Boardman Park's disc golf course designer said it's free to play on your own while maintaining a good distance from others

BOARDMAN, Ohio (WKBN) – Your local park is one of the few places you can still get out and blow off steam during the coronavirus pandemic.

Most importantly, you can get some much-needed exercise and do so in a safe and cost-effective way. Boardman Park remains open to the public from 7 a.m. until dark.

One popular activity there is disc golf.

“It’s a free-to-play activity so you don’t have to exchange money with anyone,” said Justin Edwards, a local competitor and designer of Boardman Park’s course. “Just to get out there, and get your round going and play with your own discs.”

Edwards helped designed the Valley’s first disc golf course at Boardman Park in 2016. He’s since helped out with courses at Mill Creek MetroParks and the Struthers city course.

“A disc golf course gets you out in the woods in a different way than a lot of golf courses ever would,” Edwards said. “So Boardman Park has nine holes that are out in the park area…then they’ve got nine holes that are back into the woods, more in a hiking type of area.”

Edwards said a starter pack of discs costs about $25.

Once things get back to normal, you can join one of several local leagues, including the Mahoning Valley Disc Golf Association.

“Anything we can do at this point to try and keep some sort of normalcy, and keep ourselves moving and staying active while being safe — and I think disc golf certainly is one of those activities that you can get out and play on your own,” Edwards said. “To get out there, and throw some discs, and enjoy the beauty of the disc flying through the air and the sound the chains make when the disc hits the basket. I think those are definitely things you can certainly be enjoying right now.”