A sport for everyone: Disc golf courses keep popping up at area parks

With summer's sticky heat behind us -- for the most part -- many are now itching for an excuse to get outside for some crisp autumn air. With courses popping up around the area, disc golf is becoming a more popular way to do just that.

Disc golf, similar to traditional golf but played with small flying discs, owes its popularity largely to its accessibility. Penny Williams, recreation division manager for the Cape Girardeau Parks and Recreation Department, says the sport is for anyone at any time.

"It's not, you know, so structured," she says. "It's more about getting a couple of your friends together and go play."

In that way, it's more of a hobby than a sport, and many of the people out throwing discs on a given afternoon are looking less to win than to unwind.

Scott Fornkohl scores a birdie Saturday, April 23, 2016 on the par-3, eighth hole of the new disc-golf course at Litz Park in Jackson.Fred Lynch

That's what disc golfers Raleigh Davis and Trevor Sumpter said they were doing one sunny Thursday afternoon in Cape Girardeau's Capaha Park.

"We play about a couple times a week usually," Davis said. "It's just a fun game to play."

He said he's been playing for several years at a variety of different spots.

"I've played down in Florida when I was there for a summer," he said. "But whenever this course opened was when I really started playing."

The courses in Florida were a bit plusher than the public park, he said, more golf than disc, but the Capaha course feels like home, being only a short walk from the Southeast Missouri State University campus.

"This is the one that we keep coming back to," Davis said, even though there are courses in Cape Girardeau County Park and Litz Park in Jackson as well.

Headline Bold:Signage along a walking path at Litz Park reminds visitors of the disc-golf course as seen Saturday, April 23, 2016, in Jackson.

Sumpter, on the other hand, had just picked up the sport.

"I've been playing about a week and a half," he said. "I typically just play with him or with a few friends. It's just a stress reliever for me."

He said although it looks simple, there's some skill involved for those who want to get really good.

"There is a kind of a learning curve to it," Sumpter said. "Learning how to drive, for example, if I want to learn how to be not so crappy."

"He picked it up pretty fast, though," Davis said. "You can get just about as competitive as you want with it."

Scott Fornkohl throws an approach shot Saturday, April 23, 2016 on the new disc-golf course at Litz Park in Jackson.Fred Lynch

Williams and her Parks and Rec colleague Jen Rose say disc golf has even been added to the list of competitions included in the annual Parks and Rec Corporate Games. But for the most part, Rose says, people connect on social media and meet up to play.

That means the best way to get into disc golf in the area is to get outside and try it.

In Southeast Missouri, disc golf courses also can be found at Scott City Park in Scott City; Bacon Park and Hendrickson Park in Poplar Bluff; Bloomfield City Park in Bloomfield; Engler Park in Farmington; Columbia Park in Park Hills; Pere Marquette Park in Ste. Genevieve; and Perryville City Park in Perryville. Across the Mississippi River, disc golf courses are at Hickory Ridge in Carbondale, Illinois, and on the campus of Southern Illinois University in Carbondale.