“We just want people to come out and enjoy this place.” Willow Lions open bike path, Frisbee golf course

Nestled in Newman Park, along the Willow Creek Parkway, the Willow Lions Club recently celebrated the opening of two new activities for visitors: a 9-hole Frisbee Golf course and a new bike trail.

“That has been an idea from one of our members for years,” said Sid Bertz of the Willow Lions Club (WLC).

“Last year was our 25th anniversary and so we decided we were going to do two projects for the Willow community in celebration of that anniversary,” said Deb Bertz. One of those projects was installing a closed-circuit television in the Willow Public Library.

“And we decided to do a Frisbee golf course for the kids, and even the adults, out here at the park. That’s how this came about.” She said that everything had been ordered but shipping delays forced the WLC to wait until this year to install the equipment.

Frisbee golf, also known as disc golf or frolf, has been around since the early1960s. Similar to golf, players play on a course with 9 or 18 holes. Players complete a hole by throwing a disc from a tee area toward a basket, throwing again from where the previous throw landed, until the basket is reached.

The baskets are formed by wire with hanging chains above the basket, designed to catch the incoming discs, which then fall into the basket. Usually, the number of throws a player uses to reach each basket is tallied, like a par, and players seek to complete each hole in the lowest number of total throws. Par is the number of strokes an expert player is expected to make for a given hole or a group of holes.

The game is played in about 40 countries and, as 2023, there are over 107,000 active members of the Professional Disc Golf Association (PDGA) worldwide.

Deb says people can bring their own Frisbees or check out a set at the Willow Library.

“The bike park has been on the master plan the whole time,” says Linda Oxley. “It is specifically designed to attract pre-teens and teens to come and have a safe place in the park to make their own games and their own fun. It’s truly the first one that’s just for kids.”

The bike path opened earlier this month, and Oxley says so far, it has been a huge hit. Besides the trail, there are raps and berms built in to add to the fun, and it is not reserved for two wheels.

“Actually, there was a dad and daughter here a few weeks ago, and he brought his hover board, riding it along the path, doing all the jumps and said it was great.”

Oxley says the ultimate goal for the WLC and the park is for kids, young and young at heart, to have a place within the Newman Park, unencumbered and safe.

Of course, the WLC couldn’t just put some things in the woods a let the kids go wild and free, and the need to develop family activities, starting with a dog park, the Shem Pete Trail, a pavilion, and portable bathroom facilities.

As for future endeavors, the WLC has been trying to assist a resident in removing bats in her roof, which had gotten so bad that the guano began seeping into the tongue and groove roof and into the house.

“We want to raise the roof and cleaning it all out. We’d also like to reline and re-insulate it before putting it all back on,” says Deb. Her husband Sid says they are hopeful the contractors they have reached out to will come through to assist. In the meantime, they have put in screens to help keep the bats out.

The Willow Lions Club also installed a furnace for a resident who didn’t have any heat.

“We do regular, annual things like provide backpacks and school supplies to give to kids to return to school, and this 4th of July, we will cook and supply food for the Willow Area Community Organization’s picnic and parade,” says Deb of their future plans.

“We have been developing venues here for years, and we just want the community to come out and enjoy this place.”

For people interested in learning more about the Willow Lion’s Club and get involved with the program, the WLC invites Willow residents to attend a meeting to find out more. Meetings are held on the second and fourth Thursday’s of each month at the Willow Community Center at 7 p.m.