Anyone who is curious about the new disc golf course in Jacksonville and the sport, in general, will have the chance over the next few days on the downtown square.
The Jacksonville Disc Golf initiative is hosting a fundraising tournament this Saturday on the downtown plaza, and will also have an informational booth set up at the Central Park Market tonight and the Downtown Concert tomorrow night.
Sean Meek with Jacksonville Disc Golf says he has labeled the downtown event on Saturday a putt and approach tournament and is a great way to try out disc golf. “The nice thing about the square is there are eight grass sections that encircle the central statue and the smaller ones in the center is where we’re going to start. It’s sixty feet so it’s just a little toss. It’s great for new players to start throwing short distances.
But there are still a lot of trees down there to make it interesting for the people who are more experienced.
So we’re going to start in the center and do four holes, and then when you get to the larger sections on the outside, we’re going to split one of those up into two smaller holes that are about sixty feet. Then we will have three holes that will be much longer. I think the longest I measured was about one hundred and sixty feet, which will be a very interesting hole for the given space.”
Meek says even though the downtown tournament is great for the beginner, there is still something of interest for even the most skilled player. “These holes will be challenging given the amount of trees that are down there and the path that you’ll have to take to get to the hole.
Then we have one additional hole that we’re going to put in that is really wide open and clear in that green space just on the north side of the square. They’ll have an easier run at what is called an ace pot. So if you buy into the ace pot and you make the hole in one so to speak, then you’ll get half of that pot.”
Anyone who registers by 8:00 pm tonight will receive their choice of a gift card for a drink from either the Soap Co. Coffee House or Springfield Beer Company. Everyone who plays will receive a custom-stamped disc to keep.
Practice starts at 9:00 Saturday morning with the tournament beginning at 10:00 am. A raffle for one of three gently used practice baskets will be drawn at 4:00 pm.
The cost to play is $30.00 and Meek says all proceeds are going toward setting up the new 18-hole professional-level course on an unused section of the Nichols Park Golf Course.
Meek says they will be putting and practicing both tonight at the market and tomorrow at the concert and anyone interested can purchase a disc, or donate to the course if they choose, but everyone is welcome to stop by and say hi. For more information, go to the Jacksonville IL Disc Golf page on Facebook.