TUSCALOOSA | What do you get when you cross the precision of golf with the aerodynamics of Frisbee?
It?s Tuscaloosa?s latest recreational craze, disc golf.
?Someone described it best in saying it?s got all the pains and anxiety of golf just with a disc,? said Christopher Pereira, a founding member of the Tuscaloosa Disc Golf Club. ?If you like disc sports and the way that they fly, it?s just like ball golf. You?ve got drivers, putters. You can actually play professionally and make money. It?s a great sport.?
On April 13-14, disc golf moves to the forefront of fun activities in town when the Tuscaloosa Classic is held at two local disc golf courses, Bowers Park and Palmore Park. The event, sponsored by the Tuscaloosa County Park and Recreation Authority and the Tuscaloosa Tourism and Sports Commission, is a Professional Disc Golf Association B-Tier event and a Southern Nationals qualifier. The purse is at least $1,500.
Disc golf is an offshoot of traditional golf with obvious exceptions. Instead of balls, players us discs, which are basically plastic mini-Frisbees. The reusable discs, less than $10 a pack, are the only equipment needed. A good throwing arm replaces clubs. The targets, the 18 holes, are all above ground, most in the form of steel baskets with chains hanging down, similar to a basketball net. The objective is to get the disc in the hole in the fewest attempts. The first toss is from a tee area, which has different distances for levels of skill. Play resumes, like golf, at the spot where the disc landed, and pin positions are often changed.
Tuscaloosa?s Disc Golf Club, with 30-40 active members, was established in 2003, the same year Bowers Park established its course. The University of Alabama also has a club team. Palmore Park?s course recently opened on the West End. Both courses are free.
?It?s grown exponentially in Tuscaloosa,? said Pereira, 43, who helped design the local courses and said Bowers? course is the most challenging in the state, while Palmore is perfect for beginners. ?The college scene has really grown big. It used to be you?d see a few people out here and there, now you get out on the weekend and you?ve got all kinds, college kids, families. I?d say the number of folks playing has gone from next to nothing to a few hundred in the last couple of years.?
Tuscaloosa Classic participants can email Tuscaloosaclassic@gmail.com for registration information. Entry fees are $95 for the open men?s division, $75 for open masters, $70 for open women, $65 for advanced and advanced masters, $55 for intermediate, $45 for recreational, $45 for novice and $40 for amateur women. An additional $10 is charged for non-PDGA members.
On-site registration is from 7:45-8:45 a.m. The first round begins at 9:30 a.m., and the second at 1:30 p.m. April 13 at Bowers Park. April 14?s third round takes place at Palmore Park beginning at 9:30 a.m. No admission is charged for spectators.
Source: http://hotbransontickets.com/2013/03/07/tuscaloosa-classic-disc-golf-tournament-coming-april-13-14/
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