A group of disc golfers at the Almira Township Park disc golf course in Lake Ann. “J.P.” (back row, far right) works at Tilley’s Party Store & Disc Golf in Traverse City.
Story and photos by Stewart A. McFerran
Golf and tennis have been played for hundreds of years, but their descendants disc golf and pickle ball are decades young. These two newer sports appeal to groups other than golfers and tennis players. Equipment and rules for pickleball and disc golf are evolving as they become more widespread. Pickleball and disc golf tournaments are being organized across the U.S. These events attract enthusiastic new players and elevate the play.
Disc golf
A Frisbee is a soft plastic disc we toss across our yard to each other, watching it fly and almost float through the air before easily catching it. No one catches a sharp-edged disc golf “driving” disc. These hard, plastic discs are thrown toward a distant target and land on the ground. The disc golfer picks up the disc from the ground and throws again from that “lie.” That is how disc golfers proceed through a disc golf course, until the disc reaches the “hole,” a pole with a basket and hanging chains to stop the disc’s flight.
Innovation is a key driver for the players and developers of disc golf. There are many types of discs used on a disc golf course. Just as golfers have different clubs, disc golfers have an assortment of discs used for different purposes. Some are for long-distance “drives,” and some are thrown a short distance for a “putt.” Clever manufacturers have made discs that break right and others that break left, passing around bushes on the disc golf course.
Marc Hamlin, of Tilley’s Party Store & Disc Golf in Traverse City, told me not to try and catch a disc golf disc, warning, “It could tear up your hand.”
Hamlin explained that “the throwing motion seems the same, but it’s a lot different. I have a hard time throwing the regular catch Frisbees now, because I am used to throwing those (disc golf discs) really hard.”
As he gave me a tour of the disc room, Hamlin remarked that Tilley’s ⸺ a long-time beer, wine and spirits stop along Randolph Street ⸺ began selling discs in 1999.
“There’s everything from putters, these are made to go slow but straight, all the way up to your high-speed drivers, here,” he said, stopping and pointing to the various discs. He explained that drivers have a sharper edge and are made to fly faster and further (from 200 feet to a touring pro’s throw of 600 feet) through wind.
The Armory Youth Project in Manistee began a disc golf program in September, adding to its afterschool programs for teens. Tom Oele, who recently came on board, will lead participants through the new disc golf course. Erryn Moore, assistant at the armory, said that establishing the course has been a long process and a big project.
“We’ve had local businesses sponsoring holes and many other very generous donors,” Moore said.
Kayleen Moffitt and Tyler Martinsen are co-owners of Grip N Rip Disc Golf on U.S. Highway 10 in Ludington. They work with 50 disc golf companies and carry 37 different brands of discs in the store, which opened March 20. Moffitt, who was invited to compete this year in the state championship games held in Ludington, said there are 15 disc golf courses within 25 miles.
In fact, one of those courses, “Goliath” in Mason County Park, “is the third largest course in the world, and considered to be one of the best facilities in the country,” according to VisitLudington.com.
Moffitt shared Grip N Rip’s innovative plan for this winter.
“One of the rooms used to be an archery practice range,” she explained, “and we are going to pad up the walls in there and turn it into and indoor driving area, so people can practice in the off season.”
Greg Argyle ⸺ of Aloft Disc Golf, which arranges tournaments, leagues and championships in northern Michigan ⸺ said around 500 people competed in the state championship this year.
“There are different tiers in the sport of disc golf,” Argyle explained. “The Ludington competition was the largest B tier in the world.”
Argyle said Aloft also arranged for the installation of two new area disc golf courses.
“We’ve got a couple new ones we put in recently, one out in Kingsley called the Bears Den and one out in Interlochen that was designed by world champion Avery Jenkins that just opened this year,” Argyle said. “That is a really long, pro-style course. It’s at the Green Lake Township Park.”
Tilley’s Hamlin said most of the courses are 18 holes, though there are courses in Michigan with 24.
“On the average course, the holes are 250 feet (apart), whereas the pro courses are more like 450, maybe,” Hamlin said.
Pickleball
The pickleball court is much the same as a tennis court, but smaller, with the same kind of net. Because the play surface is smaller and the players closer, there seems to be more banter on a pickleball court than on a tennis court. Players hit a plastic ball with drilled holes that is lighter and does not fly as far, but they hit it hard with solid paddles. The competition can be just as fierce as tennis.
The Manistee Pickleball Association rents the gym at the Armory Youth Project from October until April. They set up three indoor pickleball courts where members can play during winter months.
There are two pickleball courts at Pleasant Valley Community Center in Arcadia. Jim Moomey organizes the pickleball league there.
“It’s fun,” Moomey said. “We have about 80 players now; it’s gotten pretty big. Six divisions. We range from beginners up to we’ve got some 4.5 (rated) players. 5.0 is like pro. They’ve got purses; people make a living playing pickleball now. One of the guys I play with in the Chicago area competed in the nationals in Naples, Florida.”
Avid players learn to adjust to conditions, including the seasons.
“Whenever the weather turns bad, we just go play indoors; they’ve got a gym,” Moomey said, of Arcadia’s center. He explained that a lot of the players head elsewhere in winter, which frees up the one indoor court.
“So, we go pretty much year-round,” he added.
Players I spoke to one day at Arcadia’s PVCC included: Rick Neland, Mark Simms, Mark Wilcox and Bill Walter. Walter usually plays at Crystal Lake Yacht Club, where they are resurfacing new pickleball courts.
Ludington Area Pickleball Association President John Reed said they raised $100,000 to transform three old and unused tennis courts into eight pickleball courts. The project was completed in 2015. In September, the LAPBA hosted a tournament with 290 pickleball players from Michigan, Florida, Ohio, Colorado and Kentucky.
“I couldn’t believe all the spectators standing by the fence, cheering for their players,” Reed said.
The matches began with fresh Franklin X-40 balls, even though some players prefer Onix brand balls. According to Reed, innovations in the pickleball’s solid paddles include the materials used to make them, their shapes, and their construction ⸺ some with holes in different patterns to reduce wind resistance.
Interest in disc golf and pickleball is growing, with players building new courts and courses and driving innovation. All kinds of people, of all ages, come to play. The two games and the people who play them might be different, but disc golfers and pickleball players share one thing, their enthusiasm for their sport.
To find disc golf courses in your area, visit dgcoursereview.com and click on “Browse Map.” Check out a new “kid-friendly” disc golf course called The Tinder Box in Mason County Campground. For pickleball courts near you, go to www.places2play.org and type “Michigan” in the search field for an alphabetical list sorted by city.
