Disc golf started out as something that seemed kind of silly to Corey Hoover, but like many people during the pandemic, Hoover was looking for a way to get out of the house.
Hoover decided to buy his first set of discs off Amazon, and ever since, has fallen in love with the fastly growing sport.
“Now, I’ve bought a lot more discs,” Hoover said.
With over 14,000 courses worldwide, there are now more disc golf courses in the world than there are Dunkin’ Donuts, according to UDisc.
Just this last spring, the middle school opened the Eudora Soaring Cardinals Disc Golf Course to go along with the course at Bluejacket Park.
Bluejacket Park hosted the Trilogy Challenge Disc Golf Tournament Saturday morning, attracting about 20 participants.
Long-time disc golfer Nathan Fornelli said he thinks cities have recognized that disc golf is a great way to get more out of public parks.
“It’s pretty cheap to install. I mean, you got to get the nine baskets, nine pads, and then you’ll have people out at your park,” Fornelli said.
According to the New York Times, 90% of the world’s disc golf courses are free, making the sport one of the most accessible in the world.
Fornelli said he took up disc golfing while in college 20 years ago, and he was drawn to the sport because of how cheap it is.
“A starter pack [of discs] costs $30, and you can use them for years,” he said.
Similarly, Hoover said he thinks the inexpensiveness of disc golf has drawn a lot of people to the sport.
“You can buy used discs for five to $10 that you can use. New discs are usually about $20,” Hoover said.
Disc golf is similar to golf in the sense that players try to reach the hole in as few strokes, or throws, as possible. In disc golf, the hole is a basket with chains that direct the disc down and into the basket.
Fornelli said there are a lot of physical similarities between the two sports.
“It’s kind of a similar swing motion with your body and twisting your hips,” he said. “Except your arm is the club instead of having a club.”
Four-year disc golf veteran Corbin Brown said many people don’t realize how much exercise they can get when playing disc golf.
Brown said community disc golf events are fun because they bring people with similar interests together.
“It connects you to a community that you kind of don’t know exists until you get there,” Brown said.
Because disc golf is so affordable and accessible for everyone, just about anybody can play the sport. Fornelli said he often plays with his wife and kids, which is a fun time for all of them.
Hoover encourages people to go out and play disc golf before they pass on it, much like he did.
“A lot of people, when they first see it, they think it’s dumb. Like, they’ve never gone out like I did,” Hoover said. “But then once you get out here, it’s a lot of fun once you come out and play.”
Reach reporter Jack Denebeim at [email protected]
