Toowoomba Disc Golf Club won’t relocate to Alex Horn Park after community consultation

A Toowoomba sports club will go ‘back to the drawing board’ to find a new home after a proposed move to a major dog park fell through. Here’s what residents said.

Keron Redman is a member of the Toowoomba Disc Golf Club. The club wants to locate to Horn Park. Wednesday, January 25, 2023. Picture: Nev Madsen.

Plans to move Toowoomba’s popular disc golf course to a major city dog park have been scrapped, following extensive community consultation.

Toowoomba Disc Golf Club president Joel Rub said the Toowoomba Regional Council informed him earlier this month the proposal for a new 18-hole course at Alex Horn Park in Harlaxton would not go ahead.

The sport, which is played by hundreds of people across the region, functions like golf except it involves throwing a disc or frisbee into a permanent basket.

The club needs to move from its current location in Black Gully Reserve due to the council’s concerns over impacts on the soft bark trees in the area.

Keron Redman, with his dogs Archer and Stirling, is a member of the Toowoomba Disc Golf Club. The club will have to find a new home after the council rejected a proposal to move to Alex Horn Park. Picture: Nev Madsen.

Council received extensive feedback about concerns for existing park users, with the Toowoomba Bridge Club submitting a petition with nearly 140 signatures.

“The proposed relocation will cause severe carparking issues for the Bridge Club in that its current parking is already under stress,” the petition said.

“The Bridge Club currently has an application to council for the use of an area of land to the east of the clubhouse which area appears to directly cover that proposed by the disc golf group.”

This was despite Mr Rub assuring residents that disc golf was not harmful to dogs, people or the surrounding environment.

“We met with people who frequent the park (during consultation period), we asked about how they’d feel about it and they asked us questions about disc golf,” he said.

“I haven’t seen any of the feedback, but we’ve been informed that the disc golf park will not go ahead.

“Our options are going back to the drawing board and we’ll work with council to find a location.”

The Toowoomba Disc Golf Club wants to locate to Horn Park. Wednesday, January 25, 2023. Picture: Nev Madsen.

Despite the rejection, Mr Rub said he was excited for the future of the sport once it could secure a new permanent home.

“We’re not disheartened at all,” he said.

“We held our first Garden City Open at Highfields on Sunday, it was a successful tournament — we had 53 participants including the Australian number one Luke Bayne.

“The feedback we got (from the event) has been nothing but positive.

“We’ve got a come-and-try on Sunday morning at Black Gully, which is free.”

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