Tucker Beach Disc Golf Course, an international level disc golf facility is facing a serious threat of closure. This recreational asset is a public course where everyone is welcome to play. We urgently need your support.

www.queenstowndiscgolf.co.nz/queenstown-disc-golf-courses/tucker-beach-disc-golf-course

Background Story

Tucker Beach Disc Golf Course was established in 2012, within the Tucker Beach Recreation Reserve, Queenstown, New Zealand. It started with simple marked tee areas and PVC pipes as targets, then gradually grew to the current form of 16 paved tee pads and 18 PDGA (Professional Disc Golf Association) approved baskets.

In a very short time this course has become a significant part of the NZ Disc Golf Tour, hosting the NZ National Championship, featuring twice as the location for the South Island Championships, and home to the annual Tucker Beach ‘Rush’ tournament, as well as numerous unsanctioned events. All this while remaining freely available for anyone to play throughout the year.

Tucker Beach Recreation Reserve is on Department of Conservation (DoC) land classified as a Recreation Reserve under the Reserves Act 1977 Section 17, to provide areas for the recreation and sporting activities and the physical welfare and enjoyment of the public, and for the protection of the natural environment and beauty of the countryside.

www.legislation.govt.nz/act/public/1977/0066/52.0/DLM444605.html

All the disc golf facilities in Tucker Beach Reserve have been installed with full approval from DoC. There are 16 tee pads made with pavers and wooden frames, 18 baskets made with galvanized steel (one even painted green as a compromise - so that it is less visible for residents) and 2 small OB areas marked with stones. All the associated costs to develop the course have been covered by the Queenstown Disc Golf Club. This includes; 1000’s of volunteer labour hours, and countless fundraising events to raise sufficient money to purchase and install the infrastructure.

The Problem Tucker Beach Disc Golf Course is Facing

A few local residents are expressing concerns that, while disc golf activities are welcomed, its facilities are not aesthetically pleasing. A photo above is the view from Tucker Beach Road looking down the Tucker Beach Reserve. This hyperlink below is a high resolution version of the same photo.

www.queenstowndiscgolf.co.nz/TuckerBeachReserve1.jpg

And this is another photo taken from a road above. The majority of the Tucker Beach Recreation Reserve and 16 out of 18 holes (holes 1 through to 11, tee 12, basket 14 and the rest through to the hole 18) of the course are in this photo.

www.queenstowndiscgolf.co.nz/TuckerBeachReserve2.jpg

To satisfy these residents DoC is proposing to the Club to remove all the tee pads and baskets from the reserve, and go back to ground markings for tees and waratahs for targets.

Queenstown Disc Golf Club is expressing concerns that the removal of these facilities will mean the end of Tucker Beach Disc Golf Course. Doing so is much like removing tees, greens and cups from a golf course, or removing goal posts and replacing them with sticks on a rugby field. People will no longer come to Tucker Beach Reserve to play the sport, taking away a freely available sporting facility from the community. DoC’s proposal may even contradict the intent of the purpose of Recreation Reserves.

WE NEED YOUR HELP

Queenstown Disc Golf Club is a very small group of volunteers with literally no budget, yet we are passionate about this sport and willing to spend all our free time to maintain the courses so that they are available for the community to use. WE NEED YOUR HELP.

Show your support by signing this petition. Share with your friends and families. Please help us to save the Tucker Beach Disc Golf Course and help serve the community. Without your help, this course will be gone for good.

If you live in or around Queenstown and have not played the Tucker Beach Course, come and play. All you need is a disc and a couple of hours, and won't cost you anything. It is free for you to use anytime and we welcome you. You will realise how beautiful this place is and how lucky we are to have this course here.

Queenstown Disc Golf Club would like to thank DoC for their continuous support to us and to the community. We wouldn't have been here without you and we would like to continue working together for the sport, for the environment and for the community.

-VERY IMPORTANT IF YOU ARE PLAYING THIS COURSE-

Please read the sign board very carefully before playing the course. It has a course map but more importantly, there is information about rubbish and New Zealand dotterel. New Zealand dotterel is an endangered species found only in certain areas of New Zealand. They reside on the river banks in Tucker Beach Reserve and this is their nesting season. Park your car at the designated car park and never drive beyond this point. If you have a dog, please keep it on leash at all times. Please avoid the area near river banks as much as you can. We have the hole 11 tee near the river and this area is OK. If you see or hear the birds, please stop and walk away from them.

Thank You!

Thank you very much for taking the time to read all this. And we very much appreciate your support.

If you do not mind reading a bit more, below is an introduction of who we are and what disc golf is.

Who is Queenstown Disc Golf Club?

Queenstown Disc Golf Club is a non-profit organisation and a group of volunteer disc golf players, whose purpose is to help maintain the courses (Tucker Beach Disc Golf Course and Queenstown Gardens Course) and develop the sport. The club members put thousands of hours voluntarily to fix and improve the facilities and clean the courses to ensure that they are safe and enjoyable for public to use.

What is Disc Golf?

If you have lived in Queenstown for long enough, chances are you've seen it. We have an iconic course in the beautiful Queenstown Gardens. It is a golf-like sport but played with discs (frisbees) instead of balls and clubs. Disc golf is a family friendly sport, has a very minimal impact to the environment, and the best thing is, freely available to play for anyone.

www.youtube.com/watch?v=E5AHVh_kNvg

Visit our website and Facebook page if you want to know more about us, about disc golf, or want to join us.

www.queenstowndiscgolf.co.nz

www.facebook.com/QueenstownDiscGolf

Thank you,

Queenstown Disc Golf Club