Disc golf doesn’t get as much attention or Saudi oil money as its buttoned-up inspiration, but it’s a popular recreational sport. Known for a more relaxed atmosphere and cheaper greens fees, disc golf has been part of a tournament with a special twist since 2017 in Colorado.
“One dab per team per hole. No exceptions.”
Those are the rules of Discs-n-Dabs as explained by Ben Owens, who founded the tournament after smoking bowls and tossing Frisbees in college. After graduating, Owens founded CannaVenture, a cannabis-friendly outdoors group that organizes Discs-n-Dabs as well as pot-friendly hikes and camping trips. Cash and trophies are on the line during the tournament, but the competition is largely celebratory, Owens says, with live music, food, vendors and campgrounds all on site during the weekend.
Before the next Discs-n-Dabs gathering is held on a private course in Trinidad September 2 through September 5, we caught up with Owens to learn more about the event and why disc golf and cannabis are such a good mix.
Westword: What is it about disc golf that appeals so much to cannabis users and the good-vibes crowd?
Ben Owens: Disc golf is a laid-back sport. Cannabis is a laid-back pastime. There’s some obvious overlap there. But disc golf’s appeal to the cannabis and “good vibes” crowd goes beyond its relaxing nature.
Disc golf has an affordable entry point. You can grab a few discs at a local store for under $50 — or cheaper, if buying used. This is advantageous if you’ve already spent most of your cash on weed, as was the case for me in college. Disc golf typically takes place on courses that are not as strictly regulated [as golf]. Private courses are the exception, but with private land often comes more allowances, not less. This is advantageous for cannabis consumption, which is often prohibited at other facilities, like gyms, courts or country clubs.
Disc golf focuses more on growing the sport than on being the best. Sure, there’s competition — increasingly so with the trend toward professionalism — but casual players are welcoming and willing to help one another, especially if you’re new to the sport, rather than being irritated that you’re holding up their game. It’s also easier to find a bright-colored disc when you’re baked than it is a small white ball (and even still, I typically lose a disc at each tournament).
Disc golf is just as much of a party as ball golf; it’s just dressed down a bit. There’s no dress code — and you’ll see a…
PEORIA, Ill. — The 2022 Ledgestone Open is underway, taking over more than a dozen disc golf courses around central Illinois and bringing elite players from all over the world.
Tournament founder Nate Heinold — the Ledgestone tournament director and now president of the Professional Disc Golf Association board of directors — has grown this event into a week-long celebration of the sport via competition on the courses, big prize money, public meet-and-greets of players, skills clinics, live music, food and more.
It’s part tournament, part festival, hitting the map as host of the sport’s World Championships in 2019, and presenting the largest purse in the history of the sport — $130,000 — in 2021.
The 2022 version will include thousands of players with a wide range of ages and skill levels. But the Men’s Pro Open (148 players) and Women’s Pro Open (53 players) will offer Peoria disc fans a look at the best players in the game.
Nate Heinold of Ledgestone Insurance is building a new office with an attached warehouse to store the disc golf equipment for the Ledgestone Insurance Open, an annual disc golf tournament held at several area courses that attracts hundreds of disc golfers from around the country.
The 2022 Ledgestone Open
The Pro Open field is stacked as always. Among the players are the top three in the Professional Disc Golf Association’s United States Tour rankings: No. 1 Richard Wysocki ($42,135 earnings in 2022), No. 2 Paul McBeth No. 2 ($42,951), No. 3 Calvin Heimburg. McBeth has 139 career wins and earnings of $644,000, while Heimburg has 53 career wins with earnings of $226,900 and Wysocki has 122 career wins with earnings of $549,000.
Wysocki and Heimburg finished in a first-place tie in 2021 at Ledgestone in a championship round halted by severe weather.
McBeth is a five-time World Champion, including the 2019 version hosted in central Illinois at the Ledgestone.
Parnu, Estonia native Kristin Tattar is in the Women’s Pro Open field, and comes in with the No. 2 ranking on the U.S. Tour. She is returning from an elbow injury and a bout with COVID.
She follows No. 1 Paige Pierce, who has 150 career wins and $351,714 career earnings. The Ledgestone defending champion dominated the field for an 11-stroke victory in 2021.
Catrina Allen is back, and is a five-time Ledgestone champion.
Bring your passport
The 2022 Ledgestone includes players scattered from the Pro Open and down through the lesser tiers from Austria, Czechia,…
City Manager Mike Ortega told department heads to move along two budget tracks. Phase one was putting out a standard-issue budget based on the last fiscal year.
