Michael Nolte walked up to a strip of cement in the park on Saturday afternoon with a plastic disc in his hand. He took a couple steps, rotating his arm in a practice swing. Then, he backed up to his starting point and positioned himself for the real thing. He repeated the process, much faster this time, letting go of the disc and sending it far down the field of snow-covered grass.
It was 34 degrees with sunny skies, as good a January day as one could ask for a round of disc golf in Minnesota. Nolte was just one of a handful of disc golfers working his way through the course at Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Park near the Federal Medical Center in east Rochester.
The groups were part of the MLK Professional Disc Golf Association winter league. The league is one of several giving players a platform on which to compete and meet other players. According to Nolte, who has organized the leagues through his company X-14 Disc Golf, it filled a void in the Rochester area since there really weren’t any league options.
Gannon Olson, another disc golfer out on Saturday, echoed that as well:
“It was pretty close-knit. It was not advertised,” Olson said about the previous disc golf scene in Rochester. “They weren’t super welcoming to the players, which is completely the opposite of what disc golfers tend to be.”
Michael Nolte takes a practice swing during a round of disc golf on Saturday, Jan. 2 at Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Park. (Jordan Shearer | [email protected])
As the name implies, disc golf is essentially a version of golf that’s played with plastic discs. Instead of aiming for a hole in the ground, players try to sink their discs in a metal basket that stands on a pole.
Olson was a part of a group of five making its way through the course. A speaker in one of their backpacks was resonating songs like the “Sound of Silence” cover by Disturbed, and “Living on a Prayer” by Bon Jovi as the friends swapped jokes and jabs.
The formation of the new leagues was not the only thing that got disc…
After a three-year hiatus, Mitchell hosted a pro-amateur disc golf tournament over the weekend, which brought nearly 100 competitors and plenty of excitement to the Dry Run Creek Disc Golf Course.
As one of the local professional disc golfers who has been a pioneer for the sport in Mitchell over the past decade, Cary Muilenburg was “beyond proud” of Saturday’s tournament. After all, it was the first time in Mitchell’s history that a sanctioned disc golf tournament had a full slate of competitors, capping out at 90.
“We’ve never had a tournament completely fill up in Mitchell yet. Our max was 59 competitors in 2014, and it was just awesome to see such a big turnout,” said Muilenburg, who is also the South Dakota Disc Golf state coordinator. “We haven’t hosted a tournament here since 2018, partly due to construction of the course and the drainage work along the course.”
Alex Beres, of Sioux Falls, winds up to throw a disc during Saturday’s pro-am disc golf tournament hosted at Mitchell’s Dry Run Creek Disc Golf Course. The PDGA sanctioned disc golf tournament was the first to be hosted in Mitchell since 2018. (Sam Fosness / Republic)
Sioux Falls-based Albatross Disc Golf organized the event and tabbed Mitchell’s only 18-hole disc golf course that stretches along Dry Run Creek as the host site for Saturday’s tournament.
Mike Janish, owner of Albatross Disc Golf, raved about the condition and revamped layout of Mitchell’s Dry Run Creek course. While Janish typically hosts pro-am tournaments at Sioux Falls’ courses, he said Mitchell’s course has holes for “every type of shot.”
“It’s such a great course. It has every shot. It has technical shots and long shots,” Janish said of the Dry Run Creek course. “At the beginning of this year, my goal was to get some good courses recognized that haven’t had some tournaments lately. I heard a lot of good things about the setup of the course from people who competed as well, so it was a great tournament.”
Roughly seven years ago, the city of Mitchell’s Parks and Recreation Department shifted the holes to add more distance to the course. According to Muilenburg, the changes provided a more challenging course, while still keeping some shorter distance holes to bring more variety.
The changes have proven to be a success among the local disc golf community, along with catching the eyes of area disc golfers. Muilenburg said it’s becoming more common to see disc golfers trek from Sioux Falls and the surrounding area to play Mitchell’s 18-hole course.
