Disc Golf Tournament Deemed a Success
By Will Johnson
Messenger Reporter
CROCKETT – On Saturday morning, Aug. 24 a group of people met in the Davy Crockett Memorial Park in Crockett for the Inaugural Coon Skin Classic Disc Golf Tournament and according to all participants, the event was a resounding success.
So, what is disc golf? According to the Professional Disc Golf Association “Disc golf is played much like golf. Instead of a ball and clubs, though, players use a flying disc or Frisbee®. The sport was formalized in the 1970s and shares with golf the object of completing each hole in the fewest strokes (or, in the case of disc golf, fewest throws). A golf disc is thrown from a tee area to a target, which is the ‘hole.’ The hole can be one of a number of disc golf targets; the most common is an elevated metal basket. As a player progresses down the fairway, he or she must make each consecutive throw from the spot where the previous throw landed. The trees, shrubs, and terrain changes located in and around the fairways provide challenging obstacles for the golfer. Finally, the ‘putt’ lands in the basket and the hole is completed.”
“I believe we had 25 players and we had players in five of the six categories we had. We didn’t have any youth players. We had players in the pro, advanced, intermediate, recreational and women categories,” course designer Michael Billig said after the tournament.
The best score over two rounds was posted by Julian Morales with a 17 under par on the par-55 course. The second best was tournament organizer Charlie Chung, with a 15 under, Billig said.
As in some regular golf tournaments, there is often a closest-to-the-pin (CTP) in disc golf.
“No one got an ace (hole-in-one) but James McNair from Lago Vista won the CTP. I don’t know who won second but they split the pot 70/30,” Billig explained.
“After the round,” he continued, “we all threw from the pavilion to the basket on 18 and whoever came closest won the ace pot. That’s what James won.”
“It was a great success, but we always wish for more. Everybody had a great time. They enjoyed the competition and they enjoyed the course. Half of the people were from around here and some had never played before, but the feedback – everyone liked the course. I designed it, so I shouldn’t pat myself on the back too hard,” Billig said with a laugh.
He went on to say people told him the course was very clean and the park itself was very well-maintained.
Hosted by the DG (Disc Golfers) Volunteers of Houston County, Billig indicated several of the club members are already planning for future tournaments.
“I think everyone wants to have another one next summer. It’s hot in August, but now we’ve set a precedent, so we’ll probably have another one in August. We may have it a week or two earlier because it was right before school started. Everyone seems to want to hold another tournament,” he said.
Will Johnson may be contacted via e-mail at [email protected].
