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Former PDGA pro designing new disc golf course in Williams Park

Former PDGA pro designing new disc golf course in Williams Park

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, 2023-05-10 18:54:17,

WICHITA FALLS (KFDX/KJTL)—According to UDisc, did you know that 500 million people live within roughly 6 miles of a disc golf course worldwide? With more than 14 -thousand disc golf courses to choose from, here locally, members of the Wichita Falls Disc Golf Association are looking to add to that number. This is just one of the newly installed courses in Texoma, and when it came to course design, they called in someone all too familiar with the ever-growing sport for help.

Nearly four decades ago, Parks Administrator, Terry Points along with some buddies, created a disc golf course at Lucy Park with just a few cans of spray paint and some discs.
Fast-forward to 2023, and residents in Wichita Falls have a plethora of courses to play on right here in Wichita County alone, and soon they’ll have another full 18-hole course in Williams Park.

“Williams Park is perfect in every way because it’s in a low-income area in Wichita Falls it’s a massive park that’s under-utilized and disc golf is so cheap in terms of projects that are being added to a park and so they were all on board,” Young said.

Once they found a suitable park, designing each hole was up next, and Young couldn’t think of anyone more qualified than PDGA Rookie of the Year in 2000 and World Champ in 2009, Avery Jenkins.

“That’s why I’m here this week is to do a full evaluation of the property, a walkthrough, and assessment, and really pick and chose the best quality holes between tee pads and baskets throughout the entire park,” Jenkins said.

“A big part of it was his passion for the project and his willingness to be a part of it and so we’re really excited to have Avery, he really brings a lot of legitimacy to the area and to the project as well,” Young said.

Jenkins has designed courses all over the nation, and Young said having a new course designed by a pro could add to the rapid growth of the sport by exposing more people to it.

“It’s an underserved area of the city so giving others the chance to be exposed to disc golf and a cheap activity as Avery was saying, a cheap, fun, and interactive activity to get you outside, we hope that it brings people outside to a park that’s currently not being used very often,” Young said.

So when the course is open, go out and try your hand at it.
You never know, you could…

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Local disc golfers in the running as Mid America Open takes over Albert-Oakland Park | Other Sports

Local disc golfers in the running as Mid America Open takes over Albert-Oakland Park | Other Sports

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Saturday morning was mostly quiet at Albert-Oakland Park on the north side of Columbia, save for the whizzes of discs slicing through the air and brief eruptions of polite applause. Occasionally, whoops of appreciation broke out for golfers who had parked a drive right next to the basket.

The second round of the Mid America Open, Columbia’s stop on the Disc Golf Pro Tour, was in full swing. A drizzling rain opened the day, but by mid-morning, the low-60s temperatures were beautiful for golf. The sun peeked out of the clouds at a quarter to 1, and the day broke into a beautiful Missouri spring afternoon.

The grass was lush and heavy, renewed by spring rains. Wind blew steadily at first, but receded with the clouds to allow the hundreds of spectators to bask in the warm sunlight.

The same rain that benefited the grass at Albert-Oakland gorged Harmony and Perche Creeks at Harmony Bends, the world-class course that was originally slated to host the Mid America Open. Because of the flooding, Harmony Bends was in no shape to host any kind of play, let alone a DGPT event. The back course at Albert-Oakland was hastily prepared to host, and as a result, many top pros dropped out of the tournament.

Paul McBeth, Ricky Wysocki and Calvin Heimburg, all among the biggest names in the sport, skipped the Silver Series event, instead opting to get a head start to Emporia, Kansas, for next week’s Dynamic Discs Open.

“Yeah, it feels really good right now,” he said after his round Friday. “I’m hoping it’ll stick. I know there’s a lot of good players out there right now, so we’ll see.”

Unfortunately for Borengasser, it didn’t stick. He shot a 1-over 56 on Saturday, plummeting in the standings to a tie for 54th place. Off the tee, Borengasser couldn’t replicate the booming drives of his first round and he said afterward his Saturday couldn’t have gone worse. Usually a backhand power driver, Borengasser just couldn’t find his release point in the second round.

“Everything was just kind of a sprinkler system off the tee,” he said. “I couldn’t throw it where I wanted to throw, which is bad if you’re playing a course like this where there’s (out of bounds areas) and woods.”

Despite the tough outing, Borengasser was smiling all day. He is confident that after a reset Saturday night, he can get back on form for Sunday’s final round.

Another local golfer, St. Martins native Jake Hebenheimer, is also confident about Sunday’s round, citing his years of experience playing Albert-Oakland and his strong driving.

“I’m still going to get top 10 for sure,” he said. “I’m still planning on playing well tomorrow. Just one hot round is all it takes.”

