Not quite golf, not quite Frisbee
Disc Golf is one of the fastest growing sports in the world.
The sport is becoming popular on campuses throughout the nation and in Illinois.
Courses have been built at Southern Illinois University, Western Illinois University and Illinois State University.
Ken Baker, director of the Student Recreation Center, said a disc golf course is in the process of being completed on campus.
Right now, there are stakes in the ground to mark the course, and Baker said he has seen students playing the stakes already.
Disc Golf has the same concept as golf, except it is played with a disc or Frisbee.
The object is for a team or individual player to throw the disc into a metal-chain basket or target and traverse a course from beginning to end in the fewest number of disc throws.
Disc golf uses many of the same rules, regulations and terminology as golf, and follows the same codes of conduct.
Baker said the course is open and free for any students to play on at anytime.
John DeGiulio, a senior education major, said he will definitely take advantage of the courses on campus.
“(Disc golf) is a free sport, it’s fun for guys and girls and it’s a good form of exercise.
Addie Isbell, Professional Disc Golf Association administrative assistant, said the sport is quickly catching on and they no longer have to explain what disc golf is.
“(At this point) people have already heard of it,” she said. “That says a lot about the growth and enjoyment of the sport.”
Baker said every year, more than 100 new courses are built and now there are more than 1,700 courses in the United States.
Many students play on campus or an open field and mark off makeshift stations to score points.
DeGiulio said he has been playing disc golf for about eight years.
He had already been playing ultimate Frisbee and golf individually and he heard about a game incorporating the two.
“I checked it out and it was a balance of precision and skill,” he said. “I enjoyed the concept, so I started playing.”
Isbell said one major difference between “ball golf” and disc golf is the two-meter rule.
“If discs get stuck in a tree or on a building two-meters high, we must add a penalty stroke,” she said.
DeGiulio said it is polite to play with four people or less.
“You want to look at it like real golf, keep good pace and you don’t want to slow anyone else’s game down,” he said.
Many people tend to lean towards disc golf rather than golf once they have played.
“It is cheaper, most courses are free to play and the costs of discs are anywhere from $7 to $20 each,” she said.
Isbell said there are no tee times and people can play a quick round on a lunch hour.
“It’s overly convenient and fun,” she said.
The PDGA was established in 1976 by the late “Steady Ed” Headrick, who started the program because people wanted an organized association in which to compete.
Headrick invented the Pole Hole, which is the target basket for the disc.
The PGDA holds more than 700 tournaments across the entire world including 11 national tour events and 13 international events.
Isbell said most disc golfers play for the love of the game and many of them are awaiting major corporate sponsors to “plump the payouts” in relation to ball golf winnings.
“A huge dream is to see the sport on ESPN and in the Olympics,” she said. “It is a fascinating spectator sport and I see that happening one day.”
The sport, when played competitively, is split into different divisions that separate skill levels and age groups.
This is one reason the game is starting to grow in popularity, Isbell said.
“It is wonderful to see a variety of ages on a course at a given time.”
Not quite golf, not quite Frisbee
Nick Smith, a sophomore forestry major at Lake Land College, plays disc golf on the newly constructed course near the intramural fields Monday afternoon. (John Bailey/The Daily Eastern News)
