ODGC New Course Announcement - St. Joseph Park

Your ODGC New Course Committee is very pleased to announce the opening of our newest City of Ottawa course - St. Joseph Park DGC in Orleans! 1754 St. Joseph Blvd. The course is situated on the grounds of the Maison Notre-Dame-de-la-Providence, which was purchased by the City in 2024 from the Sisters of Charity of Ottawa and now serves as transitional housing. An 8-hole, beginner level course, it is unique in that the course was actually proposed by the City of Ottawa staff and the Councillor Laura Dudas, rather than the ODGC making a proposal for a course on the property. While not the tournament level course many of us are dreaming of, this is a very positive development, and is undoubtedly a byproduct of the overwhelming success of the Centerpointe course. 

Tucked away on top of the hill, we expect St. Joseph Park will not have as much pedestrian traffic as Centerpointe, although it is also a multi-use park. There is lots of room for fieldwork, and the city has planted numerous trees which will increase the difficulty of the layout as they mature. 

At this point, the course is still very much under construction - the tee pads and the baskets are in (Latitude 64 ProBasket Elites), but there are no tee signs and only temporary mando signs in place. Until further notice, please follow these guidelines:

1) Avoid stepping on the bare fill around tees/baskets as much as possible, especially when conditions are wet - this is still quite soft, and it has been seeded with grass. 

2) Exercise care around the newly planted trees

3) If there are workers or equipment on the course, just skip those holes, as they are there working on your behalf. 

4) report any concerns or deficiencies, preferably on Discord to stimulate discussion

5) as with all our courses, keep the park clean. If you find garbage, remove it whenever possible

And most importantly, SAFETY FIRST. The residents and the other park goers will undoubtedly not be familiar with disc golf, so:

1) yield to other patrons

2) be pleasant/courteous

3) educate when asked

Finally, a big thank you to Brian Guthrie who has been our team lead on this project. As a resident of the ward, he has spent countless hours dealing with both city staff and the councillor's office to help make this a reality, and has put a lot of work in on the ground. Having a resident push these types of projects goes a long way with councillors, and this is the fastest I have seen the city move on a parks project so far.  Well done, Brian!

Note that the councillor will undoubtedly want to hold a community grand opening event at some point (probably in the spring), and if the weather holds, the ODGC may hold a more informal event in the coming weeks. 

In closing, the weather is currently great, so head on out to the east end and give the course a try! And be sure to log your rounds on UDisc - those statistics are vital to getting more courses in the area!  

Ken Lange, Chair

ODGC New Course Committee