New Monticello disc golf course set to host grand opening event July 19 during annual Monticello Pioneer Day Celebration

by David Boyle
News Director
Monticello’s first disc golf course is hosting a grand opening event as part of the Pioneer Day Celebration this Friday, July 19.
The new free amenity at the Mill Site park was brought together by the passion of volunteers who saw an opportunity to promote the growing sport.
Disc golf is played much like traditional golf with competitors starting at a designated tee spot and throwing discs, slightly smaller and heftier than frisbees, toward basket targets at a distance. The goal is to get the disc in the basket in as few tosses as possible.
It was while living in Green Bay, Wisconsin that Monticello resident Brian Taylor first tried disc golf. He says the sport is popular in the area with about three courses within five minutes of his home. Taylor first tried the sport about eight years ago and immediately fell in love with it.
After moving to Monticello a few years ago Taylor would occasionally drive to play the Blanding and Moab courses, and others in the surrounding area.
While returning home from one of those trips to Blanding the idea for a Monticello course first struck. “You could see the beautiful [Hideout] golf course on one side of the highway and on the other side was this big open space where we’d walk. I started thinking, ‘huh, I bet that’d work for disc golf,’” explained Taylor.
Taylor says his family often spent time walking along the trails at the mill site and discovered it would be a good spot for a disc golf course. He approached the Monticello City Council with the idea for the project which would be funded by donations and built with volunteer labor.
“The nice thing about disc golf courses is you don’t need manicured grass or ongoing detailed maintenance. Once you put baskets in, people walk around, trails form, and it becomes a natural thing.”
The course requires baskets which run about $400 each. The removable baskets are placed on poles that are cemented into the ground, along with tee pads that mark where each hole begins.
Taylor was able to raise the funds to cover the cost of installing the course with a GoFundMe account that received donations from near and far.
Getting everything together included over 350 tracked volunteer hours. In addition to work from Taylor and his family, residents Matt Atwood and John Hastings put in a lot of work.
Brian Taylor’s wife Martha Skouson Taylor grew up in Monticello. Brian shared whenever the Skousons meet for a family reunion they incorporate a service project. So a recent gathering of the family resulted in 45 volunteers putting in work to prepare the course.
The course was described by Taylor as “open”. While a lot of courses require navigation of trees, the wide-open space is good for beginners.
“It’s fun because a lot of the holes are downhill which means you can throw it far,” detailed Taylor. “We designed the first nine holes to be accessible to beginners and intermediate golfers. We tried to make it forgiving; you can throw it and find your disc.”
There do remain challenges on the course including a path through a small patch of trees on the ninth hole.
The new course is registered on a popular mobile app called Udisc and the listing has already brought attention to the course from disc golfers in the Four Corners region.
The app is recommended for play as GPS coordinates show exactly where you are and where you need to go for the next basket as you walk the course.
During the annual Monticello Pioneer Day Celebration Taylor, Atwood, and other volunteers will be holding an informal grand opening.
Friday, July 19 from 5-8 p.m. everyone can come check out the disc golf course and learn about the sport. The event will also include a closest-to-the-basket competition on hole #1.
Taylor says it’s an approachable sport for a number of reasons. The public course is always free and doesn’t require a tee time. In addition, getting basic discs can cost as little as $10.
While this first edition of the course has nine holes, there’s a possibility more holes will eventually be added sometime in the future.