Nancy English Park's tenure as the home to the city of Casper's disc golf course looks as if it will be short lived as complaints from neighbors, environmental damage, and a general lack of space at the park have led to a movement to relocate the course to North Platte Park.

The city, along with local disc golf enthusiasts. set up the Nancy English course in the spring of 2003 and according to both players and the city the free course has been well used ever since.

But the 9-hole course is small, according to disc golf player Don Foster, who helped organize a tournament at the course last July.

Disc golf is a sport that has objectives similar to regular ball-and-club golf. But instead of trying to hit a ball with a club into a hole in the fewest number of strokes, a disc golfer tries to toss a Frisbee-like disc into a basket in the fewest number of throws.

The Nancy English course is a good beginner's course, Foster said. But some of the holes are just too short for more experienced players and there is no room to expand at the park, he said.

Furthermore, the popular Nancy English Park is too crowded to make it ideal for disc golf, Foster said.

Foster has heard of players getting into arguments with people in the park and players accidentally hitting bystanders with discs, he said.

According to City Parks Manager Larry Harms, many neighbors around the course have complained to the city about the sheer number of people who play disc golf in the park and the damage they have done to the grass.

Helen Schmill, whose house backs up to the park, said increased use brought on by disc golf has hurt Nancy English's grass.

Schmill added that she would be glad to see disc golf go somewhere else because of the wear and tear it brings.

Foster admits there has been some damage done to the park by disc golfers and that the situation is not the best for Garden Creek, which runs through Nancy English.

Constraints on where in the park the course could be laid out have placed points where holes cross the creek far away from bridges, Foster said. This has led many players to simply climb down into the creek's gully and walk across the creek.

Not only can this damage the creek's bank but it can be dangerous when the stream is running high, he said.

According to Harms, several disc golfers came to the city last year with these concerns over the hazards and spatial limitations at Nancy English.

An area was identified in North Platte Park near the Platte River Parkway's footbridge where the city said a new course could be set up, Harms said.

The North Platte Park location would be ideal for a 36-hole disc golf course, according to Foster. A course could be built at that location that would be so good it could attract regional tournaments, he added.

Negotiations on both the fiscal and physical details of the new course are now ongoing between disc golf user groups and the city.

Casey Gillum, a disc golf enthusiast who spearheaded the development of the Nancy English course, could not be reached for comment Friday.

According to Harms, moving the course to North Platte Park or another location as soon as possible would be in the best interest of disc golfers. If the city goes ahead with a drainage and creek restoration project on Garden Creek in Nancy English Park (see related story), at least two of the current courses holes will need to go, he said.

Staff writer Brendan Burke can be reached at (307) 266-0589 or Brendan.Burke@casperstartribune.net.