By Bonita Wilborn
Located at Fyffe UFO Park, 398 Grave St, Fyffe, AL 35971, is the Town’s newest sporting course called Disc Golf. It’s the first of its kind for DeKalb County.
Jake Harris, a Fyffe resident, and some friends began playing Disc Golf casually for several years, however, when COVID shut the world down, Disc Golf was an outside activity that could be done despite the quarantine and social distancing regulations, and the best part about it is that it is free to play.
Jake stated, “When COVID hit, I began playing more competitively and just fell in love with the sport.”
Jake and his friends had to drive as far as Guntersville and Huntsville to find a Disc Golf course to play on since there were none in this area. So, at a Town Council meeting, Jake discussed with Mayor Paul Cagle and the Fyffe Town Council members the possibility of converting the Town’s unused soccer field into a Disc Golf course. Jake said, “They jumped on the opportunity, and I was thankful for it.”
As a competitive player of Disc Golf, knowing the need for strategic measures that need to be involved in the various holes, Harris was given the go-ahead to design the course himself. He commented that some holes are simple enough for a beginner while others would likely challenge a seasoned player.
Disc golf is the perfect solution for anyone that wants to teach, share and enjoy a lifetime sport.
It’s a healthy, inexpensive, recreational activity that provides upper and lower body conditioning, aerobic exercise, and mental stimulation. Concentration skills expand by mastering shots and negotiating obstacles. Players of limited fitness levels can start slowly and gradually increase their level of play.
Disc Golf is a game in which a concave plastic disc is thrown into each of a series of metal baskets situated on an outdoor course, the object being to complete the course using the fewest possible throws.
Disc Golf is played much like golf except, instead of a ball and clubs, players use a flying disc. The sport was formalized in the 1970s and shares with golf the object of completing each hole in the fewest strokes (or, in the case of disc golf, the fewest throws).
A disc golf hole begins from a tee area and ends at a target, the most common of which is an elevated metal basket. As a player progresses down the fairway, he or she must make each consecutive throw from the spot where the previous throw landed. In group play, the farthest away player always throws first. Players should not get ahead of the away player. The trees, shrubs, and terrain changes located in and around the fairways provide challenging obstacles for the golfer. When the ‘putt’ or ‘disc’ lands in the basket, the hole is complete.
Disc Golf shares the same joys and frustrations as golf, whether it’s sinking a long putt or hitting a tree halfway down the fairway. Unlike golf, Disc Golf is usually free to play in public parks and takes about half as long to complete a round. Disc Golf is designed to be enjoyed by people of all ages, gender identities, and economic statuses, making it a great lifetime fitness activity.
The Professional Disc Golf Association (PDGA) offers divisions of play from under eight to over eighty at the annual Disc Golf World Championships. The PDGA annually presents four separate world championships: Professional, Professional Masters, Amateur, and Juniors.
It has been estimated that 8 to 12 million Americans have played Disc Golf and that over half a million play regularly. The majority of these players participate at the amateur and recreational levels. The PDGA is the governing body of disc golf and oversees both amateur events and a professional tour that sustains a growing field of full-time players. The PDGA annually sanctions over 3,500 events and has an active membership base of more than 80,000 competitive disc golfers from 47 nations around the world.
What You Will Need To Get Started
The only thing you need to play Disc Golf is a disc. That’s it! You don’t even need an established disc golf course – you can take your disc to practically any uncrowded open space and turn it into a disc golf course of your own.
More than likely, however, there is a Disc Golf course near you. With over 7,000 courses in the United States and over 10,000 worldwide, be sure to pack a disc on your next family vacation.
Discs are inexpensive, ranging from about $10 to $25 depending on the quality of the plastic and other features like custom designs and stamps. That means for under $100, a family of four can start a new activity with opportunities to play on over 10,000 courses, with most of them free. These points elevate Disc Golf beyond a frisbee game to a viable lifestyle option. Discs can be purchased from most brick-and-mortar sporting goods stores as well as a wide selection of online Disc Golf retailers.
What is the difference between Disc Golf and Frisbee?
Frisbees are designed specifically for throwing and catching, with a tall profile and rounded outer edge. Disc Golf discs are designed specifically for only throwing and not catching. Golf discs typically have a thinner profile and a sharper outer edge to increase aerodynamics and distance.
“This is the first course that has ever been in DeKalb County, and I feel like, in a sport that’s growing as fast as this is, it’s fairly monumental. The name of the course is UFO Park. We tried to get a little bit of Fyffe’s history to go with the name. We hope that neighboring cities will take notice of this, and Disc Golf will spread throughout DeKalb County.
I would like to be a part of it anyway it grows. I have additional designs already ready for some of the other towns in the area.”
Jake and some other Disc Golf enthusiasts meet at UFO Park on Thursday nights to play. So drop by to watch or for more information about Disc Golf or to talk with Jake Harris, call 256-440-0477.
Fyffe’s UFO Disc Golf Course has been open for approximately two weeks and has already drawn players from surrounding counties. So go out and enjoy a round of Disc Golf today.