What Black Mouse Means to Us

My 12-year-old son and his friends have recently got into disc golf.  He and his friends are middle schoolers in the SLVUSD. It is a great way to get kids out and away from screens, having fun in the fresh air with friends.

Virginia Justus, Boulder Creek, CA

This course brings healthy exercise, time in nature, great memories with friends, and a place to gather with the community. I think it is incredible the youth were involved with planting the course. We miss this course dearly.

Brian, Felton, CA

Black Mouse is 1 mile from home. It’s a beautiful and friendly course. It allows me to connect with nature & our community while also spending quality time in nature playing a sport I have loved for 25 years. Please keep our small hometown course in play.  It brings us together. Keeps us Santa Cruz Mtn strong.

Alaina Maloney, Felton, CA

This course was so lovely when it was open to play. Takes less than a few minutes to travel to on hwy9, and the whole family can have a good time. My kids love hiking over natural obstacles. Please bring Black Mouse Back!

Lawrence M. Valle, Ben Lomond, CA

I helped run the disc golf club for SLV High school as well as Nature Academy at the Middle School. It was one of the best things in life to help encourage individual students to better their game. We helped teach proper respect and grow character through failures and success of the game. I’ve seen these kids grow into fine young adults who still enjoy the game. Please bring back the Mouse for the sake of the kids. It’s an almost free 365 days a year sport. Valuable to any community but especially to our isolated valley with not a lot of things for our kids to do.

Robert Green, Brookdale, CA

It is an activity for all with a very low entry-level cost.  That means people of all income levels can enjoy it.   Of the courses in the area, it is by far my favorite.

Jesse Schmidt, Felton, CA

Black Mouse is a gem of a course. It is short enough that my husband and I can bring our daughter to hike with us through the course, and we love every inch of it. Black Mouse teaches the novice player the essential desperation of trees, brings awareness to the existence of poison oak, and humbles anyone who thinks a putter surely cannot roll so very far. It would be devastating to lose such a beautiful and creative course forever.

Moana Whipple, Felton, CA

Black Mouse has been a refuge for me, and a beautiful teaching opportunity for my pre-school granddaughters.  They’ve learned to be curious and respectful of nature.  They are learning to play a game that will lead them to explore other beautiful places. 

The peacefulness of Black Mouse is a powerful reminder for me of the resilience of our forests.  It nourishes the soul.  As our little family enters the forest, there is a calm and reassurance that settles over us.  It is a rare gem.  We were devastated to have lost it and we all hope to experience it again.  We also have always felt safe there as everyone seems so respectful and appreciative. That is important to us.

I helped design and build Black Mouse. I have taught hundreds of kids and teens age 12-16 to play disc golf on that course over the past 20 years, and I know of dozens who have taken it up as their lifetime sport. Most certainly there are dozens more of which I am not aware.

Some of my most treasured memories are of the time I have spent there with my two daughters, who are now both honor roll students at SLVHS. I also treasure playing solitary rounds there early on weekend mornings, reveling in the internal struggle that is golf set against a quiet forest setting.

I remember when we first gained approval to install the course, a major reason was that the school wanted an activity taking place back in the woods to reduce a growing trend of illicit activity. It worked!

More seniors and families are playing disc golf than ever before, and they need this course- this free source of fun, fresh air, bonding exercise. Please, please, bring back Black Mouse.