Sequim Gazette staff
Game on. Well, not quite yet.
The Clallam County Parks Department is hosting two volunteer work parties at the location of the new disc golf course on Thompson Road, one mile east of Blyn, in early March.
The first is set for 9 a.m.-3 p.m. Saturday, March 12, and the second is 10 a.m.-3 p.m. Monday, March 14.
Interested parties are asked to RSVP by e-mail (parks@co.clallam.wa.us) or call (565-2659) for one or both parties, and to include the number of people in one’s group and work one is able/willing to do.
The work entails clearing brush, moving downed trees, pruning, removing rocks, chipping woody debris and pulling Scotch broom.
Participants are asked to bring tools they are comfortable using; tools needed include gloves, hand pruners, loppers, peaveys, pole saws, chainsaws, bow rakes and/or weedeaters. Provide personal eye and ear protection.
A limited number of Scotch broom pullers and other tools will be available.
Snacks and water will be provided.
Volunteers must sign in at the site. Participants younger than 18 must be accompanied by and work with an adult.
About disc golf
Disc golf is a game that combines the concepts of golf, basketball and frisbee.
It can be played solo or with many, where each individual throws a small disc into baskets scattered throughout a course with natural obstacles, such as trees and hills.
The object of the game is to traverse a course from start to finish with the fewest number of throws of the disc.
County OKs rezone
In December, the property east of Sequim envisioned as a disc golf course got the needed approval by the Clallam County commissioners almost a decade after initial efforts to confirm a course location began.
Changing the property from Rural Low to Parks and Recreation was the final step needed to allow county officials to begin building the long-discussed 18-hole disc golf course.
Past controversy on the location and park department priorities, time and funding kept the disc golf course from becoming a reality, but in 2010 county parks officials targeted a 40-acre site adjacent to Thompson Road conducive for multiple configurations and varying features for players of all levels.
In 2007, the original disc golf course proposal aimed at Robin Hill Farm County Park ceased after public concerns centered on the location arose, but led county officials to turn their attention to the property off Thompson Road.
In May of last year, members of the Parks and Recreation Advisory Board discussed public concerns associated with the Thompson Road site that primarily focused on the potential of increased traffic and loss of privacy — echoing those voiced by one nearby resident at the planning commission’s public hearing.
Like the planning commission, in May the board voted to continue with proposed plans and by July they had submitted the necessary paperwork to rezone the property to the county’s Department of Community Development.
Despite the space available, only about 20 acres are will be used for the course, county officials said.
For more about the disc golf course, see clallam.net/Parks/discgolf.html.
Driving directions to the site
From Sequim, travel east on U.S. Highway 101. Shortly after Seven Cedars Casino and Longhouse Market & Deli gas station, turn left onto Blyn Crossing. Take an immediate right and turn onto Old Blyn Highway. Beyond the Jamestown S’Klallam tribal administration buildings, keep to the right when the road forks, staying on Old Blyn Highway.
About one-half mile past the fork, Thompson Road veers to the left. The parking area is about one-half mile up Thompson Road on the left.
