New Cary disc golf course off to flying start

CARY, N.C (WTVD) -- The Town Of Cary recently opened a championship caliber disc golf course south of the New Hope Church Tobacco Road Trail head.

The original plan was for the course to be at Mills Park in Cary, but chose a 45-acre stretch of land by the popular trail instead.

College students Jared Hurand and Michael Lipman are two of many who've discovered a love of the Diavolo course.

"There's really long holes, and it's really a beautiful setting to be at. It doesn't compare to any other ones around the area", said Hurand.

Like traditional golf there are multiple tee boxes and various ways to test one's skills.

Unlike the sport with the white ball, this one features 22 holes and is free.

Michael, who's enrolled at UNC Charlotte and taking virtual classes, is both new to the sport and impressed by the Diavolo layout.

"It's like the closest a disc golf course is to a real golf course," said Lipman. "They have a couple holes on the back nine with some water and the grass is great out here."

Udisc.com, one of the top rating websites has the Diavolo course rated as the 7th best disc course in the world.

"That was a bit of a shock. I am humbled, I guess that's the word. By how well it was received," said Mike Sink.

Sink is the Program Supervisor at the Town of Cary and co-designer collaborating with the Capital Area Disc League. Sink said the sport exploded fueled by the pandemic.

"Disc golf is having a bit of a moment and we built a disc course that's the next generation of play at the right time and opened it at the right time," said Sink.

A lot of people like Jared are hurling discs for the first time.

"I started playing when quarantine started. It's really laid back and it's fun just to get a group of people. I enjoy it a lot," said Hurand.

Programming is coming back slowly and eventually the Diavolo will host tournaments and other events.

As Jared and Michael will tell you there is definitely a learning curve but they plan to keep at it.

The overwhelming popularity coupled with some torrential rains in January forced Mike to shut the course down for a couple of weeks as they dealt with some ongoing maintenance issues. Parts of the course remain closed but will reopen soon.