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Club History

Established 1997, Learn About Our History

Hellyer Park DGC Installation

1997

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Jim Challas put together a course design and with the help of a vibrant existing SVDGC disc golf community, it took ten days to raise $10,000 and 10 days to install the nine- hole course. Tim Messer was a District Manager at Starbucks and brought a work crew of thirty-five volunteers. Fred Rodríguez brought his construction skills and company equipment to the installation.

Kelley Park DGC Installation

2015

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The recent course installment was at Villa Maria, located at Steven Creek County Park. The 11-hole course offers a unique set challenge unique as most of the holes are shorter and technical. This is a great place to work on your accuracy off the tee!

2018 - Present

The
Beginning
Screenshot 2023-08-23 at 16-05-19 SKM_C450i21052712430 - Hellyer Disc Golf Course early ph

Fall of 1997, the project of building a course in Silicon Valley at Hellyer Park would get approved and thanks to the efforts / major contributions of two future disc golf Hall of Fame members - Ed Headrick (aka Steady Ed) and future disc golf Hall of Famer Jim Challas - the nine-hole course would open on the Thanksgiving weekend of 1997.

La Raza DGC Installation

2007

The Kelley Park Disc Golf Course is the largest course that the club operates. Jim Challas was once again the course designer. It took the SVDGC twenty-four days to raise $24,000 and twenty-four days to install the eighteen-hole course. Fred Rodriguez again brought his construction skills and company equipment to the installation. The course has since been expanded with three new holes and is now a twenty-one- hole course.

Villa Maria  DGC Installations

2018

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Today the City of San Jose and Santa Clara County Parks & Rec. gives the right of way for the club to operate 4 courses in Santa Clara County. Throughout these years and continuing, the Club has hosted PDGA tournaments as well as Intro to Disc Golf events for local groups like the YMCA, Boy/Girl Scouts of America, and corporate outings.

How It All Started

1990s

The idea of bringing disc golf to Silicon Valley began with Tom Schott, a San Jose native and Disc Golf Hall of Fame member, who approached the Santa Clara County Parks and Recreation Department in the mid 1990’s about bringing disc golf to San Jose. By the fall of 1997, the project of building a course at Hellyer Park would get approved and thanks to the efforts / major contributions of two future disc golf Hall of Fame members, Ed Headrick (aka Steady Ed) and Jim Challas, the course would open on the Thanksgiving weekend of 1997.

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Jim Challas with a cone basket at the Metropolitan Stadium in Minneapolis, Minnesota.
Hellyer Park DGC Installation
La Raza DGC Installation
2018 - Present
Villa Maria DGC Installations
Kelley Park DGC Installation
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