New recreation amenity in Grosse Pointe Woods soars into Ghesquiere Park

GROSSE POINTE WOODS — Grosse Pointe Woods residents and others in the community have a new outdoor amenity they can enjoy year-round.

Woods officials marked the grand opening of a nine-hole disc golf course at Ghesquiere Park with a ribbon-cutting Oct. 2. 

The course, a joint effort between the city and its nonprofit, the Grosse Pointe Woods Foundation, was made possible by gifts from Ahee Jewelers, the Rotary Club of Grosse Pointe and Saucy’s Pizza. It’s called the Ahee Jewelers Disc Golf Course, and a stone with a commemorative plaque near the first hole recognizes the donors who contributed to the project.

“This new nine-hole disc golf course is a wonderful addition to Ghesquiere Park, which now features upgraded ball diamonds, pickleball courts, two all-new family bathrooms and soon, a walking path,” Mayor Arthur Bryant said. “It also adds to our city’s growing list of four-season recreation opportunities. It joins our new social district, splash pad and dog park — all launched this year — as another compelling reason to love our city.”

Besides the course’s sponsors, Bryant also thanked the city’s Department of Public Works staff, who installed the course.

Disc golf is a popular sport that can be played by all ages.

“For the curious, disc golf evolved from the Frisbee craze, with people using Frisbees to aim at targets like trees, trash cans, light poles and whatever else was handy,” Bryant said. “Now, players aim for a disc golf basket, trying to complete each hole in the fewest number of throws.”

The course was designed by Woods resident David Bourgeois, the owner of Oxford Beverage and a longtime disc golf player.

“I’ve seen cities take this on without any guidance (from players), and they just don’t do it well,” said Bourgeois, who said he’s seen many players visit a new course only to be disappointed by its poor design and never return. “My goal was, you need to do it right.”

Bourgeois is a business owner now, but after playing disc golf at Michigan State University in the 1990s, he played the sport semi-professionally for several years, touring the country. He said a good course will attract players from across metro Detroit. Those visitors could end up becoming future Woods residents, or at least customers of local businesses when they swing by.

Unlike regular golf, which is costly even for beginners, Bourgeois said disc golf is affordable for almost everyone. He said a player can buy a couple of flying discs for $20, and that’s all they need.

Even when the ground is covered with snow, Bourgeois said, you’ll find people playing.

“There will be people who will bring their own shovels and play all winter,” Bourgeois said.

Because the park is surrounded by homes, Bourgeois said they took that into account when designing the course and location of the holes, to avoid sending flying discs into people’s backyards.

“You don’t want to be disruptive to anybody,” Bourgeois said.

He’s also currently working on a disc golf course at Balduck Park on Detroit’s east side, for which donations were still being sought. Bourgeois said they hope to complete work on that course in spring 2025. That will provide residents with another spot to play.

Grosse Pointe Woods Foundation President Lisa Fuller said the city approached the foundation about this project, at which point the foundation began reaching out to potential donors.

“It was an eye-opener to us how much enthusiasm there was for disc golf,” Fuller said.

This is the third major project the foundation has worked on in roughly the last year, with the others being Chene-Trombley Park and the dog park, for which the foundation contributed equipment. The location of these amenities has made them particularly attractive to the foundation.

“It’s all right in the heart of the community,” Fuller said. “It’s improving walkability and the type of environment we want in our city. We’re very blessed to have the type of city administration that has the vision and the desire to improve Grosse Pointe Woods for its residents and businesses.”

Bryant said a 6-foot-wide walking path starting from the historic Cook School House will meander through Ghesquiere Park, going past the disc golf baskets. Work on the path is expected to start in spring 2025, he said. 

Bryant said they’d like to eventually extend the walking path all the way to Mack Avenue, near the new dog park.