Fort Rucker hosts disc golf tournament

By Jeremy Henderson, Army Flier Staff WriterMay 22, 2015

Fort Rucker hosts disc golf tournament
(Photo Credit: U.S. Army) VIEW ORIGINAL

FORT RUCKER, Ala. (May 22, 2015) -- Thirty competitors are expected to tackle the Beaver Lake course during the third annual disc golf tournament beginning at 10 a.m. May 30.

Fort Rucker's course has been a catalyst for the sports' growth locally, said Lori Ciranni, Fort Rucker sports, fitness and aquatics manager, adding that she feels camaraderie, competition, an abundance of free facilities and a short learning curve have helped that growth.

"Disc golf is easy for someone to pick up," she said. "You can go from not playing at all to being competitive within two months of playing regularly."

For that very reason, the upcoming tournament welcomes all levels of experience and offers a variety of competition levels.

The tournament is 18 holes paired randomly, followed by another 18 holes by age, group and score. Trophies will be awarded to the following age groups: juniors, ages 18 and under; advanced men, ages 19--45; amateur men and women, ages 19--45; advanced men, ages 46 and older; amateur men and women, ages 46 and older.

"Competitors can play with friends or someone experienced for the first round," Ciranni said. "The second round, you are paired with the participants you are competing against."

The cost for those who register before May 25 is $20. The cost after Monday is $25. All pre-registered competitors will receive a T-shirt. Competitors registering after Monday will receive T-shirts while supplies last.

Ciranni said the Beaver Lake course, offering more than 90 minutes of play time, presents unique challenges to competitors.

"The lake is a tough hole," she said. "It is the decision hole. You can try to throw over the lake or go around and have one extra throw. The distance of some of the holes is also challenging. Playing in the woods makes it very challenging."

Disc golf is played much like traditional golf, but instead of using a ball and clubs, players use a flying disc. Whether a person is a novice or professional, it is easy to develop proficiency on the course, Ciranni said.

The course, located at Beaver Lake, is an 18-hole, 55-par course that follows the Beaver Lake trail, for the most part. It offers varying levels of difficulty with very basic holes with no hazards or trees to more advanced holes with water traps and obstacles.

The rules of disc golf are much like the game of ball golf in that the goal is to use as few strokes as possible to throw a disc from a designated spot into a basket.

Disc golf has been around for quite some time, but was formalized in the 1970s, and began to gain most of its popularity in the 1990s and early 2000s among the college crowd. According to the Professional Disc Golf Association, which has more than 50,000 members, there are more than 4,000 courses around the world.

Among the draws of disc golf are that it is a non-contact sport that is open to all ages; playing an entire round of disc golf, 18 holes, takes anywhere from 45-90 minutes, depending on the amount of players; and it costs little to no money.

"Disc golf is very family oriented," Ciranni said. "Because it's outdoors, you can bring a stroller, your dog and your entire family to play. But during the tournament, we request you don't bring your dogs or kids, so as not to affect the other players," she added.

People can visit the Fort Rucker Physical Fitness Facility to check out a disc and give the sport a try. There is a $10 deposit required per disc. The course is open to the public. Disc check-out is open to authorized patrons only.

For more information, call 255-2296.

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Fort Rucker, Ala.

U.S. Army Aviation Center of Excellence