November 02, 2024

Indoor disc golf tournament open to public

The fourth annual event is hosted by SWCC Disc Golf Club.

By ALEX FELKER
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Maryl Schakel of Afton watches her disc land after her first throw toward a hole during the third-annual Southwestern Community College (SWCC) indoor disc golf game held February 2016 in the student center. Nine holes, each played twice for an 18-hole game, were set up throughout the student center. The free event, put on by the SWCC disc golf club, garnered 23 participants of all ages. (CNA file)

The Southwestern Community College (SWCC) Disc Golf Club is hosting its fourth annual indoor disc golf tournament 6:30 p.m. Thursday in the SWCC Student Center gymnasium on the college’s Creston campus.

Students, faculty, staff and all members of the public are invited to join. The tournament is free and welcomes players of all skill levels.

“Disc golf is essentially just like ball golf, but just using Frisbees,” said tournament director and SWCC Marketing Coordinator Joel Wires.

The game is played similarly to traditional ball golf, but requires players to throw a disc into a chained target to complete each “hole.”

The first 50 participants in the event will receive a free disc golf putter featuring the SWCC Disc Golf stamp. Prizes will also be awarded to the top scores.

The 18-hole event will take place on a course, complete with obstacles, that snakes throughout the gymnasium, halls, stairs and rooms of the Student Center.

“It’s significantly shorter than an outdoor course would be,” said Wires. “It’s almost like disc golf putt-putt, or mini-golf. Everybody throws, then everybody goes down and putts and it just moves along like that.”

Participants are welcome to bring their own disc sets, though Wires said there shouldn’t be any problems getting by with just a putting-disc.

The SWCC Disc Golf Club has hosted this event four times before, and hopes to host it again later this winter as it has received increased interest.

“One year we actually had some guys come and play that were playing earlier that day out at McKinley [Park], and another year it was actually snowing when we played, so you just never know,” said Wires. “But all of the people that come and play always say they have a good time. And they were asking why we didn’t do it again.”

According to Wires, set-up for the event will begin around 5 p.m. The club will be giving away discs starting around 6 p.m. on a first-come, first-serve basis. No pre-registration is required for the event.

The purpose of the SWCC Disc Golf Club is to increase awareness of the game, improve playing skills and understanding of the rules, and among other things, play disc golf.