Phase two was for the city to identify a bunch of new spending priorities for fiscal year 2022-23. Mission accomplished. Here comes new spending in the high eight figures. The bulk of it will be devoted to hiring new workers.
Notice I didn’t type “additional spending.” The money will be paid for from accounts within the city’s existing finances. So the city’s budget limit approved in June still stands. Even contingency funds are legally budgeted money and therefore part of the city’s overall spending capacity.
If the Council approves the move, the City Attorney’s Office would get four new staffers to work on domestic violence cases. Environmental Services would get new crews to clean up homeless camps. Tucson police are asking for 82 new officers and Ortega is recommending an equivalent of 50. The Human Resources Department is filling what it calls a “temp work force.” How the hell is a union-supported Council is going to approve that?
That’s the idea.
This feels sneaky, even though it’s what passes for on the level from an accounting standpoint.
I can see where Ortega would want to tell city departments, “OK, give me the budget you know we can afford year over year. Next, give me your wish list now that we are flush with extra cash and coming out of a pandemic.” There’s some strategic utility – I guess – in keeping those two processes separate.
It still feels sneaky. Just include it concurrently with the budget.
Gentle aside: For more proof that the U.S. is not in a recession, the city is going on a hiring spree. If this were an actual recession, the city would be cutting 200 workers who would be competing with umpteen dozen laid off call-center workers for the one job opening at Walmart. The job would go to a cashier’s idiot cousin.
This is another way of saying: “Boy do I wish this were my recession. Cuz my recession suuuuuccckkkkked.”
Massachusetts-Based Cannabis Operator to Host Industry B2B Mixer Featuring Food & Beverage, Live Music and Scramble-Style Disc Golf Tournament at World’s Top-Rated Course
Press Release –
Aug 5, 2022
SOMERSET, Mass., August 5, 2022 (Newswire.com)
– Solar Cannabis Co. (Solar) today announced its inaugural “Solar Invitational” Disc Golf Tournament and Cannabis Industry Networking Event at Maple Hill in Leicester, MA on Thursday, Sept. 15, 2022, from 2-8 p.m.
Solar (a leading vertically integrated cannabis operator in the State of Massachusetts) is set to launch its very own “Solar Invitational” – a cannabis industry disc golf tournament at Maple Hill, the world’s top-rated course. The event will welcome all industry operators, vendors and advocates to partake in a scramble-style tournament while enjoying a cannabis-friendly environment with a wide variety of local food and beverage vendors and live music.
“We couldn’t be more proud to bring a first-of-its-kind event centered around disc golf and cannabis to the greater Worcester community,” said Edward Dow, CEO of Solar Cannabis Co. “We wanted to create a unique experience that would be inclusive of all operators, vendors and supporters within the cannabis industry and build it around a day of fun and competitive disc golf play.”
The inaugural Solar Invitational is aimed to defy the stereotypical corporate outings and B2B networking events. Competition play is a mixed foursome comprising 18 total teams on Maple Hill’s intermediate “reds course.” There will be no shortage of opportunities to engage with high-minded individuals from all areas of the industry. Every attendee is guaranteed to leave with new, genuine connections, good conversation, some laughs, and a larger network.
“I really believe there’s a distinct connection between cannabis and disc golf,” said Dow. “We want everyone that will be attending to enjoy a relaxed, cannabis-friendly environment with great vendors, food and drink and live entertainment. Even if they choose to not participate in the tournament, they’re going to have a great time and leave with some new connections within the industry.”
The disc golf movement, which has been known to have evolved from the “hippie culture” in…
Let’s face it, you don’t want to admit that you’re getting older. But you see social media and others getting out there on Tik Tok showing off their chiseled bodies and you think, why not me? If you’re like me, the why not is that I don’t want to become a gym rat and don’t have a ton of money to spend on that kind of thing, not to mention that I am 40 years their senior.
Enter Disc Golf. Years ago, my family was introduced to disc golf through a foreign exchange student that lived with us for a year. He went out with his friends and offered to take us out with him. That was forty years ago and I am here to tell you that I am still playing the sport. Moreover, as I have moved around the country, I have been able to invite others to join me on the course as we throw our discs into the basket.
