Rural Missouri - May 2023 - 53

Patrick, a Webster Electric Cooperative member, hits a short putt during practice. He's seen the sport grow in his community of Marshfield where
Russ designed the 18-hole public course.
alone or bring a group of friends. Joe says that the difficulty
of learning to play is akin to learning to bowl, noting,
" Minimal athletic ability is necessary and the best players
are simply the most consistent. " Should you get hooked
on the game, consider joining a league where you can get
tips from better players and learn the official rules. After
playing in a league, you might progress to tournament play
and delve deeper into the community of the sport.
Clubs are located across the country, but the Columbia
Disc Golf Club is one of the oldest and most historically
significant. The not-for-profit organization was started in
1984 by Rick Rothstein, an influential figure in the sport.
Now a Disc Golf Hall of Famer, Rick published Disc Golf
World News for 12 years. He also is responsible for establishing
the Ice Bowl which has gone on to become the
largest charity tournament event series in the sport. Since
it began in 1996, Ice Bowls have generated more than
$5.4 million for local and regional organizations, especially
those addressing food insecurity. Organizers report more
than 930,000 pounds of food have been collected for donation
from participants and sponsors.
Combining an active group of players, a proactive parks
department and convention and visitors bureau with good
timing, Columbia is on the leading edge of disc golf. Collaboration
yielded a course co-designed by the club and
the city when Indian Hills Disc Golf Course opened in
2002. Building on this remarkable success, the city went
on to raise funds and bring top disc golf architect John
Houck to Columbia to design Harmony Bends Championship
Disc Golf Course at Strawn Park. The course has
become one of the top-ranked in the world.
" To be an elite course like Harmony Bends, you have to
have a great piece of land, great design and development
and great maintenance, " John says. " Those factors combine
to create an outstanding experience for players, and
that's why players from all over the country come to enjoy
it. " He says Columbia was the first site where he had 10
innovative ideas and the city wanted to build all of them.
The course is home to the Mid-America Open Disc Golf
Pro Tour Silver Series tournament and draws enthusiastic
spectators from near and far.
Missouri's disc golf courses are growing hubs of fun
and connection. Roots of the sport not only satisfy age-old
human instincts but tap deep into the community through
individual players, local leagues and clubs, small business
tournament sponsors and municipalities building courses.
" The simplicity and longevity of the game has great
appeal, " Russ says. " We're seeing so many younger and
older players join in the game. "
For more information, contact your local disc golf club on
Facebook or visit www.udisc.com where you can discover
over 13,000 courses worldwide, keep score with friends,
track statistics and follow events. For more information on
Disc Golf Monkey visit www.discgolfmonkey.com.
Joplin is a freelance writer from Loose Creek.
MAY 2023 | RURALMISSOURI.COOP 53

http://www.udisc.com http://www.discgolfmonkey.com http://www.RURALMISSOURI.COOP

Rural Missouri - May 2023

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Rural Missouri - May 2023