Disc golf course dedicated at Rotary Park in La Salle

A new disc golf course, named The Quarry, celebrated its grand opening Tuesday, with a ribbon-cutting ceremony attended by public officials, local disc golfers and residents.

The course opened to the public on March 1 at Rotary Park in La Salle.

Dana Vicich of Discmania designed the 18-basket course along with Illinois Valley residents and disc golfers Dan Nagle and Wes Black.

Nagle said the idea for the course began in 2010 when Rotary Park was first proposed and they “hung with it” until the idea came to fruition.

“We think that we put it in a place in the park that probably couldn’t be used for many recreational things,” he said. “Just because it’s a reclaimed quarry and the ground is a little iffy as far as footing.”

Cooper Vaske of Peru, a student at Northern Illinois University, saved the city thousands of dollars by building bridges over the ravine for his Eagle Scout project while he was a student at La Salle-Peru High School.

He said he thought the project was a “good idea” and he received help from his troop, Peru Troop 123, Black and city officials constructing the bridges. Vaske said he was happy with the work that was done.

Nagle said disc golf is similar to traditional golf in that the objective is to reach the goal in as few shots as possible.

“With disc golf, instead of a hole in the ground, there is a target. Some people call it a basket,” he said. “And you’re trying to get it from the tee pad into the basket in the least amount of throws.”

Nagle said there are specially designed discs as there are in ball golf. Some discs are designed for distance, while others are designed to throw short, much like a putter and a driver in ball golf.

Mayor Jeff Grove thanked the volunteers, city workers, disc golfers and design team for their time and effort.

“It’s another big project in town that everyone will get to see every day,” he said. “So thank you. This is huge.”

A map of the course and details of course play are on display at Rotary Park, as well as information at each hole for players to follow. The course is free. Players must bring their own discs.

For information about the course, go to facebook.com/cityoflasalle.