The Basics
Disc Golf is played more or less with the same rules as regular golf. There are tees and instead of holes, we have baskets. However, there are a few differences that make this an ideal sport as you get older. More on that in a minute. Players throw their discs with the goal of getting the disc in the basket. Holes are similar to regular golf with fairways and are rated with a par rating. Instead of strokes, you can count throws. There are out of bounds, fairways, and obstacles, and putting, although not a putting green per se.
The idea is to go out in parties of no more than 4 so the game keeps moving. You keep score the same way as golf with the low score winning. Most courses are 18 holes and can be played for over an hour or two.
Differences
The first difference you will notice is the course itself. Courses can be laid out in a park or they can wander through the local hills and forests. Instead of having wide-open shots, typically in disc golf, the courses are more in touch with nature. More in touch because more than likely, your disc will be touching nature from landing in water to hitting trees. It is all part of the game. Courses are typically shorter overall than regular golf with holes being 300ft to 600ft on average. You can find some shorter and of course some longer, but most will run in that in-between distance. For families and us older folk, the courses tend to be long enough that we get some well-needed exercise, but also not so long that we couldn’t play without a golf cart.
Next is the disc itself. Disc golf discs come in different weights and are rated on which way they break, how far they fly, and a couple of other measures that can be found on most discs when you buy them. Starting out, you will need a good all-around disc, and as you progress, you can start to add to your collection. I normally only carry three discs, one that breaks right, one left, and a putter. I have friends that drag a card behind them that have 20+ discs in their disc golf bag. The other nice thing here is you can go to a used sports store and get used discs or of course you can buy them new. The cost can be from $5 or so for a used disc up to $30 something for a fancy new one. Bottom line is that you will not go broke on a set of discs like you might on a set of clubs that may find its way to the annual garage sale.
Thanks to Innova Discs for this information
Playing the Game
To play disc golf, after you have your equipment, is to find a place to play. Believe it or not, there is a professional disc golf association, the PDGA, where you can find a course directory of most courses in the world. Even if you use Google maps, you should be able to search for disc golf course near me and it will bring up disc golf retailers and nearby courses for you. Just a fun side note, did you know that the average professional disc golfer makes $42,000 a year and the top players like Paul McBeth who won the world championships, with endorsements make over $10,000,000 a year!
Play starts from the first concrete tee pads, but could be plain dirt or even artificial grass for the tee box. Taking turns, players start throwing their discs down the fairway. The player farthest away from the basket goes next and so on until you arrive at the hole. Putters are often used because they tend to go straighter than your regular disc. This is because of a rounder edge and slower spin.
Now the fun really begins for me at least as each course has its own personality and challenges. Players will face narrow spaces between trees, and throws over valleys or across water. These obstacles can be more difficult especially if you get off the fairway, which everyone does from time to time. Even the best disc golfers succumb to these challenges be it at the local course or the disc golf pro tour.
Seniors
Up until now, most of the information can apply to any disc golf player, now I want to focus on the older players. Exercise without feeling like your exercising is one of the greatest benefits. Depending on the disc golf course you play at, walking is a great way to keep moving and stay fit. Most of my buddies and I are in our 60s and 70s and we can hold our own against those 20-something players that are on the course. That is because, in disc golf, so much is not pure athleticism, but technique. While you are on the course, no one cares how fast or slow you are playing, the idea is to enjoy yourself and have fun.
Throwing a disc can be one of the things seniors probably need to watch so that shoulders, elbows or other joints are hanging in there. If you have not been active in a while, play a nine-hole course before you jump up to the 18-hole course. Like any activity, it doesn’t hurt to check with a doctor before you begin a new activity. That being said, I am a firm believer that being outside, walking and throwing for a few hours is a great way to stay young.
Back in the day, I took out the family as a cheap way to get the kids out of the house. Many of my kids (I have 6) play at campus recreation centers at school. I never stopped playing and have found it to be a way to stay young and get my friends out for a little recreation. One friend of mine who works nights will play nearly every day after work as his way to wind down after a night’s work. Like fishing, better is a day on the course than not playing at all.
Conclusion
Disc Golf in the United States has skyrocketed and the rest of the world is quickly catching up. Disc is so much cheaper than traditional golf and is family-friendly. You will find all types of folks on the course and yes, even the women have a pro tour. So I encourage you to get out and play. Check out our course reviews for Hanna Hills if you are in our neck of the woods and the latest news from around the country on our homepage.
Jim McCarthy loves the simple formula of disc golf: Get outdoors. Throw a disc around. Have fun while enjoying the nature.
