July 2021 - Disc Golf Fans

July 2021

Sandy checker by day, pro disc golfer at night

admin July 2021, sports, Today 0 Comments April 8, 2022

By Ron Bevan | [email protected]

Professional golfer Jake LaPutka’s drive lands right where he was aiming, dead center in the fairway. He selects a midrange to get on the green. From there he uses his putter to close out the hole with a perfect putt into the basket.

Wait…basket?

Yes, basket. For LaPutka, 27, is a professional disc golfer. Just like regular golf, disc golfers strive for the lowest score to win. But instead of using clubs and a ball to aim for a hole on the green, disc golfers use varying styles of plastic discs to reach the basket.

And for the first time, LaPutka is one of only a handful of Utah professional disc golfers to play host to the best in the world. In late June the Professional Disc Golf Association’s world championships were held in Ogden, Utah.

“It’s kind of cool to be able to have them here,” LaPutka said. “We do have some challenging courses in Utah and this helps put us on the map.”

LaPutka, a checker at the Sandy Costco for his day job, spends much of his off time on local disc golf courses or working on different aspects of the sport.

“I am sponsored by Innova as an ambassador for the sport,” LaPutka said. “Ambassadors are all over the place in the sport, from players to tournament directors. Pretty much anyone who is doing good things for the sport. They moved me into the ambassador when I began doing more tournament directing as well as for my YouTube channel. I put some instructional work on that as well as other things I like in the sport.”

In addition to being a player, LaPutka does work as a tournament director and also has a YouTube channel where he shows different courses as well as how to play.

“My biggest YouTube video is actually a putting instructional video that kind of blew up,” LaPutka said. “But I want to get back into playing more tournaments and having the Worlds here is a great way to do that.”

LaPutka has taken some time off from tournament play over the years. Unlike other pro events, disc golf hasn’t had the following that makes for a lucrative career. Hence the day job.

“It is growing though,” LaPutka said. “The pandemic helped a lot as people could get out of their houses and go play disc golf and still keep social distancing.”

LaPutka’s journey into disc golf mostly began as a quest for a clothing style change. Although he had been introduced to the sport as a child, he didn’t really begin playing until he was about 15. He was attending Juan Diego High School as he learned to love the sport. But what he didn’t love was wearing the uniforms required at the private school. He wanted to wear hoodies, but they weren’t allowed. The only exception to the rule was teams and clubs that could wear approved team apparel.

“I found a couple buddies at school that played,” LaPutka said. “So we started a disc golf club at school. Part of the motivator for starting the club was so we could get hoodies that we could wear because they would be approved as a school club uniform.”

Forming the club gave LaPutka the opportunity to play more. This started to improve his skills and he started playing in tournaments.

Then came time to go to college. LaPutka chose the University of Oregon and he found out they had a disc golf team. So he joined.

Then in 2014 something magical happened that helped form LaPutka’s life goals. LaPutka entered the world amateur tournament as a relatively unknown player. He came out of it with name recognition, as the 2014 world amateur champion.

“It was insane because there were some really good players in that tournament,” LaPutka said. “There were players that would play on the pro circuit so they could get good. But as long as they didn’t take any cash prizes, they could still remain an amateur. So, here comes this unknown dude from the University of Oregon and wins the whole thing.”

The very next week he entered his pro tournament and he continues to play.

“It has been tough in the pro fields. I have some good finishes. Overall, I am still chasing that pro world championship because no amateur world champion has ever won the pro world championship,” LaPutka said. “I see it as an opportunity to be the first to break that curse, to be the first to hold both titles.”

Equipment

Midvale City Park cuts ribbon on new disc golf course

admin July 2021, Local Life 0 Comments March 22, 2022

By Heather Lawrence | [email protected]

Midvale City held a ribbon cutting May 22 for a new nine-hole disc golf course in Midvale Park. But the course is about more than just a hobby. Like the game itself, the more you learn about the story behind the course, the more you appreciate it.

The sport’s basic premise is easy to understand. Disc golf is one of the fastest-growing sports in America. It’s played much like traditional golf, but instead of a ball and clubs, players use a flying disc or Frisbee.

“[The disc] is thrown from a tee to a basket, which is the ‘hole.’ The object is to throw the disc from the tee area to the target basket in the fewest number of throws,” explained Midvale City’s website. The city ran clinics for beginners and gave out free disc starter sets at the ribbon cutting.

The course was several months in the making. At a Nov. 10, 2020 meeting, the Midvale City Council discussed the course as one of the ways to use CARES Act funds. The CARES Act was part of the federal pandemic economic relief plan, and a disc golf course fell within the qualifying projects.

The city worked with Midvale business Grip6, a local manufacturing company which is committed to an entirely U.S.-made product. For the past four years they’ve sold belts, wallets and socks with a disc golf flair. Grip6 made donations to the course in the form of baskets for holes, posts, signage, and guidance on installation, design and labor.

The planning, funding and local collaborations have paid off. Since the ribbon cutting, the growing community of disc golf players has teed up to enjoy the course.

“We heard about it on the Facebook page, SLC Tunnel Runners, which is the local club. We came today because of the chunk of time we had. This was the best available course for us. We play at courses all around the valley,” said Byron McMurtry of Riverton.

McMurtry also plays traditional golf and kayaks. But because it’s inexpensive and courses can be played through in an hour or less, disc golf is nearly an everyday event for him and his friend Dave Jessop of Herriman.

“I’ve played disc golf since 2007. This is a big part of our lives, and we play several times a week. We’ve played here [in Midvale] every couple weeks since it opened. It’s a good, quick turn. It takes about half an hour to play it once, so we can play it twice in an hour,” Jessop said.

The Midvale course is located on the northwest side of the park. There are no fees or reservations, but players need to bring their own discs (Frisbees don’t work as well) and be mindful of others playing through.

Most courses are set up in public parks, so they’re free to play. Courses that charge are reasonable—$3 or $5. And, in many cases, you can bring your canine companion. Jessop brought his dog Stella.

Both McMurtry and Jessop praised disc golf as something that’s fun for beginners and more advanced players. “It’s a good family sport because different skill levels can play on the same course, and both sides will have fun.

“The Midvale course is particularly good for beginners because it’s short. It’s a nice introduction for people, and it’s manicured, where other courses can be rough,” McMurtry said.

McMurtry and Jessop were also excited about the PDGA Pro World Championship competition in Ogden June 22-26. “There are local tournaments every weekend, but this is like the Super Bowl of disc golf, and it’s right here in Utah at Fort Buenaventura. We’ve played that course before—it’s a whole other animal. It’s tough,” Jessop said.

McMurtry and Jessop encourage beginners to go to the SLC Tunnel Runners Facebook page if they have questions or want to find disc golf friends. “Get a disc starter kit, watch some YouTube videos on how to play, and join the fun,” McMurtry said.

When you play the course in Midvale you’ll know that you’re benefitting from pandemic relief funds and supporting local business Grip6 which helped make the course a reality.