It is springtime again, and MCC - Penn Valley students are looking for ways to spend time outdoors without spending a lot of money. Disc golf may be the answer.

Disc golf is a sport similar to traditional golf, but with a twist. Instead of hitting a ball with a club, a disc is thrown into a basket. The rules are akin to those of golf, with the winner being the player with the least amount of strokes (throws). Each hole has a par, or number of strokes it should take to get the disc in the basket, and courses are set up to resemble traditional eighteen-hole golf.

Disc golf owes its origin to the invention of the Frisbee. People were inclined to have competitions involving the accuracy of throwing the Frisbee, with early targets being trees, trash cans and street signs. Credit for the first disc golf basket goes to “Steady Eddie” Headrick. In 1975, Headrick patented the “Disc Pole Hole” and founded the Disc Golf Association (http://www.discgolfassoc.com).

This model is the standard target used today in modern disc golf courses. It consists of a pole with a basket attached. At the top of the pole, metal spokes with ten chains connect with the base in a parabolic fashion.

Headrick is also credited for designing the first formal disc golf course, in Pasadena, California. He has since designed over a hundred courses.

Disc golf players are very serious about their sport; leagues have formed at all skill levels. Professional players travel the world and play in competitive tournaments for money. Even Kansas City has a professional tournament, called the Kansas City Wide Open (http://www.pdga.com). Kansas City also has a local disc golf association called the Kansas City Flying Disc Club (http://www.kcfdc.org). New members are always welcome, though at a nominal cost. Entry into tournaments also requires a fee.

The Kansas City area has six disc golf courses. Of the three in Missouri, the fan favorite is Waterworks Park (located on North Oak Trafficway), which offers challenging terrain and views of the downtown skyline. The Cliff Drive course, in George E. Kessler Park, can be just as challenging. The other course in Missouri is in Swope Park.

Rosedale Park, which boasts two courses, is the most popular disc golf venue in Kansas. The course "down under" is notorious for being immersed in the forest on the side of a hill, where obstacles are frequent. The other course at Rosedale is the "upper course," which has more open expanses and fewer trees in the way.

Other Kansas disc golf courses are located in Olathe and at Wyandotte County Lake.

All you need in order to play is a disc. These can be purchased at Oklahoma Joe's at 47th and Mission Road, Disc Golf World at 18th and Locust, or online. A driver is the first disc thrown, meant to cover long distances. A midrange driver is meant for the second throw, to get you close to the pin. A putter is used when a close shot is required. Discs cost between six and twenty dollars.

The head of Penn Valley's math department, Nic LaHue, says that he has played disc golf since the beginning. "At first, we tried to land Frisbees on picnic tables," he says. "I played my first real course at K-State in the late seventies. One of my professors went out with us, and he's still playing today. He's probably sixty."

Whether professional or novice, disc golf is fun for people of all ages, skill levels, and schedules. Most parks are open when the sun comes up, and it's free to play. If you want to bring the dog or the kids, they're welcome as well.

Exercise, competition with your friends, getting outdoors, and free entertainment: disc golf has much to offer Penn Valley students.

Copyright 2007 Metropolitan Community College