What is disc golf? Well, just as it sounds, it is a game of golf that uses discs instead of golf balls. The rules are simple and align with the rules you would find in a normal golf game. For those that don’t play golf I will give you a quick breakdown. The golfer lines up at the tee marker, which is sometimes a cement rectangle and sometimes a marked area in the dirt, and launches their first throw. This throw is called a drive. The golfer then walks to the spot where their disc lies and throws from the spot where their first throw landed. The golfer continues this process until they throw their disc into a basket, or chains. The basket is just as it sounds; a metal pole with a half-spherical basket attached at about mid-height. Chains are then attached to a ring on the top of the pole and drawn down into the basket. That way, a disc that is thrown at the chains will hit and fall into the basket. This is how you score. Like golf, the player with the lowest score is the winner. While there are more rules inside of this framework, that is the basis of playing disc golf.
How is disc golf relevant to our area? Well, the disc golf course was shut down along with the Old Dominion park. The baskets were removed and placed along a newly designed disc golf course that stretches along the east and south side of the Community Center Park. This course is brand new and still needs a lot of work. The walking paths are a bit rough and signage is yet to be posted. However, if you would like to go play, or walk, the course you can use a phone app called UDisc. This app allows you to access a map that will walk you to the tees, and to the baskets, for each hole. This new course is called ‘Ice House,’ named after the canyon in which it is located.
Disc golf has long had a do-it-yourself spirit. Many courses around the country were built and are maintained by the very people who use the course to play disc golf. This is the same spirit, and idea, that needs to be implemented in Globe’s Ice House disc golf course. The City of Globe was gracious in providing land for the course and using Public Works to plant the baskets and mark the tees. Now it is up to the community to turn this course from rugged terrain to a destination disc golf course in Arizona.
One only needs to look to our northern neighbors, Show Low and Pinetop-Lakeside, for the blueprint on how to do this successfully. Because of their volunteer efforts they have brought their courses to a level of play that is creating its own piece of the economy - from stores selling disc golf supplies to restaurants and lodging offering discount specials to disc golfers. Not to mention the biggest economic boost of them all, official tournaments that can last up to three days.
Let’s not get too sidetracked by the money that a great course could bring in. The bottom line is that most of the disc golfers on the course will be local, and those traveling in from neighboring cities such as Phoenix and Tucson. Disc golf is a fun game that brings together friends and family. It is a way to get out of the house and exercise, while having a good time with those you love to be around. The use of this new golf course has the potential to change an unused area into a people’s park with multiple uses.
The Ice House disc golf course is an opportunity to expand the Community Center, helping it to become an amazing city park. As the course is played and worked, it will open up walking trails for all to enjoy. If you live in Globe, and have not walked through Pinal Creek from Hagen to Jesse Hayes Road, I highly recommend you explore the area, because it is beautiful. As always, please be mindful of flash floods and the effects of heavy rain in the area. This area is open to dog walkers, runners, hikers and others who wish to enjoy the shade of a tall cottonwood tree. If you would like to help efforts in creating this park, please contact stephenpalmer84@yahoo.com.
