Kurt's Disc Golf Course at Copper Hill Farm in Vermont

Written By Dee Leekha-Houck

Photos by Dee Leekha-Houck

Beautiful and almost a 360 view from the hilltop

You’ve come to right place, I thought to myself. He had more than enough land, a river, a hilltop, views, trees, and topography! Wow. I thought. Without blinking or giving it much thought, I picked up my phone and punched in his phone number within seconds. That seldom happens. Somehow, this time, it did.  Some would say it was meant to be.

It all started with an email that said:

“Good day Houck Design …I want to explore into…making a disk golf course…”

A few days prior, Kurt Magnan was getting his hair cut by James Lightholder, Kurt’s barber in Williston, VT.  James is an avid disc golfer who likes to travel with his friends and play on courses all over the country 5-6 times a year. He told Kurt that Kurt should make a disc golf course on his property. Kurt, who is a 3^rd generation dairy farmer, started researching if the land Kurt and his bother Justin owned was indeed good land for a disc golf course. 

“I was a farmer, and James knew my land. He said it was a great location, and I was looking for ways to diversify on the farm. I did a Google search – quite a few designers came up, and within five minutes, I reached out to HouckDesign.” Kurt says.

It’s not uncommon for us to get referrals from players who enjoy playing on John’s courses, but when I heard where this property was located, my heart skipped a beat.  My first thought was “It’s so close to Smuggler’s Notch,” which is the home to two iconic top-rated courses already. Those courses have impacted disc golf tourism to Vermont in an impressive way.

The second thought that came to my mind was that this will be great for the area and all the disc golf courses, as it will bring in even more disc golf tourism for the clients. The thought of having three Championship courses, or even more, for disc golf tourists to play will only make this area more attractive. John’s designs bring in tourism on their own, and now combined with the other two courses means even more players would find this area to be a premier destination. Just look at all the golf courses in the Monterey Peninsula in California, which is the home of such famous golf courses like Pebble Beach, Cypress Point, or Spyglass Hill and more.  Disc golfers are a lot like golfers in this regard. Quality designs close to each other create a bigger destination. So, we moved forward.

 John and Kurt's first meeting at the Farm

We are delighted to announce that HouckDesign has recently signed a contract to design a world-class course which will showcase our latest design concepts on Kurt’s dairy farm, Copper Hill Farm, which his father Jim owned and ran since 1963.  Kurt has grown the farm to milk 42,000 pounds of milk a day and crops on 1200 acres. He raises beef and sells the best custom-cut shares (I’ve tasted them) of beef to the public and sells some at retail locations around Franklin County, Vermont. His sister, Hanna Decker, has owned the Fairfax Perennial Farm for close to two decades.  This farming family is now part of our disc golf family.  

HouckDesign’s first Vermont course will be designed and built in a way that it can accommodate many spectators.  Spectating at competitive disc golf tournaments of any level is soon to be a reality. When juniors compete in local events or your friends and family compete, as the sport grows further, so will spectating.

Thousands more will travel to see and play on the best courses and watch players on the best courses at the best events. Disc golf is drawing in spectators by the thousands, and I will say that spectators will grow to tens of thousands in 5-7 years.  Spectating and enjoying premier disc golf events could become as popular as attending golf tournaments.  As disc golf grows even more, the need for courses that can accommodate more spectators will grow even more. We are now designing courses that may be able to accommodate 20,000 or more. They could expand to 100,000 if needed if they are in a high density population area. Our latest designs on courses will have room to expand fairways if player skills continue to evolve, and also to allow room for more spectating as the need grows.   

This first phase of the project will take about 18 months to complete, and the private resort will offer camping, RV hookups, and cabins, which will add to the disc golfing experience and take it up a level.  The plans are being developed, and routing the course is nearly complete.  Projected course and lodging opening is spring of 2027.

Second phase will add an event center, restaurant & bar, and much more. The bar/restaurant/gift shop will be made out of an old barn that has been there for decades.

Old Barn.

Kurt says, "I'm happy that this venue when it's finished will offer activities for families who vacation and for the local families to enjoy a variety of outdoor experiences while it showcases a course designed by the world's best course designer, John Houck. Happy to offer this as part of the tourism attraction to this area for all to enjoy."

John is routing the course so players can see the river when playing, and on the other side of the river, Kurt will be building cabins which will be offered to rent.  The property has large rocks and boulders which will add to the beauty and will be used very strategically on the course. The property will include some ponds, and John will design the shape and size of these ponds so that players can enjoy even greater variety. 

“It’s not just about the distance to carry over water, which can be very exciting to watch, it’s also about how to utilize the smaller ponds in the design. The shape of the ponds the sizes that I design on paper are going to be in a location I get to choose and recommend.  This is very different from getting a property with existing ponds.  Here, not only do I get to shape the ponds, I am able to do much more if I can choose their exact location.   It’s exciting to have this opportunity as it allows me a bigger challenge to create an even better design. With so many choices, it’s an even more complex puzzle to solve.”

Here's what I, Dee, want you to remember and know.  Disc golf is a lifestyle. I’ve watched it grow and grow and grow and then grow some more these 20 years, and I have paid attention.  The percentage of players who travel to play on the best courses in the world is growing each year as our social values are more heavily aligned with experience vs. accumulation. People are traveling more, taking up more outdoor recreation, and spending more for these experiences. This shift, along with the sport’s documented growth in every which way has opened the door for disc golf to grow leaps and bounds and for greater ROI (Return On Investment) or EI (Economic Impact) for clients. All data we have on the growth of disc golf is limited. The sport is far more popular than the information easily accessible out there. It doesn't consider many things which show much bigger percentage of the population as customers.

John and I now travel on average 300-plus days a year just for projects. This started last year and trend is only ramping up more.  We've personally met thousands of people these 20 years all over the country and now the world, who not only have heard of disc golf, but have played disc golf but don’t use any disc golf sites like DGPT, PDGA or UDisc, etc.  When someone has played the sport once or twice, they are part of a big pool of potential tourist players or as spectators. Those who have played once or twice might be inclined to try to play again while on vacation or come see the top players in the world throw. Hard to put a number on this. Even if you project conservatively, this number will blow you away, and that may be why every client we have designed for has told us our projections on usage were too low. The results have exceeded what we showed them. The ROI and EI are much greater than what is currently understood. And we are still poor at collecting data as an industry. I'll write about this topic another time.

Kurt and his wife Melissa enjoy time on their farm with their two beautiful children Ruby and Eli. Kurt loves to cook and is a total foodie.  He even got an education in the Culinary Arts at the Center for Technology Essex. He plans to have a food truck initially until the restaurant opens onsite. He will offer his famous freshest best beef ever that he raises on the farm.  Items will include dishes like the freshest burgers, hot and cold sandwiches, and other hot plate options, all made with fresh local ingredients, and will even offer his beef jerky for sale along with other items disc golfers will appreciate. And, on my request, vegan and gluten-free, plus dairy-free options.  Thanks, Kurt! I can’t wait.

Kurt has the best cows I ever met. Best beef I ever tasted. The best bacon I ever ate. This is a man who believes in the best of everything.  I think I understand why he wrote to us within 5 minutes of researching disc golf course designers. John likes to do his best for all clients, and we are working hard to bring him the best course possible.  So, remember to go over there sometime after Spring 2027. We will post updates here and on our Facebook and Instagram pages.

Here's to disc golf and the best courses in the world, and to the best experiences we’ve had and are going to have on disc golf courses!

Here's to the beautiful state of Vermont! This view is from Kurt's Copper Hill Farm!

Potentially the view from Hole 9

www.HouckDesignDiscGolf.com

512-970-9001