SACKVILLE, N.B. — Disc golf enthusiasts around the region are baffled by the recent theft of two baskets from Sackville’s Beech Hill Park course.
Benjamin Smith, president of the Maritime Disc Golf Association, questions why someone would go to the trouble of trekking through the snow into the park, cut the poles off with some type of saw and take off with the metal baskets, which serve as the number one and two ‘holes’ of the course.
“This is crushing for the local disc golf community and for all the people who use it,” he said.
Smith believes there may have been some type of “spite” or “malice” behind the incident since it seems to have been done with intent.
Matt Pryde, manager of recreation programs and events for the town, said the theft was discovered Sunday, Feb. 17 by a couple of disc golfers and it has since been reported to police, who are investigating. The baskets were believed to have been stolen sometime on Saturday.
“We’re absolutely shocked that this would happen,” said Pryde.
He said the Beech Hill Park, an “important course on the Maritime circuit,” is heavily used, particularly during the peak season.
“People come from all over the country to play here,” said Pryde.
The course was designed and installed in 2015 by Smith and his MDGA partner Duncan Dixon. It was the first public course in the Maritimes, followed shortly after by ones in Halifax and Charlottetown.
“Sackville kind of started the public conversation, they carved out a place for the sport,” said Smith. “So we feel a very strong kinship with this place.”
Sackville’s course brings in an average of 125 to 150 players per week in the spring and summer months and it also serves as the hosting venue for the first major event of the year on the Maritime Disc Golf Association’s calendar.
“It’s a very strategic and important conduit for the sport,” said Smith.
The course is estimated to bring more than $10,000 annually in projected revenue to the town, said Smith, and has played a key role in helping to improve the overall usage of Beech Hill Park.
“We want to continue seeing the park shared.”
Smith said he is a member of several other disc golf associations across North America and, out of the hundreds of disc golf courses, this is only the third time he has heard of such an incident happening.
Pryde said the baskets will eventually be replaced, at an estimated cost of about $1,000.
Smith and Pryde both say they are asking the public for any help that leads to the arrest of the culprits. Contact the town of Sackville at 364-4930 or the Sackville RCMP at 533-5151.
“Somebody has got to know something,” said Smith.
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