While he also bird-watches, he believes there is merit to doing a physical challenge and disc golf has been just the right one for his family, serving as a bonding activity between him and his son for the past three years.
Frank Samuel said the addition of disc golf at Bond Lake ruined a family tradition.
Every Father’s Day, Samuel, his father, and his three sons would head over to Bond Lake for a day of fishing. But since the installation of the course, instead of catching fish, they are catching stray Frisbees.
“To the point where you even if you just go fishing or hiking, trek a path, you still can’t get away from all the clamor,” he said.
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The conflict that arises when a new pursuit bumps into an existing activity is a common one, seen most often in Western New York as new recreational hiking and biking trails have been built on land that abuts private homes. Disc golf courses are not new in Western New York – there are courses at such well-traveled parks as Chestnut Ridge in Orchard Park and Ellicott Creek in the Town of Tonawanda – but the fight over how the courses are affecting natural areas is getting louder.
Michael Chatt of Pendleton, left, and Dave Spacone of Niagara Falls, walk between baskets on the disc golf course at Bond Lake Park in Ransomville, July 31, 2022.
Colyer Park Disc Golf course is a little unique as it sits in the middle of South Central Missouri just off I-44 near Saint Robert. It is one of the first courses that I have played that is on a military base, Ft. Leonard Wood. To be fair, I have not researched other bases to see if they have courses too, but this is the first I’ve come across.
Location
The course is situated on the main base, south of the retail areas at 1609 South Dakota Ave. It is right behind the military museums and next to the back of the bowling alley. You will need to stop at the Welcome Center next to the main gate to get access to the base. If you are a US citizen, this is generally not too hard, but rules change all the time so it is best to check in advance. Folks often come to visit the museums and graduations, so don’t pass by the course just because it is on base. Parking is best just behind the Bowling Ally and then walk across the street up the stairs to the first tee.
ID is required to enter the post. You can check out the requirements here or call the visitor center at 573-596-0590/0356.
Game Play
Colyer Park is only a 9-hole course so gameplay is pretty fast. The other nice thing is that it is greatly underutilized. I have played the course a number of times and if I play during the week, I often have the course to myself. On weekends, I have never seen more than 2 or 3 groups on the course at once.
The course is fair flat with a fair number of trees. Not so many trees to require super technical skills but enough that a tree will grab your disk more than once for the average player. Tees are concrete pads and the baskets are pretty standard Mach II.
One of the frustrating parts is outside of the first hole, the signage is nonexistent. Take a picture of the map or use an app because you may need to use it to find the next tee pad. As I mentioned, the course is flat, so seeing the next pad is hard especially if the grass is due for mowing or in fall when there are leaves on the ground covering the pads up.
Using your map will help as some of the tee pads are a small hike from the previous basket. For example, where basket 4 ends is right by the NW cormer of the park but the tee that is next to it is number 8. To get to the fifth tee, you have to cross the street and head to the SE corner of the next section of the park (yes, there is a street splitting the park in two.)
Special Challenges
Being that the course is on a military base, you do have some fun challenges on occasion. Ft Leonard Wood is a large training facility so you have folks going through both basic training for the Army as well as advanced training for the several other specialties that bring in Marines, Air Force, Navy, and international soldiers to the base. It is not uncommon, especially earlier in the day or at the end of the training day to have units crossing the park in masse. Expect some delays and be glad that you are playing and not marching past.
I’ve also seen the parking lot behind the bowling alley be used for the transportation trainees as a spot to start and end the truck driving practice. The folks that are waiting for their turn will often be under the trees in the park near hole 8 and 9. Finally, for some excitement, I’ve seen the Military Police practice takedowns as folks pretend to run from police. Some of the chases can go right through your game. Lots of screaming and sirens to liven up your day.
Conclusion
Colyer Park is a fun quick play if you are in the area. If you are not military, there is some extra effort to get on base, but don’t let the access requirements scare you. Access is possible (but not guaranteed), so give it a try and enjoy the course. Worst-case scenario, hop over to Hanna Hills which is only about 20 minutes away.
Raleigh, N.C. — With a flick of the wrist, disc golf has become a visible sport here in the Triangle, where a world champion now resides.
Oliver Beavers, who turns 10 later this year, competed in the PDGA Junior World Championship earlier this month in Peoria, Ill., and won first place in the division for kids ages 10 and under. There were around 28 competitors over the four-round tournament, and Oliver finished 27-under par, one of his best scores so far.
