FORT GORDON, Ga. (Oct. 23, 2015) - Disc golf has long since made a home in parks across the Central Savannah River Area, and as of this week, it has a home right here at Fort Gordon.
Wrapping up about 18 months of planning and execution, the Directorate of Family and Morale, Welfare and Recreation staff, Fort Gordon leadership, and a crowd of disc golf enthusiasts celebrated the opening of Double Eagle Disc Golf Course with a ribbon-cutting ceremony Monday. The course is one of the latest examples of how MWR is striving to improve quality of life for the Fort Gordon community.
"One of the things that we are trying to do is to create new opportunities, in particularly for young Soldiers and families to come out and do something that is fun, relatively inexpensive, and promotes physical fitness," said Col. Samuel G. Anderson, Fort Gordon garrison commander. "This is something that does all those things."
Following the ribbon cutting, Anderson tossed out a ceremonial first disc. Fairly new to the game himself, Anderson said he recently purchased a disc golf set that he and his family look forward to using.
James Meek, course designer, estimated the game can easily be picked up for around $20 to $30 in start-up equipment. And since the vast majority of courses do not charge to play, it's a game feasible for nearly everyone.
"It's great," Meek said. "There's not a cost to play this course, so a very modest income can come out here and have a good time."
Double Eagle Disc Golf Course is currently divided into two 9-hole courses, and there are plans to add another three 9-hole courses. Each course is unique in that they represent a branch of service. The Army and Air Force courses are completed. A Navy, Marine, and Coast Guard course will be added, for a grand total of 45 holes by completion.
Metal baskets are painted with each branch's respective colors, and a sign at each tee area includes a historical fact pertaining to a conflict or war in which the branch participated.
"As you walk along the course, it's not just telling you the distance and where the pin's at," Meek said. "As you go from hole one to hole nine, you're going to learn a little bit about that service as you go along."
It's just one of many reasons the course is drawing attention from the Professional Disc Golf Association, which endorses disc golf events around the world. Brian Graham, PDGA executive director, said he sees big potential at Fort Gordon.
"We hope we'll be able to bring large international events and use the courses out here, because they're certainly the quality of course that we're looking for," Graham said.
Capt. Alex Bridgeforth, 442nd Signal Battalion, is looking forward to possibly participating in some of those tournaments.
Bridgeforth was introduced to disc golf about one year ago while stationed at Fort Hood, Texas. In addition to being low-cost, Bridgeforth said part of the game's appeal is that it's relatively easy to learn, and it's family-friendly.
"It's a short learning curve, so depending on the course, you can get pretty good right away," he said. "And a lot of it is that it's something I can do with my family."
"I'm really excited to have this on Fort Gordon and appreciate everything that everybody did to make this a reality," Anderson said.
Double Eagle Disc Golf Course is located on Wainwright Circle, across from Freedom Park. The course is open to everyone with access to Fort Gordon.
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