OVER 192 competitors travelled from as far as the USA and Canada to play at the Australian Disc Golf Championships in Landsborough on November 18-20.
Sunshine Coast Disc Golf Club president Patrick Ferris started the club six years ago due to the lack of representation of the sport in the Sunshine Coast and said the hard work has been paying off.
“In the first year (2017) that we hosted the championships, we only had 47 competitors, and now we have 192 competitors,” he said.
He told GC&M News competitors had travelled across Australia and as far as New Zealand, Canada and the USA.
“Some of the most exciting competitors we had at the championships were the top 25 ranked touring professionals including Drew Gibson and world distance record holder Jennifer Allen,” he said.
“We will also have Scott Stokely, who has 17 USA and world disc golf and distance titles.”
Despite the formal championships, anyone with a frisbee is able to play.
“We had our first public nine-hole disc golf course at Meridan Downs park installed last year and was funded by the council, all you have to do is bring your frisbee and have fun,” Patrick said.
Competitors come in all shapes and sizes, with mixed, women’s, junior and masters divisions in the championships, which Patrick said is important in growing disc golf and its inclusivity.
“The demographic is primarily men aged 25 to 40, but there is a big push to get more youth involved and more female competitors as well which is something that we are always looking for,” he said.
“We had juniors competing as young as nine years old and we have seniors as old as 70, who played last weekend.”
The pro winners of the day in various divisions were Drew Gibson in the Mixed Pro under 40’s division, Jennifer Allen in the Female Pro under 40’s division and Rueben Berg in the Mixed Pro over 40’s division.