New 'disc' golf course set to fly Sport soars into popularity By Eric Widholm Leader-Telegram staff A championship golf course will open in Eau Claire next weekend. It won't play host to a U.S. Open or a Masters, and Greg Norman, Jack Nicklaus and Corey Pavin won't be playing there. The Chippewa Valley Disc Golf Association will hold an open house from noon to 4 p.m. Sunday, June 30, for the grand opening of Tower Ridge Disc Golf Course. But many local "disc" golf players like Tom Field, Larry Ader and Dave Bohlinger will be playing and giving lessons at the new Tower Ridge Disc Golf Course. The county-owned 18-hole course is at Tower Ridge cross-country ski area on Highway L about 7 miles east of Eau Claire. One of more than 500 courses in the nation and 600 worldwide, the course will be the second in the Eau Claire area, said Ader, course co-designer. "(The sport) has really taken off in the last few years," said Ader, who has been playing since the early 1980s. The other local venue is a nine-hole course at Mt. Simon Park. Wisconsin has 16 courses, with an additional five planned by the end of 1996, he added. And the price is right: It's free. Bohlinger said he knows of very few courses that charge for playing the sport. Disc golf is similar to traditional golf. There are tees, fairways, pars, a driver, a putter and rough (the woods), and each hole is marked by feet, for the equivalent of yards in golf. But there is no green. A player throws the disc toward a wire basket at the end of the hole. Bohlinger and Field, who both work for the Eau Claire County Parks and Forest Department, said disc golf is a cheap outdoor activity that can be enjoyed by the whole family. "It's another recreational activity that wasn't offered in this area years ago," Bohlinger said.

Staff photo by John Lindrud Larry Ader "putts" a disc toward hole 18 at the new Tower Ridge Disc Golf Course in Eau Claire. Watching the toss are co-founders Dave Bohlinger, left, and Tom Field. Discs can be purchased at area sports stores for about $10 to $12, Field said. "It's a very low-cost thing," Field said. Ader said it is not like throwing a Frisbeelike disc back and forth in the yard. There are several brands and types of discs, all characterized by their weight and design. Aside from the weight difference, the discs are grooved differently for flight, just as golf clubs have varying lofts. "The way you let go of the disc is the way it's going to fly," Field said. He said there are several ways to adjust your stroke, just like in golf, but it takes some practice. "You get out of it what you put into it," he said. "You really improve fast." Unlike regular golf there is no out-of-bounds in disc golf, so shots must be made from the woods, over downed trees and through long grass. "There are no lost discs in this game," Ader said. "You just look until you find it." A player counts the throws until the disc is in the basket. Ader said the course at Mt. Simon Park is more family-oriented. The Tower Ridge course will have longer par 4 and 5 holes like the 571-foot "Widowmaker," whereas Mt. Simon is all shorter par 3's. Tower Ridge also has shorter holes as well, so Ader doesn't discourage anyone from trying the new course. "If a person beginning this golf comes here. they may be discouraged," Ader said. "(Mt. Simon) is a city park; this is woods. It's a little tougher." The group also hopes the new course will be recognized next May during the "World's Biggest Disc Golf Weekend." Courses from all over the world encourage people to come out and try the sport. The course with the most people who attend wins a set of baskets for a free 9-hole course, Field said. "We've got a shot at it," he said. The course was designed and funded with money raised by Field, Ader, Bohlinger and Jeff Nelson, all members of the Chippewa Valley Disc Golf Association. Though the course is owned and maintained by the county, it took no county money to create the course. The group held a fund-raiser and also received several contributions from private individuals and companies to pay the $8,800 cost of developing the course, Ader said. "We wanted to expand disc golf without burdening the taxpayer," Bohlinger said.