ASCOT DISC GOLF COURSE (2019)
The 3rd DGC installed in Christchurch, and Chris’s 3rd design for the city!
​Designer:
​Installer:
Course Type:
Equipment:
​​
​​​Location:
Founder:
Installed: ​
​uDisc Rating:
uDisc page:
Chris Davies
Chris Davies & then CDGC
Community Course with length and difficulty
18x RPM Helix permanent baskets
18x concrete teepads (CDGC)
Ascot Avenue, Christchurch
Chris Davies (originally) then CDGC
March 2019
3.9 out of 5
In 2012 after the earthquakes in the city, Chris visited the destroyed Ascot par-3 ball golf course, and got very excited about the possibility of a DGC there. He spent a lot of time attempting to convince council to allow it – but this was before Jellie Park was installed, and he could not progress the project at the time.
​
Up until 2018, the old Ascot course was a real mess: with huge underground sewer and drainage pipes installed across the entire course making it impossible for any activities at all.
Rounds played annually
​The club was finally able to obtain permission for a full course in mid-2019. Chris was then asked by CDGC to produce a design which leveraged the amazing trees and spaces of Ascot, and fulfilled the tricky goal of being not only a Community Course where beginners could shine, but also a Destination Course that would satisfy the desires of the big arm players in town.
​
Chris’s design evolved over two months, being further refined in each iteration. The design was carefully created to allow for the parts of the Ascot development project not yet installed. The final version was submitted to the club, and was accepted unanimously.
​
The club did not have any money at the time, and so Chris committed to spending his own money and time to create 18 tone-holes, and 18 tee markers. These were installed in October 2019, and the course was well-received for its design, with some of the signature holes being very challenging indeed to birdie.
​
However, the lack of baskets and proper teepads detracted from its popularity, and the tone targets were tougher to hit. Additionally, with baskets now installed at Queenspark Reserve, Brooker Avenue, and Jellie Park, the course did not get as much play as it could have in this pre-Covid world.
​
After Chris parted ways with the club, in 2020, CDGC decided to install baskets at Ascot, and redesigned the course as well. They installed poured concrete teepads. This was not met with huge applause, and many people miss the original challenging design. It lost its Community Course designation, and became a pure Destination Course, and completely inappropriate for beginners, and quite disc-losing for even competent players of the game.
​
As a result of these decisions, today the course is the red-headed step-child of Christchurch disc golf, with just 10% of the rounds played at Jellie Park, and with no short teepads to allow newcomers and intermediates to enjoy the course, and no passionate course champion to drive its progress forwards.
​
This is indeed a shame, because a good design at Ascot would instantly yield a massively more popular venue for the game and the sport.