The world of disc golf is ever-expanding, growing by leaps and bounds – and that trend certainly is on display at Enumclaw’s Farmer’s Park.
The treed acreage on the city’s west end has been enjoyed for generations, but only in recent years – recent months, really – has it become a destination for disc golf aficionados.
The park has an ardent spokesman in Marty Smith. He’s a retiree, a Buckley resident and a driving force behind the Plateau’s burgeoning disc golf scene. He took up the sport five years ago, now plays up to four times a week and organizes a Monday evening competition that welcomes players on a drop-in basis. As a final feather in his sporting cap, he recently organized the first officially-sanctioned tournament at Farmer’s Park.
So, Smith knows a thing or two about disc golf, explaining that he has participated in “close to 100 tournaments in the last five years.” That includes the latest Washington State Senior Games where he won the 60-65 division.
The future of the sport, he said during a recent stroll around the park, is bright indeed.
FIRST, SOME HISTORY
Farmer’s Park occupies 10 acres along state Route 164, sitting on the southwest where the highway intersects 288th Avenue Southeast.
It was a passive destination for years, generally not high on the radar of most locals. A change came in 2016 when the city endorsed a plan by the Pierce County Disc Golf Players Association to install nine “baskets” which are the landing point for each hole in a disc golf course. (It’s not actually a hole, but the game borrows much of its language from traditional golf.)
A selling point was the cost to the city: zero.
The cash investment came from the association. All the city has to do was maintain the property (mowing, picking up trash, etc.) which was already being done. And continues to be done.
After installation of the baskets, enthusiasm waned, Smith said. Folks would drop by to play informally – and for free, since it’s a city park – but there was no organized effort to promote Farmer’s Park as a worthy disc golf destination.
NOW, INTEREST HAS BEEN SPARKED
The situation at the park has changed dramatically, usage has grown and players are traveling to Enumclaw from miles around.
Weighing in the park’s favor, Smith emphasizes, is an outstanding relationship between disc golf boosters and the city of Enumclaw. City workers keep the grounds in tip-top shape, he said, to the point of clearing overgrown brush that allowed for expanded play. Smith sometimes works hand-in-hand with park employees to create an optimal setting for the sport.
Enumclaw really landed on the disc golf map last month when a two-day tournament, sanctioned by the Professional Disc Golf Association, was staged at Farmer’s Park.
Smith, who carries professional status, served as director for the tourney. He logged plenty of volunteer hours, he notes, between meeting licensing requirements and insurance demands. There were more hours spent lining up sponsors.
In the end, Smith said, the Farmer’s Park event was an unqualified success. With divisions for amateur and pro players of all ages, the scorecard eventually was filled with close to 50 entries. No one is getting rich playing local tournaments, but the No. 1 player at the local tourney pocketed $400.
On a quieter front, Smith and fellow disc golf fans show up each Monday for doubles play. A small entry fee is collected, names are drawn randomly for two-person teams and discs begin filling the air.
Those numbers are easy to count, but what about all those who simply drop by the park to play on their own?
To help with those statistics, local boosters have partnered with UDisc. The app allows players to log in, enter their rounds and chart their disc golf experiences. Information about using the app is found at the park.
AND THE NUMBERS SHOW…
Smith keeps an eye on the UDisc app, happily relating the growing popularity of Farmer’s Park. He figures about 25 percent of disc golf players record their rounds on UDisc.
The following statistics are from May:
• Players from Washington and three other states (Arkansas, Colorado and Oregon) visited the Enumclaw course. There was also a player from Canada.
• Five players traveled more than 50 miles to play Farmer’s Park, two came from 150 miles or more and two came from 300-plus miles away.
• In all, 61 players were at Farmer’s Park in May and they spent 700 hours completing 206 rounds. Of those 61 who played the course, 22 were first-time visitors.
“Farmer’s Park historically has not been a very good place (to play),” Smith wrote in an email. “But now it is a destination course with people coming in from all over the region.”
The growing numbers in Enumclaw reflect a worldwide interest in disc golf. The Professional Disc Golf Association website notes that between 8 million and 12 million Americans have played a round and perhaps 500,000 play regularly. The PDGA annually sanctions more than 3,500 events.
The organization claims a worldwide membership of 80,000 active, competitive players who hail from 47 nations around the globe.
THE FARMER’S PARK COURSE
With welcomed cooperation by the city of Enumclaw, plenty of volunteer labor and the financial backing of course sponsors, Farmer’s Park continues to draw fans.
Gone are the days when tee boxes were just dirt, replaced with 18 concrete pads. From those pads, players reach 10 baskets, as some are the destination for than one hole.
The park’s 18 holes measure 5,250 feet, “which is pretty respectable by disc golf standards,” Smith said.
The park is still just that – a public park. So it’s also home to folks who walk for the health of it, others who stroll with furry friends and some who enjoy lunch at one of the picnic tables scattered about the grounds. As a bonus, the park is sometimes visited by one of the local bald eagles who perch in the treetops and call Enumclaw home.
Like most courses, anyone can stop and play for free. “That’s the great thing about disc golf,” Smith says, highlighting accessibility for the general public.
SOME DISC GOLF BASICS
Essentially, the game mirrors traditional golf. Players try to complete a hole in as few strokes as possible. But, instead of putting a ball into a hole, players use a disc and “putt” (throw) into an elevated basket.
A beginner will likely start with three discs: a driver for long distances, a mid-range disc and a putter. There’s no rule that prohibits a players from using the same disc throughout the course, however.
The discs may look the same to the untrained eye, but they have individual characteristics.
Experienced players tinker with new and improved models. Smith, for example, routinely carries more than 20 discs in a cart he pulls around the course.
While the game was originally called “frisbee golf” (and the term “frolf” still gets tossed around) the discs are nothing like the flying plastic thrown in parks everywhere. Competitive discs are slightly smaller in circumference, are shallower in depth, have a different weight distribution and an edge design that allows it to cut more efficiently through the air.
