There are going to be lots of plastic discs flying at Nichols Park June 1.
Disc Golf United is hosting the Nichols Park Shootout, a day-long tournament that will introduce nearly 200 people to the Henryetta course.
The local course rings the lake and has already brought a number of people to town. It was the brainchild of Joshua Craig who started work on the local course 12 years ago. A series of “tone poles,” canisters that sounded off when struck by a flying disc, was first placed there. Since then, he has replaced them with bright yellow baskets.basket
Over the years, disc golf enthusiasts have been coming to Henryetta and spreading the word about the challenging 421 and nine-hole courses.
That word filtered back to Jason Schwake, who works at the mobile promotions department for Innova. “I have a real good friend in Tulsa who has been driving down and playing the course a number of times. He told me about it and thought it would be a perfect sport for a tournament.”
The tournament is open to all ages with 16 different divisions of competition available. All told, there are 144 spots available and Schwake said he hopes to fill them up.
“I have heard nothing but good things about the park and want to expose it to a lot of people,” he added.
Schwake said he is running a similar event in Duncan that has drawn over 200 competitors.
“This can be a big impact on Henryetta,” he said. “There will be people coming to town who will be buying food, gas, eating out and spending money. In a town this size, that is big.”
disc golfDisc golf is much like the well-known golf game except players use plastic discs thrown at the targets, or holes. The person getting their disc into the basket with the fewest throws wins that hole and the lowest total throws is the round winner.
The discs used are not the normal ones found in toy stores. Innova Disc Golf produces a large line of specialty discs ranging from distance “drivers” to “putters” and everything in between. Those discs can be found in hobby stores as well as sporting goods specialty stores nationwide.
The slots for the tournament range from professionals to amateur and Schwake said all are welcome to participate.
More information about the Nichols Park Shootout can be found at the DGU web page HERE. Online entry forms can be filled out HERE.

 

 

RELATED:

Disc golf popularity increases at Nichols Park

Disc golf course getting upgrade

New baskets ready for disc golf play