Hebenheimer says a hot round for him is 10- to 14-under. Like Borengasser, he shot 6 under Friday to put him in the tournament’s top 25. On Saturday, he tallied a 5-under 50, keeping him in the hunt in a tie for 22nd place.

George Smith, meanwhile, was just happy to be there. The owner of Show Me Disc Sports in Columbia, Smith has been a part of the Columbia disc golf scene for almost 40 years. He won the amateur division of the Mid America Open in 1987 when he was 16. He lives near Albert-Oakland and can walk to the course in just 2-3 minutes.

Smith said he’s won the tourney 13 times as a pro — enough to earn a banner with his name and image at the tournament — and says he has loved watching the sport grow.

Through two rounds, Smith is tied for 39th at 7 under.

Sitting at 7 under with Smith is another Columbia local, Brock Rohler. Rohler was even in Friday’s round, but birdied nine holes Saturday to climb beside Smith at 39th.

On the women’s side, Cynthia Ricciotti, a Battle High School senior who is the 14th-ranked player on the pro tour, had a tough second day. She entered Saturday tied for seventh in the tournament at 4 over par, but couldn’t repeat the strong showing.

Ricciotti started the day with a birdie but fell victim to six bogeys, two double bogeys, and a triple bogey on the 17th hole where a tree limb directed her tee shot into the middle of the water hazard.

Ricciotti’s frustration was visible down the stretch. She has spent most of the past two months traveling the country for the tour and may have just needed a night away from disc golf. Luckily for her, the weekend she was back in town was prom week at Battle, so she got to spend her Saturday night at the dance after another day on the course.

Other local golfers competing in the Mid America Open on the men’s side include Luke Sabulsky (6 under, tied for 45th), Adam Morrison (2 over, tied for 79th), Michael Natera (5 over, 88th) and James Mueller (6 over, tied for 89th). Other locals on the women’s side include Fresa Jacobs (22 over, 13th) and Alexis Kerman (26 over, 15th).

Heading into Sunday’s final round, Chris Dickerson of Limestone, Tennessee, and Kyle Klein of Wyoming, Michigan, are tied for the men’s lead at 17 under. Ellen Widboom of Brooksville, Florida, leads the women’s tournament at 1 over.

Disc Golf brings in massive donation to Hawkeye Harvest | Mason City & North Iowa

Disc Golf brings in massive donation to Hawkeye Harvest | Mason City & North Iowa

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Last Sunday, disc golfers throughout the region gathered together at East Park in Mason City to eliminate hunger.

The 7th Annual Mason City Ice Bowl was largely successful this year, with golfers raising $3,195, along with 893 pounds of food for Hawkeye Harvest Food Bank. This record-breaking year came with some hurried planning by the Ice Bowl’s leader, Bill Orozco, his girlfriend, Harley Love, and friend Krystal Sanders.

Orozco has been in charge of the Mason City Ice Bowl for four years. The event originally started in Clear Lake at One Vision, but when East Park expanded its course, disc golfers in the area took advantage of the 18-hole course, which was played in two rounds on March 13.







Hawkeye Harvest Foodbank’s Carol Clayton stands alongside Harley Love and Bill Orozco as they donate cash and over 800 pounds of food, which was collected at the annual Mason City Ice Bowl last weekend.




The Ice Bowl began as a fundraising event series by the Professional Disc Golf Association (PDGA) with the aim to fight hunger, but after the attacks on September 11, 2001, PDGA has opened the event to fundraise for local charities. In Mason City, the original purpose remains.

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“It’s always nice to give back” Orozco said of the event. “I’m in a position right now where I can say that I’m better off than I used to be. I’ve been hungry before. It’s really nice to be able to give back. Very rewarding at the end of the day.”

53 people participated in this year’s Ice Bowl, with three women participating. Orozco noted some participants traveling from as far as Mankato, Austin, and Des Moines. He also noted two of the three participating women were pregnant.

Sanders said that with more time next year, their plans will include sponsors from local businesses, as well as individual sponsors. This year’s entry fee was $25 and 10 cans of food. There were also sponsorships for each of the 18 holes, and with 26 sponsorships, nearly three quarters of the course was double-sponsored.

An individual also donated hand-painted trophies this year by Mark Schave of Albert Lea.

This year’s event was rather warm compared to past years, at around 50 degrees, but that didn’t stop the chili from running out during the lunch break. Orozco remembers past years when disc golfers would play in the snow and ice. Orozco’s first Ice Bowl back in 2009 was one such year:







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Bill Orozco, Harley Love and Krystal Sanders planned this year’s Mason City Ice Bowl.


