AlliedNews.com - Grove City, Pennsylvania

Sports

Related Photos

  • Preliminary map of the proposed disc golf course at Grove City Memorial Park. Contributed.

    images_sizedimage_356104336

Discussion

Add a comment on this story
December 22, 2009

Disc golf is taking flight in GC

By Patrick Connelly/Sports Editor

It’s a sport that was believed to be first played in the early 1900s and it’s finally flying into Grove City.

Disc golf is as simple to play as it sounds and if you don’t believe it, toss a few at Memorial Park on the course a trio of the sport’s enthusiasts are hoping becomes a fixture for years to come.

“If you have a Frisbee laying around at home you have the equipment to play,” said Michael Frey, who along with friends Ed Kaltenbaugh and Dan Kulp lobbied Grove City's borough council in October to approve the first course of its kind at the park.

Frey first played the game while a teen in Fort Collins, Colo.

“I was out there for the summer and I generally like anything that's outdoors,” Frey said.

Councilman Mike Kalter had asked Frey for any ideas he may have for new activities as the park. With tons of space and open areas, Frey said the park just seemed like a perfect place for a disc golf course and that it's a good way to take advantage of the unused areas where seldom travel, but are still nonetheless just as enjoyable.

Along with Kaltenbaugh and Kulp, the group formed the Grove City Disc Golf Club and put a proposal together for council, along with a map of the nine hole course that’s now set up at the park. Council approved the idea in a 9-1 vote.

“People can come out and play,” Frey said while tossing a disc on hole No. 1 near the pavilion between the park entrance and Grove City High School. “It’s a very, very family friendly sport.”

It takes about an hour to play through the course twice for a complete 18-hole round and is much more than just good exercise, Frey added.

For those familiar with the normal game of golf, scoring a game of disc golf — which in some parts of the world is also known as Frisbee golf and Frolf — is exactly the same.

Each hole has a par just like in golf and participants toss the Frisbee from the tee and aim towards a basket, with the goal of shooting near, at or below par. The basket serves as the de facto green in the game.

Any Frisbee can be used, though there are specialized discs available at sporting goods stores for more experienced players and those hoping to hone their craft.

Frey said he hopes the new course will attract locals looking to play and even out-of-towners looking for a change of pace.

“The course is designed for an average player to be challenged,” he noted, but said it's also a good one for newcomers to the sport to learn the game.

The club is raising money to purchase the baskets for each hole and right now is looking for anyone who may be interested in sponsoring a hole or tee-off area so they can purchase signs with pictures of each, similar to those seen on area golf courses.

Once the group has the funds it plans to get all the equipment together and put the finishing touches on the course by April of next year before kicking things off with a clinic or tournament, Frey said.

Before the club put the idea into action, the closest course to the area was at Moraine State Park, but it's a very challenging one, Frey said.

“My hope is this is good for the community,” he added. “It’s another attraction to the Grove City area. In terms of cost and maintenance, there’s no maintenance to it. There’s really nothing that matches it.”



For more information, visit http://www.gcdisc.2ya.com.

Text Only
Sports
Featured Ads
AP Video
Hyperlocal Search
Premier Guide
Find a business

Walking Fingers
Maps, Menus, Store hours, Coupons, and more...
Premier Guide
Popular Searches
Powered by Local.com
Parade
Magazine
Click HERE to read all your Parade favorites including Hollywood Wire, Celebrity interviews and photo galleries, Food recipes and cooking tips, Games and lots more.