"If you can toss a disc, you can play," Kristi Woodbury, board president for Muskeg Meadows Golf Course, said of the 18-basket disc golf course set among the nine holes of traditional golf. The directional signs are the only missing piece to complete the disc golf course, which held its first tournament over the Fourth of July.
The No. 1 basket at Muskeg Meadows gets an umbrella to shield it from the rain. Disc golfers adapt for play in a rainforest.
Although the directional signs for each hole have not yet arrived, eager disc golf players are tossing their way through the 18-basket course at Muskeg Meadows.
"People are playing, it's just not well marked yet," said Kristi Woodbury, board president for Muskeg Meadows Golf Course.
After a couple of years of work, the baskets went in last fall, she said. The baskets were delayed by COVID-19.
The manufacturing plant closed down at the start of
the pandemic last March, pushing off delivery until the end of last season.
Scorecards, par designations and tee markers came into play this summer, and even without the directional signs the first disc golf tournament was held over the Fourth of July weekend, Woodbury said.
To help promote the new attraction in town, Muskeg Meadows is offering a low, introductory disc golf
price of $5 per round for members and $10 for
non-members, she said. Players can pay at the clubhouse, and discs are available for rent. The course even has custom-designed discs.
"If you can toss a disc, you can play," she said of beginners. Adding disc golf is another attraction for the course. "It's a special place for Wrangell," Woodbury said.
A golf disc is similar to a Frisbee, in that it's round and made of plastic. But it's smaller, thinner, made of denser plastic, and designed for throwing and distance, not for catching.
Each "hole" on the disc course has three tees of varying distance to the basket for beginners, intermediate and advanced players, explained Andrew Hoyt, who took first place in the July 4 tournament.
The course is wet much of the time - no surprise in a rainforest - and some disc golfers play in Xtratuf boots and ice grippers, which work the same as cleats and most everyone has a set of ice grippers at home, Hoyt said.
The plan is to have the course signs up by fall, and to let players toss their discs into the baskets - much like golfers aim their shots for the pin on the green - during the winter, paying for their rounds online, Woodbury said.
The community nonprofit that runs the golf course is looking for sponsors for the signs, asking $1,000 for each sign. For more information about sponsorships, email muskegmeadows@gmail.com.
The 18 baskets of disc golf are set up among the nine holes of the regular golf course, with many of the same etiquette rules as the older game. Let faster golfers play through; watch out for others on the course; be quiet when others are taking their shot.
By being courteous, golfers who toss a disk and those who hit a ball can play at the same time, Woodbury said.
The July 4th tournament winners were Hoyt, at one under par; Shawn Curley, even par, in second place; and Alex Lattimore, in third at four over par.
Reader Comments(0)