adam Harris, a local disc golf course designer, to review his design.  They walked the course and Adam suggested utilizing the elevation change by going down one hill and up another.  Matthew agreed and the first redesign was put into effect.

 

Soon after the snow had melted in early spring Matthew held his first set of work sessions where several volunteers from his Boy Scout troop came out and cleared sticks and trees out of the fairways for the course.  Additionally, a brush hog was rented and a large field of Japanese Barberry, an evasive species, was mowed down to create the fairway for hole 7.

 

Through the rest of spring and all of summer Matthew focused on fundraisers.  First was the car at Union Fire Company in Titusville, then a fundraiser disc golf tournament at Field of Dreams, followed by another fundraiser tournament at Stafford Woods, and finally a third disc golf tournament at Tyler State Park.  Also through the summer some local disc golfers helped maintain the fairways that were cleared in the spring.

 

Ending with some generous donations Matthew set out to acquire the baskets.  The BCDGA (Bucks County Disc Golf Alliance) was proposing an expansion of their disc golf course at Tyler State Park.  Nine of the used baskets were negotiated and purchased at a discount.

 

In early autumn Matthew convinced Joe Mela, another local disc golf course designer, to review the course.  Joe suggested moving the basket for hole 7 back further into the trees and Matthew agreed and changed the overall design.  On Saturday October 11th the baskets were installed in Tamanend Park.

 

With the disc golf course ready for usage a disc golf tournament was held on Sunday, November 9th.  With 33 participants and over 100 rounds of golf played we now have an awesome disc golf course at Tamanend Park.