Patrons of Bellingham's Cornwall Park still need to keep an eye out for wayward flying discs, at least for now.

Patrons of Bellingham's Cornwall Park still need to keep an eye out for wayward flying discs, at least for now.

Members of the Bellingham Disc Golf Club and city officials are unable to find a location for a new disc golf course to supplement the course at Cornwall Park.

The sport's growing popularity, something players and city officials did not foresee when the Cornwall opened in 1996, has damaged the environment of the park, said Paul Leothold, Bellingham's director of parks and recreation.

An average of 200 disc golfers play in Cornwall Park a day, Leuthold said. Large numbers of players walking between holes compact the soil and players retrieving lost discs from out-of-bounds areas trample small plants. Over time, this kills the plants living under the forest cover.

"If you don't have understory (small plants), you don't have small animals and that changes the park experience," Leuthold said.

The rules of disc golf are similar to the rules of regular golf, which disc golfers refer to as ball golf, said Phil Burns, a Fairhaven resident hall director and disc golf player.

The only difference between the sports is disc golf uses Frisbee-like discs, instead of clubs and balls, and players aim for baskets instead of holes, Burns said.

Players use several discs of varying size and weight for different shots, much like the different clubs used in regular golf.

"We have as many rounds of disc golf played at Cornwall Park as Lake Padden has (games of regular golf)," said Glenn Luke, former Bellingham Disc Golf Club director of acquisitions.

Luke, who sells golf discs at his wife's pawn shop in downtown Belling-ham, estimated approximately 3,000 disc golf players living in the Bellingham area, but he said the true figure is currently unknown.

Luke said Cornwall is the only official course in Bellingham. Players can create impromptu courses any-where, as Western students have on campus, Burns said.

"We've been looking for a place to build a course since this course went in," Luke said.

For competition purposes, he said players prefer a full 18-hole course. The Cornwall course was originally supposed to be an 18-hole course, but the city only allowed nine.

"When the course was originally conceived, we had no idea how popular it would become," Leuthold said.

Leuthold said other activities, such as jogging or bicycling, are being pushed out of the park be-cause park users are afraid of being hit by a disc.

"The disc is like a magnet," Luke said. "It seems like they always want to hit people when they are around."

He said golfers try to be careful, but accidents happen.

"Even the best players shank one now and again," Luke said.

Luke said disc golf brings benefits to an area. Cornwall Park was a different place before the course was put in, full of drug use and theft, he said.

Since then, the large number of golfers using the park has discouraged illegal activities.

"Disc golfers see it, and we report it," Luke said. Leuthold said a new course would require resources the city's park service does not have. He said a new 18-hole course would require at least six acres, bathrooms, room to add a parking lot, easy road access and it should contain no wetlands.

"For us to find six acres for them to use in our system is impossible," Leuthold said.

Luke argued disc golf is better for the environment than other sports like golf, which requires wide, open and relatively flat fairways. To build a golf course, trees are cut down, but only baskets and tees are added to create a disc golf course. Trees and other obstacles add to the challenge.

"You are not hitting from the ground." Luke said. "You are starting in the air and you are aiming for the basket, which is in the air. The challenge comes from things in the air between you and the basket."

One option for the club is land owned by the Port of Bellingham near the airport, Luke said. He said the Federal Aviation Administration would have to approve the course before golfers could start playing there. The areas close proximity to the airport brings up security concerns, Luke said.

If that does not work, he said the club would need a private landowner to come forward and let golfers use his or her land.

This individual would receive a tax write-off for allowing the community access to his or her land, Luke said.

Leuthold said he doesn't want to eliminate a popular sport like disc golf, but he hopes the golfers can find a new place to play.

"Disc golf is a great sport, but I don't think Cornwall Park is the best place for it," Leuthold said.

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