FORT LORAMIE — Luke Carter, son of Pam and Gary Carter, of St. Patrick, received his Eagle Scout award recently at a banquet ceremony at the Fort Loramie American Legion Post 355.
Carter, a member of Fort Loramie Boy Scout Troop 355 since 2010, is a senior at Fort Loramie High School. His achievement brings the total number of Eagle Scouts from Troop 355 to 40.
Carter’s Eagle Scout project was to establish a disc golf course at Lake Loramie State Park near Earl’s Island Pavillion. The nine-hole disc golf course, including a practice basket, starts near the pavilion and occupies unused grass and wooded areas. It surrounds the pavilion and heads north towards the Minster branch of the lake, around the Oak Grove Picnic area. The project included planning the materials needed for the course, raising the funds to purchase the materials, designing the course and its signs and brochures, purchasing the materials and installing the course.
After working with Lake Loramie Park Manager Jason Whitman to determine course requirements and visiting other disc golf courses, Carter identified the materials needed. Total project costs were tallied.
More than 175 local businesses and service organizations were contacted by mailing them a two-page letter containing information and photos. Presentations regarding the proposed project were given to local service organizations. In total, $6,765 in cash and donated labor and materials was received.
“I had a lot more community support than I had previously expected,” Carter said.
Assistance in designing the course was provided by Nate Metz, of Minster, designer of a disc golf course in St. Marys, organizer of their disc golf club, and Professional Disc Golf Association member. Many other area disc golfers provided input on how to design the course. The result is a scenic, challenging and fun course, with room for an additional nine holes to be added in the future.
Carter prepared sketches of ideas for the signs, and Theresa Hoying, designer at Visual Concepts, created the final designs. A total of 15 signs were ordered for the course. A tee sign is located at the start of each hole, and it shows the layout and distance from the tee to the basket. A large donor sign is located next to the parking lot, which is near the beginning of the course. Brochures, containing a course map and a list of donors, are available in weather-proof boxes near the donor sign and at Oak Grove Picnic Area. The project had a total of 40 donors.
Tony Meyer Construction donated the labor for installing concrete tee pads at each of the nine holes. Scouts from Fort Loramie Troop 355 helped with pouring the concrete tee pads and installing the disc golf baskets.
Carter found that this project required a lot of responsibility, since every decision regarding the course rested on his shoulders. He found that being the project leader was very rewarding, because he had the chance to make sure everything was done correctly. A total of 703 hours were spent by Carter, Troop 355, volunteers and family members.
Disc golf is one of the fastest growing sports in America. It mirrors regular golf, except instead of using golf balls, discs are thrown from cement tee pads into chain link baskets. The course, the first in Shelby County, includes 4.5 feet by 11 feet cement throwing pads and full-color, geographically correct tee signs that depict throwing paths and out-of-bounds lines. Baskets are removable, which allow for future alternate placements. Certain holes contain pro, regular and novice throwing positions. The course features a hanging basket, a dirt mound, a pro deck to throw from which juts out over part of the lake, a line of trees into a wooded shot which resembles an older style jail cell door, and multiple shots which encourage a player to throw over water to try for a better score.
The Lake Loramie Disc golf course is free to use and open year-round. Discs are available to borrow free of charge, with a refundable deposit, at the park’s camp store during the spring, summer, and fall.
