“Disc golf involves the throwing of Frisbee-like discs into their targets, using the fewest attempts.”

“Calhoun and his entire family, including a daughter who competed in the 2015 world competition, all enjoy the game.”

“I’m confident that in the next 30 years when you hear someone say ‘golf,’ they’ll be talking about disc golf.” – Terry Calhoun

To an ex-high school wrestler and track-and-field superstar, it seemed like an odd sport.

“Are those barbecue grills?” Tony Mitchell wondered to himself, noticing elevated metal baskets during his first disc golf course visit in 2004.

Accepting an invitation from his best friend, Mitchell was soon schooled in the fun and competition of amateur disc golf – including the “Pole Holes” he mistook for great spots to cook a burger. Played in a manner similar to golf, typically featuring nine or 18 holes, often designed in public parks, disc golf involves the throwing of Frisbee-like discs into their targets, using the fewest attempts. While still widely unfamiliar to a majority of sports fans, the disc golf phenomenon has endured for 40 years and is gradually expanding, with its own players’ organization, the Professional Disc Golfers Association (PDGA), and world amateur and pro competitions that attract players throughout Michigan and beyond.

“I just hit the game pretty hard, from jump street,” Mitchell, 36, recalls. Barely 10 years later, the Ann Arbor resident found himself defending his world amateur champion title at the July 2015 PDGA competition in Kalamazoo, Mich.

“Really, I think it was the community I met when I started playing, that I enjoyed,” Mitchell adds.

Terry Calhoun, a former PDGA board member, who operates a pro shop at The Ponds at Lake Shore apartment complex disc golf course in Ypsilanti, is expanding his own private course into a 27-hole location between Saline, Mich. and Ann Arbor. Calhoun and his entire family, including a daughter who competed in the 2015 world competition, all enjoy the game. When Calhoun began playing in 1999 there were fewer than 1,000 courses, compared to more than 5,000 today, he says.

“I’m confident that in the next 30 years when you hear someone say ‘golf,’ they’ll be talking about disc golf,” Calhoun adds.

The relative inexpensiveness of the sport, the enjoyment of the outdoors, and the art of the decorative discs used during play are just a few aspects that add to its popularity, he says. Online communities of disc golfers frequently chat via social media, deciding on weekly locations of their next games, often enjoying friendly outings afterwards. Michigan has 40 disc golf courses within an hour’s drive from Ypsilanti, including one at Detroit’s Belle Isle.

Mitchell, who in 1997 became the first black high school runner to win citywide cross-country championships in his native Toledo, says he’s fine with trading track shoes for a disc.

“I love it,” he adds. “I’m going to die with a disc in my hand.”

Disc golf: What’s in it for you?

Disc golfers often discuss the camaraderie of their sport, but most agree that it’s a good source of exercise for beginning to advanced levels. Along with requiring torso movement, it requires walking, which can be challenging, depending on the terrain.

“The sport is pretty egalitarian, in the sense that it’s inexpensive to play, inexpensive to design, and inexpensive to set up by parks departments,” says Cliff Towne, PDGA course directory editor and head of affiliate clubs. A newcomer to the game might spend about $100, he adds.

Another attribute is that the sport can be easily adapted in public spaces, says Towne: “Disc golf is helping to transform unsafe public parks into safe havens for play.”

Editor’s Note: See this month’s GOguide listings for course information. For additional information, visit: www.pdga.com.

  Change Agents, Disc Golf, Healthy Cities, PDGA, Physical Fitness, Professional Disc Golf Association, Tony Mitchell