It’s Big but Not Easy -- Expansion of Parc Des Familles Disc Golf Course
- HouckDesign News by John Houck
- Sep 4
- 5 min read
By John Houck
Parc des Familles is in Jefferson Parish, just south of New Orleans. “Parish,” by the way, is Louisiana speak for “county,” and Jefferson Parish is the second most-populated parish in Louisiana. It also has, at least according to UDisc, the highest-rated course in the state. The PDF course opened in 2018, and it’s been in the UDisc top 100 list every year since the list started for 2020. It made it to #45 in the world in 2021.
The news just came out (Louisiana Joins the Tour: The Big Easy Open Arrives in 2026 - Disc Golf Pro Tour), but we’ve already been hard at work on the course for two months. There’s a lot to do in order to host the DGPT in mid-March.
The Original Course
The PDF course is known for its towering Cypress trees, which define clean lines – often multiple clean lines -- on most holes. It’s a unique and beautiful look, and it’s augmented by the fact that the entire course – every fairway, from tee to green and edge to edge -- was built up with 6-8” of sand and then seeded.
This new DGPT upgrade is a major overhaul, and it’s not just changes to tees and greens. There will be four brand new holes on the south side of the course. And one of the biggest things that happened this past year or two is that the park got a new crew, and course maintenance took a dramatic leap forward.
By the time we get to tournament week, the “rough” will be manicured and even enhanced. Players who miss the fairways, especially on the par fours and fives, will find themselves looking at scramble opportunities built into the design, giving them the opportunity to show off their amazing skills and creativity. And did I mention no rope (rope laid down to create artificial out of bounds areas)? That’s right. No rope and a course that punishes the “crime” fairly and rewards the skill fairly. Giving players recovery opportunities is a topic I talk and write about frequently. If you want to see this principle in action with the top players, you’ll have your chance. You will have to come see it and play it.
The Parks and Rec department is consulting with a turf expert for less-expensive-than-golf grass options which require no irrigation. They will build up and seed the areas where \the four new fairways are. It's same thing that we did in 2017 when not many, if any parks departments were giving disc golf this much love. It proved to be a very successful step.
The first thing we did was to cut access trails, so I could have access into the densely wooded area. Sammie made it happen!
It still takes a lot of time and skill to find the lines, create the lines, refine the lines. And then to find and define the landing areas. When you are in a densely wooded area with limited ability to see beyond 30-50' and in some cases less, it is difficult and takes time. And then discover and uncover the recovery opportunities -- that's another puzzle to solve.
Dee Leekha-Houck, my better half (wife) and business partner, has been busy focusing on innovating the design process with each project. She's creating more efficiencies and a better process which helps us collaborate more effectively with other professionals on the team. Dee has also innovated designs of tee areas and greens. She is a great problem solver and her 19 years in this industry have not gone to waste. She frequently comes up with original solutions and ideas for design and build for greater sustainability. Her new tee pad area designs address multiple issues in the run up and will allow players & spectators to enjoy the drive more. This course will be the first to showcase some of her latest tee areas.
Pictured here from left to right: HouckDesign Team Member & Pro player, Steve Brinster, Jefferson Parish Parks and Rec Director-Leo Webb, John Houck, Sammie & John, Councilwoman-Jennifer Van Vrancken, Disc Golf Club President,-Nathan Faber, Club Vice President-Rob Delaune, John Houck, Park Manager-John Braswell, Visit Jefferson Parish-Randall Michel, Dee Leekha-Houck.
It’s been a great team effort, starting with the disc golf club, which meant working with Rob Delaune and Nathan Farber, who have been focused on bringing everyone together for this project. Then we’ve engaged with the other local entities in team meetings. Members of the Jefferson Parish Council, the leadership of the PDF Advisory Board, the staff of Visit Jefferson Parish, and of course Jefferson Parish Parks and Rec and their staff are all aligned in the goal of bringing the players and spectators the best course and the best event possible for the Disc Golf Pro Tour.
Implementing our vision for the redesign of this course will take a lot of time and resources; since a lot goes into the development and design of today’s world class distances and concepts. The new Parc des Familles course is a design and a vision for the next generation of HouckDesign courses conceived for Pro Tour events and world-class destinations. Members of our HouckDesign design team will participate on the project as we move forward to the next phase.
This redesigned course will allow spectators to watch the play from just about every fairway. This version will make it possible for thousands to watch the live action on a wooded course – which is what players and spectators prefer -- by creating viewing areas in strategically-designed locations that were integrated into the design process.
The natural beauty here, featuring the towering and majestic cypress trees, will continue to enchant the players who compete in tournaments or plan vacations to enjoy this course. My challenge is always to design a course that has variety, balance, character, and strategy, and that tests player skill fairly. Last but not least, it should also be fun and beautiful.
As Dee points out. "There is a trend towards beautification in our industry, and we are seeing how beautifying a course can help earn higher ratings. But we must also challenge ourselves as designers to operate with substantial thought and to employ solid design concepts." It all needs to be built on principles grounded in testing player skill fairly. There is always going to be luck, but we need to design in a way that the players who perform the best will come out on top. Elite players who have devoted themselves to a life of competition deserve to have their skill shine through.
More on the topic of fairness and luck at PDF in the next article. The bottom line is that our best designs deserve our time, reflection, and self-assessment. And it’s well worth it when a course allows the best players to rise to the top. When people ask me what’s so special about my designs, I think this time investment -- that is a key factor. The more I can put in, the more it will pay off for the players and spectators. The best designs just take longer – there’s no way around that one. I'm not slow, just very thoughtful and consider many variables. If you want to hear more about that, come to the course design conference Dee hosts each year.
Yes, this course, like all my top courses, will challenge the best of the best while remaining rope free. That’s one of the foundational principles for me.
This course will be big, but not easy. - John
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