A disc golf tournament is scheduled at Gunn Park on Sept. 17.
For those not familiar with the sport, disc golf is played much like golf, but instead of a ball and clubs, players use a flying disc or Frisbee® to aim at a basket on a pole, according the website https://www.pdga.com/introduction. The sport was formalized in the 1970s and the object of the game is to complete each hole with, fewest throws.
Local disc golfer Danny Craig is organizing the Gunn Park tourney, which is a Professional Disc Golf Association event.
“This is a professional tournament, the professionals will be playing for money,” he said. “Last year there were 75 players that showed up, from states that surround Kansas. I’m not sure of the economic impact, but they buy gas and meals (in Fort Scott) and maybe even stay in the hotels.”
“Disc golf was started in Fort Scott in 1999,” he said. “The Fort Scott Kiwanis provided nine baskets.” It now has 18 holes.
Craig enjoys the game because it is good exercise, he said. “And watching others play. I started playing when I moved next door to a disc golf course and fell in love with the game.”
“There is something about throwing that perfect shot,” he said. “It doesn’t happen every time, but when it does, it’s magic.”
The cost for this tournament for professional disc golfers is $63, in the amateur division, $58; the intermediate and entertainment division, $53 and the junior division, which is 18 years old and younger, $53.
“There is a payout for the winners in the professional division, it’s $600 added cash above the entry fee,” Craig said. “Amateurs get prizes. Entry fees goes towards the players packets.”
There will be a trailer with disc golf supplies, he said. “The amateurs can choose from this.”
Rain or shine the event will happen, he said. “Lightening delays the event one hour, if is continues, the event discontinues.”
The first round starts at 9 a.m., the other at 1 p.m.
“Hole number one is by the small rock shelter house, near the lower pond,” Craig said. “It tees off here.”
Gunn Park is a very picturesque course, with gently rolling hills and trees.
“It is one of Kansas’s hidden treasures,” Craig said.
To sign up for playing in the upcoming tournament: https://www.pdga.com/tour/event/60967
“I want to thank our sponsors Hammer Insurance, 5 Corners Gas Station and the City of Fort Scott,” Craig said.
About The Game
“A golf disc is thrown from a tee area to a target, which is the hole,” according to the website. “The hole can be one of a number of disc golf targets; the most common is an elevated metal basket. As a player progresses down the fairway, he or she must make each consecutive throw from the spot where the previous throw landed. The trees, shrubs, and terrain changes located in and around the fairways provide challenging obstacles for the golfer. Finally, the putt lands in the basket and the hole is completed.”