BROKEN BOW, Neb.— Three local disc golf enthusiasts— Ethan Harders, Ben Fisher, and Tyler Staab— have teamed up to redesign and expand the disc golf course at Melham Park, transforming it from a small nine-hole layout into what will be a full 18-hole experience.
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Harders says the idea came from a simple realization.
“We were traveling quite a ways just to even play the sport that we love and noticed that there was plenty of space out here at Melham and just decided we would take it into our own hands and rebuild the course,” said Harders.
The nine-hole course at Melham was a Girl Scout project that was handmade and installed years ago. Years of time outdoors have been tough on the baskets, which have paint that is chipped and faded and broken chains. The course also doesn’t have tee pads clearly marking where to safely start drives. One last rationale given for upgrades was the course layout playing close to the pond, causing high potential for lost discs (and frustration for beginners).
Melham Park, with its pond, mature trees, a playground, ballfields, and pool, offers enough room for an 18-hole course, the three said. The challenge was figuring out how to use it effectively.
The resulting design not only expanded the course, but made it more user-friendly. Convenience was key in its creation.
“If you only wanted to play nine holes, right where you start is kind of where you end,” Harders explained. “Whether you’re playing the front nine or the back nine or you want to play all 18 we tried getting the holes to end up right at the parking lot here so it’s kind of an ease of use.”
For those unfamiliar with the sport, Staab says it’s exactly what it sounds like.
“Every single hole has what they call par as they do with normal golf as well,” Staab explained. “Essentially the disc is going to fly however hard you throw it and it’s going to go whatever direction the disc is designed to go. It’s about learning how to throw the disc properly and get to the basket in the fewest amount of throws.”
Designing the course also meant working with the natural features already in place. While Melham isn’t heavily wooded like some course locations, Fisher says that opened the door to creativity.
“We had to make do with the landscape we have which there actually are some really interesting features, like these really large hills that are out here, (they) make for some really challenging shots,” Fisher said. “So we leveraged some of the elevation on some of the shots as well as just seeing the potential and some of the newer trees that have been planted out here.”
The project is still a work in progress. Seven baskets still need to be installed, and tee pads have been staked out but have not yet been poured. The City of Broken Bow plans to assist with that labor work once other projects at the park are completed.
Funding for the course upgrades has come through donations and community support, including participation in the Give 4 Custer County campaign, where the group raised more than $3,600— an amount that was matched by the Custer County Foundation. About $5,000 is still needed in order to finish the course by this fall.
Beyond just building a course, the group hopes to build a community around the sport.
“As we’ve went to different tournaments or different courses we’ve seen the communities that are built around those and just the camaraderie that every single person has and willingness to just drive to spend an hour or two just to play disc golf,” said Staab. “Even though the course isn’t finished we still have the younger people starting to come already playing the course and learning how to play disc golf on their own too.”
There are also plans to form a local club in the future, helping organize players and potentially bring tournaments to Broken Bow to using baskets now approved for Professional Disc Golf Association (PDGA) play.
For now, the focus remains on finishing the course with hopes it will be ready for widespread use later this spring and summer, giving both locals and visitors a unique way to spend time outdoors.
