Usually, throwing your drive off the number seven tee box would be a way to release frustration from a bad tee shot. But for students at Emporia State, it’s just another round at the disc golf course.
“I just started playing this year with friends. It is a lot of fun and a great game for college students,” said Colton Witte, freshman rehabilitation major. “It doesn’t cost much money to play like regular golf, and it is simple.”
With no tee times, green fees or clubhouses full of grumpy old men, disc golf can be a great alternative sport. The rules are simple – like in golf, players count “strokes” as they throw discs at the basket.
“It is an easy game to get into, and it gets us outside, instead of just playing video games all the time,” said Derrick Kendrick, freshman business administration major. “I had never played until I got to Emporia, but I am definitely taking it home with me.”
The first known game was played in Vancouver in 1926, according to the Professional Disc Golf Association. School kids began throwing tin lids at baskets – a game they called “tin lid golf.” Even though disc quality has improved, they are still fairly inexpensive, costing around $15.
Dynamic Discs, located at 912 Commercial St., opened in 2005 and caters to disc golfers.
“Most of our sales are online. We are pretty much a shipping store that happens to sell discs in the front, but we have got a lot of support from the community,” said Jeremy Rusco, owner of the store. “Most of the people that come in are high school or college kids, but we encourage people of all ages to play.”
Since Dynamic Discs opened, they have been active in the Emporia community and hosted several tournaments.
“We usually have around 100 people at our tournaments,” Rusco said. “The Glass Blowout is our biggest event (432 showed up last year). We expect even more next year, and we are hosting the Amateur World Championship and are expecting around 600 people.”
With disc golf growing in popularity, Rusco encourages everyone – young and old – to try it.
