The designing process is now underway for the creation of an 18-hole disc golf course in Silver City.
The project is the result of an agreement between Western New Mexico University, whose main campus is in Silver City, and the New Mexico State Land Office.
The course will be built on just over 135 acres of property on the southeast side of the city belonging to the State Land Office.
That area, to be loaned to the university by the State Land Office, is known as Maude’s Canyon, and is due east to the Ben Altamirano Sports Complex.
According to State Land Office rules, any fees generated by the course will be used for the benefit of the state’s public schools and hospitals, among other entities.
The project has already been the subject of one public input meeting and is expected to be reviewed in a future public meeting, most likely later this year.
The course will be developed with an eye to minimizing its impact on the environment, and upon completion, will be maintained and managed by WMNU.
In an interview with the Silver City Sun News, Stephanie Garcia Richard, New Mexico’s commissioner of public lands, said the new disc golf course will “establish a recreation asset for Silver City and the entire southwest corner of the state that does not exist.”
According to the Professional Disc Golf Association, the growth of the sport has particularly taken off in the last decade, with more than 8,000 disc golf courses globally currently up and running.
By Garry Boulard
