GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. — Disc golf is a popular sport that’s been around for many years and continues to grow, including in West Michigan.
Disc Downtown had its inaugural tournament in Grand Rapids on Sunday. The course began in a parking lot under U.S. 131, running through Grand Valley State’s Pew campus, into city streets and Ah-Nab-Awen Park.
Andrea Lange, co-founder and director of Disc Downtown, said she’s excited to show the community what the group has to offer.
“We had to develop a plastic that was safe for not only people,” said Lange. “Windows, anything and with this disc you can do anything to it, you can hit a human with this disc, and it will not hurt, it will jump right back.”
The goal for Disc Downtown is not just to have fun, but to bring as many people in the community together as possible, including first-time players.
“Our focus is to reach neighbors, schools, new people or people that have never seen disc golf, help them out,” said Lange. “We have several pro volunteers, people from all over the country to play (and help participants) in this today.”
Disc Downtown tournament participant Bret Good said he’s been playing the sport for about 22 years and he’s looking forward to trying some new ways of playing.
“We’re getting to do stuff we’d normally not get to do,” said Good. “The really soft disc, it’s cool. It’s something we never really throw with because all the putters and midranges that I use are stiff, the plastic.”