Rae Burnette



“Somebody showed up on my doorstep January 15 and they were like ‘Hey, do you want to go play a tournament?’ I looked out the window and there was a foot of snow on the ground. I said ‘Are you crazy?’ and then we went down there with over 100 people. They had a chili contest and raised like $7,000 down there and 2,000 pounds of food. I thought, ‘why don’t we do that?’”

Orozco has been working to give back to the community since then. He’s been playing disc golf since 2008, and his favorite part of the recreational sport is the people he meets along the way.







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Bill Orozco plays at East Park, the location of this year’s Ice Bowl.


Rae Burnette



“The best part about (disc golf) is you can go out and purchase a frisbee for five dollars. You don’t have to spend $500 on a golf club, you don’t have to worry about greens fees because most courses are in public parks in Iowa.”

The open availability of the sport has led Orozco to meet people of all ages and walks of life, and he’s found that there aren’t many sports like disc golf, where your competition encourages your success.

Orozco noted that the success of the Ice Bowl rested on participants and on Harley and Sanders, who were instrumental in putting the event together. 

“I couldn’t have done it without them.”

Mason City disc golf tournament raises money, donates food to Hawkeye Harvest

A group of 36 disc golfers were able to raise $2,471 and donate 643 pounds of food to the Hawkeye Harvest Food Bank.

Rae Burnette is a GA and Crime & Courts Reporter at the Globe Gazette. You can reach her by phone at 641.421.0523 or at [email protected]

Tyler hosting national tour and Texas State Disc Golf Championships | News

Tyler hosting national tour and Texas State Disc Golf Championships | News

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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.







States are in Tyler this weekend.


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.







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Disc golf’s popularity is rising with a television and YouTube shows and events as well as trading cards, merchandise and a magazine.


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. “







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A post from Innova Discs on Instagram after Ohn Scoggins won the FPO championships. 


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McBeth Owns Emporia with DDO Threepeat | Free

McBeth Owns Emporia with DDO Threepeat | Free

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It’s a long way from Huntington Beach, but if you didn’t know better, you’d think Paul McBeth was right at home.

The five-time PDGA world champion is now also a five-time winner here — including the last three editions — at the tournament once known as the Glass Blown Open, and now, as the Dynamic Discs Open.

McBeth began his championship Saturday campaign with a statement piece. Sitting 60 feet long, and well below the pin on the 1175-foot par-5 hole 1, he connected on a huge circle 2 putt to prevent his three card mates — Calvin Heimburg, Eagle McMahon and Ricky Wysocki — from gaining a stroke.

The champ can be stingy like that.

He would go on to birdie the first four holes — and come as close as you can to birdieing the fifth — before his hot start cooled off.

But things went a little sideways after that. He lost a stroke to the card on hole 5, and another two strokes, as well as the lead, to Heimburg after making bogey on hole 6.

McBeth wasn’t pleased.

“Mentally I just need to go out there and play,” McBeth said, holding his newly acquired glass globe trophy — the DDO’s signature hardware. “I feel like I’m too nice sometimes out there. I’m just being too friendly to where I just need to go out there and attack. Especially in a situation where it’s a three-way tie and two people are within two strokes right behind. I just need to go out there and tell myself that I’m not out here for friendships, I’m here to win.”

It was an ominous message for any of his rivals who may have been hoping that, following one of his longest winless streaks in years, McBeth’s days dominating the tour may be drawing to a close.

He steadied the ship after the bogey on 6 and regained his lead by avoiding trouble as each of his card mates struggled to keep a clean scorecard through the back nine.

An errant tee shot on hole 16 opened the door to a potential two-stroke swing for Heimburg, who was three-strokes back heading into the island green. But Heimburg could not stick the landing and his drive hyzered high and wide, skipping off the top of the wooden fence that guards the rear of the island and into the water.

It was all but a formality from there.

But before McBeth could be crowned, Wysocki would go on to make one of the most memorable shots in disc golf history.

Putting from the drop zone after missing the island green, Wysocki let fly a 70-foot hyzer that sailed majestically over the water and into the heart of the chains, sending the gallery into a frenzy. Raptor-legging and fist pumping his way through the crowd, it was a fitting end to and emotional week for the two-time PDGA world champion.

“That was awesome. I’d been struggling most of the day and I wanted to save par and come in with a decent score, and I was able to do that,” Wysocki said. “I made the long putt, the crowd went crazy and I got my raptor legs out. That’s what it’s all about. It was awesome to share that experience with everybody. I think my sister threw that putt in the basket for me — it was definitely emotional.”

McBeth, Wysocki and company will have their next opportunity for a PDGA National Tour title at the Santa Cruz Masters Cup, May 28-30.

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