The Mitchell tournament was part of Albatross’ series of summer sanctioned tournaments. Each tournament has a payout for the top finishers. To compete in Saturday’s tournament, pro disc golfers paid a $50 entry fee. It was also sanctioned by the Professional Disc Golf Association, meaning the scores of the pros and amateurs who competed will factor into their rankings.
Austin Jennings, of Mitchell, watches a disc golfer put during Saturday’s pro-am disc golf tournament hosted at Mitchell’s Dry Run Creek Disc Golf Course. The PDGA sanctioned disc golf tournament was the first to be hosted in Mitchell since 2018. (Sam Fosness / Republic)
“You get points based on your standings, which are determined from how you do at the tournaments,” Janish said. “We added some incentive for people to compete and reward those who are playing well consistently.”
Among the 90 competitors who squared off in Saturday’s tournament, Mitchell had 11. Considering the brief tournament hiatus, Muilenburg said the number of Mitchell disc golfers who competed was encouraging to see.
The structure of the tournament included one pro division and four amateur divisions. In the pro division, there were 20 disc golfers who squared off on Saturday, while the four amateur divisions were made up of the remaining 70 players.
During Saturday’s tournament, disc golfers broke into groups of five to play two rounds of disc golf on the 18-hole course.
Sioux Falls’ Taylor Lupton finished on top of the pro division, throwing 16-under-par in the two 18-hole rounds of disc golf. Lupton managed to throw a score of 47 in the first round and 49 in the second round, equating to 16 under. Lupton also took home $360 in payouts for his first place finish.
Mitchell native Shawn Sudbeck narrowly trailed Lupton in the pro division, throwing 14-under-par on two rounds of disc golf. Sudbeck’s strong performance earned him a second place finish in the top division, helping him take home $200 in payouts.
While it was rare to see a tournament reach maximum capacity several years back, Janish and Muilenburg’s passion for disc golf has been rubbing off on many others in the state.
With a goal to grow the sport at the local and state level, Muilenburg said the strong turnouts at South Dakota’s tournaments this year signals there’s growing excitement around disc golfing.
Mike Janish, owner of Albatross Disc Golf, left, and Cary Muilenburg, of Mitchell, right, stand along a disc golf hole on Saturday following the pro-am tournament that was held in Mitchell at Dry Run Creek Disc Golf Course. (Sam Fosness / Republic)
“This year, almost every South Dakota tournament has been filling up, which is awesome to see,” Muilenburg said. “It was really nice to have a PDGA sanctioned tournament back in Mitchell, and Mike’s (Janish) tournaments are really helping grow the sport. I think this tournament will only help it grow more on the local level. We have a great disc golf course, and this tournament proved that.”
1/4: Alex Beres, of Sioux Falls, winds up to throw a disc during Saturday’s pro-am disc golf tournament hosted at Mitchell’s Dry Run Creek Disc Golf Course. The PDGA sanctioned disc golf tournament was the first to be hosted in Mitchell since 2018. (Sam Fosness / Republic)
2/4: Austin Jennings, of Mitchell, watches a disc golfer put during Saturday’s pro-am disc golf tournament hosted at Mitchell’s Dry Run Creek Disc Golf Course. The PDGA sanctioned disc golf tournament was the first to be hosted in Mitchell since 2018. (Sam Fosness / Republic)
3/4: Austin Jennings, of Mitchell, sinks a put during Saturday’s pro-am disc golf tournament hosted at Mitchell’s Dry Run Creek Disc Golf Course. The PDGA sanctioned disc golf tournament was the first to be hosted in Mitchell since 2018. (Sam Fosness / Republic)
4/4: Mike Janish, owner of Albatross Disc Golf, left, and Cary Muilenburg, of Mitchell, right, stand along a disc golf hole on Saturday following the pro-am tournament that was held in Mitchell at Dry Run Creek Disc Golf Course. (Sam Fosness / Republic)
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