Ledgestone unveils new Forsyth Park disc golf course Friday

Ledgestone Disc Golf will open the next phase of Forsyth Park’s makeover with a grand opening ceremony Friday at 9:00 a.m. at 942 W. Forsyth Parkway in Forsyth, Illinois, unveiling one of two new layouts built through its partnership with the Village of Forsyth.

The project began in the fall of 2025 and is aimed at turning the park into a 36-hole destination that can serve both everyday players and touring-level competitors. UDisc identifies the two courses as Forsyth Park - The Woodlands, the redesigned recreational layout, and Forsyth Park - The Prairie, the new championship course. In practical terms, the split gives Forsyth more capacity for larger events, more range for casual rounds and a clearer distinction between a course built for newer players and one designed to challenge the top end of the field.

That timing is no accident. The new courses will be in place for the 10th Annual Forsyth Open, scheduled for July 10-12 and listed as IOS #140 Forsyth Open presented by Discraft, a PDGA A-Tier. The event will use tee times each day, with one round per day, and the Decatur Convention and Visitors Bureau says pros will play for $10,000 in added cash. The same listings say amateurs will receive player packs valued at more than $250, a sign that the tournament is being built as more than a routine regional stop.

Ledgestone says the event will draw some of Illinois’ best players along with several touring pros, giving the new championship setup an immediate test against a deeper field than Forsyth has handled before. The course upgrade also strengthens the tournament’s place on the calendar: Ledgestone started its first event in August 2011 and says the Forsyth tournament has grown into one of the largest disc golf events in the world, with attendance reaching 2,424 in 2024 after the organization said it expected about 2,500 players that year.

Ledgestone also says it runs 8 to 12 local events each year in Central Illinois and supports Illinois Open Series events, a footprint that helps explain why Forsyth Park is being treated as a regional hub rather than a single weekend venue. The new layout and the Forsyth Open now reinforce each other, with the opening serving as the clearest sign yet that Forsyth intends to make disc golf part of its park identity.