There will be no disc golf at Saxon Woods Park.
Last week, a controversy erupted after rumors whirled on social media about the possibility of a disc golf course at Saxon Woods Park, which is in Scarsdale and White Plains.
A widely circulated anonymous flyer falsely claimed that County officials secretly conspired and approved a plan to clear a huge swath of healthy trees on the southern end of the park to make way for the new course, said Westchester County Executive George Latimer.
While there was no specific design plan formally submitted for review, Latimer says that the Westchester Parks Department had begun to explore the option for such a course at Saxon Woods. Some trees had been marked with ribbon to designate the path of the disc golf layout.
I have told them (Parks Department officials) to cease efforts to try to place this in Saxon Woods, that the area set aside for this, in my judgement, would not properly accommodate the 18 holes that disc golf wants…It will not be in Saxon Woods.”
Disc golf enthusiasts should not be discouraged. “For those who are disc golf enthusiasts your case is not lost. There will be a discussion of where might be a proper place,” says the County Executive. “We will survey other parks for something that will work better.”
Disc golf is played much like regular golf but instead the object of the of the game is to throw a Frisbee® into an elevated metal basket. The goal is to make the basket with a minimum of tosses. The Saxon Woods site would have been the first in the southern part of the County. Existing disc golf courses are in use at FDR State Park in Yorktown and Leonard Park in Mt. Kisco.
On its Facebook account, Westchester Disc Golf Enthusiasts expressed disappointment, but were “reassured that the County is actively looking for a location to place a course.”
Last week’s article in The Loop led to a lively exchange in the comments. Opponents had charged that some County officials had conducted secret negotiates and a “whisper campaign.”
“I took some umbrage at some of the accusations that were made by people…on social media”, Latimer admitted. “When we have a proposed location we will publicly announce it.”
