Gilley

Beth Kimball has always been an athlete. Once a top high school soccer player, she later played Ultimate Frisbee for three years at James Madison University, then for eight more years on club teams around the country. But a few years ago, she found herself in a scary situation.

“I got a couple of concussions close together, to the point where I couldn’t play contact sports,” she recounts. “I still enjoyed throwing a [disc], so I transitioned to disc golf.”

Disc golf, like traditional golf, is played on an 18-hole course. Players make their next throw from where the last one landed, and the goal is to deposit the disc in a basket, which takes the place of the traditional flag and hole. There are tees, pars, birdies and bogeys — but unlike traditional golf, it doesn’t require lessons, practice or expensive equipment.

“For anyone getting started, my advice would be to simply buy yourself a disc and go to a course,” says Aaron Houghton. Houghton is a veteran of the game, and he professionally designs and installs courses around the Richmond area, including the newly opened private pay-for-play course at True Timber Disc Golf Course. “There are about a dozen courses in the area, and it’s becoming very popular. There are always people out there playing who are willing to share tips and pointers on how the game is played.”

Houghton was vice president of the River City Disc Golf Club for several years, and he still participates in club events. The club stages monthly tournaments, which are free to members and $10 for nonmembers. Annual membership is $15.

Houghton says that once you get some experience, the complexities of the game become more apparent. “There are different strategies. There are opportunities for choosing the right kind of disc, choosing the right shot, choosing the way to throw it based on the obstacles you’re looking at,” he says. “People fall in love with watching the disc fly, and also with saying, ‘OK, I think I can get the disc to do this,’ and then executing a shot and having it go properly.”

Kimball is a founding member of the River City Ladies League, a free women’s-only disc golf league that has grown from six members to over 150. She says that about 25-30 people will attend monthly events and tournaments.

“You can find competitive tournaments in Central Virginia every weekend,” she says. “This group is less competitive — we are just a league, not an official club. The focus is on community. We have potlucks. It’s very laid-back.”

Unlike traditional golf courses, many “fairways” are wooded. “My philosophy on disc golf design is to take what nature gives you and to feature it,” says Houghton. “We aren’t looking for a 500-yard opening for a fairway — we want some trees to bend our discs around.”

In the Richmond area, public courses include Bryan Park, Dorey Park, Gilley’s Creek and the University of Richmond campus course.

“I like the wooded courses,” Kimball says. “As someone who likes to hike and to compete, it’s a good marriage. You get to spend a couple hours outside enjoying a park, and it’s fun to watch a [disc] fly.”