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Hotels have been packed and the City of Tyler has been bustling as the 2021 PDGA Texas State Championships kicks off the Professional Disc Golf Association tour.

Professionals and amateurs from all over the nation arrived earlier this week to start two days of practice at the Dogwood Course at Lindsey Park.

Disc golf is like regular golf, except the disc looks like a Frisbee. The sport has been around since 1970, but has increased in popularity with the Disc Golf Network and players with sponsors and even their own trading cards.

The top professional men started the three-day tournament this morning and the women start around 2:30 p.m. They are looking to finish in the top 10 today and advance into the elite card. All golfers will be seeded after today’s round.

One of the top female disc golfers in the nation, Ohn Scoggins of Los Angeles, recently won a tune up for the national tour, the 2021 Memorial FPO.

She has been impressed with Tyler and the course.

“I really love the course because in California, we don’t have as many trees. It’s beautiful and the city and the people are very nice, friendly and wish us luck,” said Scoggins. “Everything has been perfect. And the weather is nice, so we love it.”

VIDEO with Steven Storrie, tournament director in Tyler and Local Pro John Willis from the Disc Golf Pro Tour YouTube page:

With close to 200,000 members in 54 countries, disc golf is taking off. There are over 8,000 courses nationwide and several in Tyler and Longview.

The last two years, we have had a big number of people playing and our membership is close to 200,000,” said Scoggins. “When Covid happened, people wondered what sport they could play and they tried this sport. We have no many new faces and memberships.”

Scoggins started playing for fun 10 years ago and turned the hobby into a professional career.

“I just played for fun. I had no idea I would be here today. Disc golf is crazy. It takes time to like it and when you like it, it’s additive and so much fun,” Scoggins said. “You will see so many throw long, some throw short, backhand, rollers … it’s so addictive. I can not stop. Plus I like to play sports that are outside.”

With the difficulty of the course in Tyler, Scoggins could be in for a five-hour round of disc golf today. The players have media obligations and there are several areas to buy merchandise.

“It feels good when people recognize me. People ask me to sign a picture and it makes me very proud,” Scoggins said. “I’ve been playing for many years and worked very hard to get into the top 10 of all the women in the sport. Finally, my hard work has paid off. People are recognizing me. “