Fore! Frisbees used in disc golf

The city of Yuma has completed a disc golf course at the West Wetlands Park, and the public is invited to come and check it out the new recreation opportunity.

Disc golf, which is also known as Frisbee golf, uses a flying disc that players try to throw into a basket or target.

Isaac Russell, who helped the city design and test the new course, said anyone who can throw a Frisbee can play disc golf.

"It won't be as frustrating as it would to go swing a club for the first time playing traditional golf. You can play it immediately," Russell said. "You can play with 10 people or even just by yourself. Go play. It is a lot of fun!"

The object of the game is to traverse a course from beginning to end in the fewest number of throws of the disc.

"Disc golf is like golf but is played with Frisbee-like throwing discs. The discs are slightly smaller than a traditional Frisbee used at the beach. There are different sizes and weights depending on conditions. This is a formal sport with codified regulations and rules.

"The weighted Frisbees can be bought at any sports store, but you don't have to have an officially sanctioned disc to play at the city course. You can use any old Frisbee."

The first disc golf course was built in Pasadena, Calif., and the Professional Disc Golf Association, which now officiates the standard rules for the sport, was created in 1975. Today there are more that 2,500 courses in the U.S. and nearly 3,000 globally.

According to city of Yuma Parks and Recreation, the nine-hole course is 2,425 square feet and may be expanded to 27 holes in the future. Parks and recreation leaders said they used recycled composite materials and scrap lumber from the Stewart Vincent Wolfe Memorial Playground to build the course, which cost about $3,000 to complete.

City of Yuma officials said it only takes about half an hour to play all nine holes, and that it is a fun and quick way to get exercise.

The rules for the game, a printable scorecard and a map of the course are available on the city Web site, www.YumaAZ.gov.

Russell, who is the vice chair of the city of Yuma Arts and Culture Commission, was appointed by the city council to develop the course.

"I got a phone call from parks and recreation and they said they had the equipment and space at West Wetlands for a course," Russell said.

"They had aerial photos to plot a course and I drew up a nine-hole course. Something unique to disc golf is incorporating trees or fountains, and the player must throw their disc on a particular side of them as they go down the course towards the basket. That makes it more challenging and tightens up the course."

Russell said that after some modifications, the new course is extremely fun.

"It was pretty cool. We went and checked it out and played it with the guys from parks and recreation. We made little tweaks here and there. We used portable baskets at first and made a few changes before they put the real stuff in. It's fun because it's challenging."