LOUISVILLE, Ky. — The owners of a popular do-it-yourself disc golf course in Louisville say the city has shut them down for not having the proper permits.
What You Need To Know
- Arrowhead Disc Golf is a popular recreation site near Valley Station
- Metro Planning and Design has shut the 27-hole course down for not having the proper permit
- Part of the Arrowhead course is on city property managed by Metro Sewer and Drainage
- Owners Vivian and Roger Wyatt face fines if they continue to operate Arrowhead without a “conditional use permit”
The Arrowhead Disc Golf Course came from the most humble of beginnings. What started as a father-son bonding project in 2015 has grown into a nationally respected 27-hole course visited by thousands of “disc jockey’s” every year.
“My husband and son they made homemade baskets out of, what were those, barrels? And they made the chains out of hoses,” Vivian Wyatt recalls the early days of her husband and son mapping out and building the course.
Wyatt says the project attracted a growing following of her son’s friends. As word spread, so did the course and the number of visitors. Shawn Dunn has been throwing at Arrowhead since the beginning.
“Community built, just brings everybody together,” Dunn said of Arrowhead.
Much of the course winds around the Wyatt’s rural property line, along a creek bed and eventually crosses into land owned by the city and managed by Metro Sewage and Drainage. There are hand-built launch pads, bridges, crossings and steps added over the years by the Wyatts and avid visitors. The Wyatts have accepted donations in the past, but the course is free to play and any money they’ve collected the family says it’s all gone back into maintaining the course.
“This is the walk of fame. These are golfers who helped us start up. They’ve been with us since the beginning,” Vivian Wyatt explains, crossing a footbridge with hand-carved names of players/donors.
But after a neighbor’s complaint to the city, Arrowhead is currently closed.
“In October, we got the notification of violation. They told us to shut down operations,” Vivian Wyatt said. Wyatt still has the letter sent by the Metro Office of Planning and Design.
“It kind of says we are operating Arrowhead Disc Golf Course from an R4 neighborhood.” According to the letter, the Wyatts could no longer operate a disc golf course on their own property or the adjacent land managed by Metro Sewer and Drainage.
Although a separate letter from MSD addressed to the Wyatts expresses support of the Arrowhead course on MSD property.
Metro Planning and Design says the property owners need to apply for a “conditional use permit,” which would require the land to be surveyed. Vivian Wyatt says it’s too great of a fee when the outcome of receiving the permit isn’t guaranteed.
“I called, and it’s like $3,000-$5,000 and they couldn’t give us a guarantee that we could reopen after spending that money so I’m not spending that money.”
Caitlin Bowling the communications manager of Louisville Forward provided a statement in an email to Spectrum News regarding the closure of the Arrowhead course.
“We received a complaint from a neighbor and sent a zoning officer out to the property. The officer found that the disc golf course was operating without the proper approvals. The owners need a conditional use permit in order to operate the disc golf course, as well as a license agreement with Louisville Metro, as the course encroaches upon a neighboring Metro-owned property. The process has been explained to the owners, and they are aware of these requirements.”
Over the years, Arrowhead has hosted fundraising events benefiting organizations like Dare to Care food pantry and the Wounded Warrior project and others according to the family. Roger Wyatt, Vivian’s husband, says they aren’t trying to raise a fuss, they’re just hoping for a more realistic path to reopening. Especially since the course has been widely viewed as a positive addition to the neighborhood and attraction for the city.
“Re-look at it, you know? They could maybe ease up a little bit on the requirements,” Roger Wyatt said.
“I mean, there’s one person can complain and it shuts down everything for everyone else. That just doesn’t make sense.” Vivian Wyatt said.
The Arrowhead Course has been ranked several times as a “Top 100 Disc Golf Course” in the country by udisc.com.