There is nothing quite like the feeling of the wind running through your hair. Good for the hair and soul, bad for the frisbee.
It’s a bird, it’s a plane, it’s a… Frisbee? Disc golf, also known as Frisbee golf, is taking the county by storm.
“Disc golf has similar rules to golf, you get to throw one disc from a tee pad that gets you towards a basket, which is a hole,” Brown County Disc Golf board member Tyler Rohlinger said. “The object is to get the disc from the tee pad into the basket in the fewest amount of throws.”
Instead of using golf clubs and balls aiming for a hole, disc golf players use discs and aim for a basket which is a pole extending up from the ground with chains and a basket where the disc lands, according to Disc Golf Association.
The Brown County Disc Golf club has been around since 2016, but soared in popularity during the pandemic as a way for people to get outside and see other community members, while safely adhering to social distancing policies. The club was pioneered by Brown County Country Club (BC3) who transitioned their club from a traditional golf to specifically disc golf course and are now considered the top disc golf course in the state.
Rohlinger was first introduced to the sport during the pandemic by a friend as a way to get out of the house and stay active, and he has been playing ever since.
The club currently has a league with between 50 and 75 active players with over 500 people in the Brown County Disc Golf facebook group.
The league meets every Tuesday at 6 p.m. to play year round, the location alternates between Deer Run Park (1001 Deer Run Ln.) which is free and Brown County Country Club (2381 Country Club Rd.) which charges $10 per day for adults and $8 per day for kids, seniors and active military. The exact schedule can be found in the Brown County Disc Golf facebook group.
They also meet for doubles on Sundays starting at 9 a.m. at Brown County Country Club spring through fall.
The Indiana state disc golf championships are scheduled for Friday through Sunday between the two courses, Brown County Country Club and Deer Run Park. More information about scheduling and registration can be found online at www.discgolfscene.com/tournaments/Indiana_State_Championships_2024.
“It’s a completely free event (to attend),” said Rohlinger. “Learn disc golf, or learn to get better at disc golf and all that kind of stuff. We are going to try to do clinics once a quarter next year. In general, disc golf is a very easy sport to get into. A starter pack of three discs costs about $20 and you can get them at almost any sporting goods store. All you need is one disc and you can go out. They do many different types of discs that are designed to do different things, however to start all you need is one disc. There are PDGA (Professional Disc Golf Association) specific discs that are sanctioned to be used in a real game instead of just like a general frisbee, but any frisbee can be used to start. Normally people, once they’re playing, bring their own. But if you just want to start and see what it’s all about, we have plenty of discs that we can let you borrow or use or probably even have because all of us have way too many frisbees. Disc golf is one of the easiest sports to get into, it’s one of the hardest sports just like golf to get really good. But it’s one of the most welcoming communities I have ever met. If you show and say you play or want to play, I guarantee someone is going to be there that says, absolutely let’s show you how to do it, here’s a disc let’s play. It’s one of the most accepting communities for any sport that I have ever played.”
For more information about the club, reach out to Brown County Disc Golf at [email protected].
