![City of Milton provided a rough draft of the proposed design for the 18-hole disc golf course that will be going into the Milton Community Center Sports Complex. [CONTRIBUTED PHOTO]](http://127.0.0.1/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2022/01/ghows-DA-8cdbb5fd-d49e-342e-e053-0100007f1891-cb9d0c23-scaled.jpeg)
MILTON — Milton Community Center soon will have an exciting addition to its sports complex with a disc golf course in the works.
Parks and Recreations Director John Norton said the planned 18-hole course will sit just north of the community center on a 23-acre piece of unused property and will also serve as a nature walking trail, similar to the one at the Pensacola State College Milton Campus.
"I've been out there and seen it," Norton said. "It's a great thing, and we are excited to be getting one in Milton."
Norton said one positive aspect of the new course is that trees are designed to be obstacles on the course, so fewer will have to be cut down as part of the project. He said that a design was in the preliminary stages, thanks to the efforts of local golf enthusiast and vice president of the Emerald Coast Disc Golf Club Ryan Vann.
With the addition of the disc golf course, the community sports complex will feature baseball, football, soccer, and basketball fields, as well as the existing skateboard track and a new BMX bike track, which was approved last year by the council.
Norton said the department has applied for a grant to cover half of the project's total cost, which is estimated at around $10,000 to $20,000. Norton said several council members including Councilwoman Shannon Rice and Councilman Jeff Snow, as well as former Councilwoman Pat Lunsford, were instrumental in helping seeing the project become a reality.
"They were really big on pushing to make this happen," he said.
According to Vann, the Milton disc golf course will stand out since many of the other courses in nearby communities can not accommodate large-scale events. Vann said the goal of the course is to bring in more events to Milton as well as to bring in disc golf players with a range of experience.
He said they can achieve this goal by placing multiple tees and basket locations at varying degrees.
"This is for children as young as 5 years old to adults as old as 90 years old," Vann said. "It is utilized as an outdoor activity for families and a sporting activity for players and provides an alternative low cost sport activity for youth."
This article originally appeared on Santa Rosa Press Gazette: New disc golf course coming to Milton