“It was crazy,” Oliver said of winning. “It felt really good, because I didn’t think I was ever going to do this. I was playing against really good players.”
However, with his progression over the years, he built up some confidence and was feeling good entering the tournament.
“This year, I was like ‘oh, I could probably win this,'” he said.
Oliver lives in Raleigh with his family and often competes with brother James in games in the yard at home. They both practice just about every day. With dad’s help, they constructed a disc golf course at home during COVID and have become PDGA members.
Oliver first started playing Ultimate Frisbee when he was 6 and eventually moved on to disc golf, cleaning up his form and technique from watching others. Just like traditional golf, disc golf requires precision and accuracy where subtle changes in the throwing motion can make all the difference.
Oliver’s favorite course in Raleigh is at Cedar Hills Park, but he and James looked pretty comfortable hitting putts during a practice session on Monday at Dix Park.
Robert Leonard, who lives in Raleigh, is operations and logistics manager with the PDGA. Leonard was in Peoria to witness Oliver’s performance.
“As an official, I couldn’t root for anybody, but as soon as he won I ran over and gave him a big high five,” said Leonard. “Oliver and his brother James have played a lot of local tournaments, and I’ve seen their abilities increase. To win the world championships, that’s the goal of every single disc golfer.”
Putting and hitting those mid-to-close range throws is one of the more challenging facets of the game.
Kurtis and Jade Rogers were in their element when I joined them for an interview on the creation and establishment of Cold Hollow Disc Golf. A late-morning downpour sent us scurrying to the large post and beam barn that housed cows and hay bales long before it became the Cold Hollow Disc Golf Pro Shop.
Outside the barn, the 18-hole disc golf course meanders through the fields and forests of the Rogers’ extensive property, often providing breathtaking views of Jay Peak and the Green Mountains. Each hole has been carefully designed by Kurtis and strives to weave the natural features of the rugged Vermont landscape into the line of play.
Even the old barn gets in on the action since the first hole requires throwing the disc out the massive front door.
Kurtis and Jade Rogers stand outside the old red barn that serves as the Cold Hollow Disc Golf Pro Shop.
Ruthie Laroche
Q&A with Kurtis Rogers
How did the vision for Cold Hollow Disc Golf begin? I started playing disc golf in Maine in 1999, and I watched some of the biggest courses be built. We moved to Enosburg 11 years ago and had the property, but I didn’t have the time to build the course. I scouted the holes and knew the topography of the land, and I knew what would be cool and how to get from point A to Z.
When did you open Cold Hollow Disc Golf? I’d talked with Jonathan Betts, the owner of Black Falls Disc Golf in Montgomery, and he walked the course with me. In 2019, we decided to build nine holes; it was going to be a five-year plan, with plans to open in 2024. When COVID hit, my…
Local nonprofit Discing4Kids is offering free Summer of Fun events twice weekly through Thursday to introduce families to disc golf and help them develop their skills.
Baskets have been set up around Bushmaster Park on Tuesdays and Thursdays since July 12, creating a course for kids and their families to navigate with their discs. A bin of discs sits on a picnic table next to free snacks — watermelon, packets of crackers, sports drinks.
“What we do, anywhere and everywhere we go is we take the fun to the kids. We can build a course like this anywhere we go,” said Eddie Diaz, the organization’s founder.
He said he chose Bushmaster Park because he used to play there as a child.
Thomas Garcia, 10, works on his disc golf skills Tuesday morning during a Discing4Kids event at Bushmaster Park.
Jake Bacon, Arizona Daily Sun
The day camp’s attendees are a mix of regular participants in Discing4Kids activities and families who happened to be in the park that day. There is no age limit and adult family members are encouraged to participate alongside their kids.
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Events also often include backyard games (for example, disc-tack-toe and bowling) that can be played at home, with giveaways of discs and, on special occasions, baskets to eliminate any socioeconomic barriers to the sport.
The two rules for the event are “have fun and be safe.”
cannaventure, colorado disc golf, colorado marijuana events, dabbing, Disc Golf, disc golf tournaments, discs and dabs, discs n dabs, frisbee golf
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One of the frustrating parts is outside of the first hole, the signage is nonexistent. Take a picture of the map or use an app because you may need to use it to find the next tee pad. As I mentioned, the course is flat, so seeing the next pad is hard especially if the grass is due for mowing or in fall when there are leaves on the ground covering the pads up.
