Posted by: Shauna Farnell
Think of it as golfing with a disc and baskets
by Kate Peters
Disc golf at the Mountain Games: they’re still kinda new here. Celebrating year three at the GoPro Mountain Games, this is one of the biggest disc golf competitions in the state. While you might see a disc whiz by on your walk through the village this weekend, it’s a tough sport to follow from start to finish, with multiple courses, rounds, and somewhat complex scoring in skills and accuracy. Here’s your 101 on Mountain Masters Disc Golf this year at the GoPro Mountain Games:
How it works
It’s like golf, but with a disc, and pole holes (complete with chain and basket). Qualifying rounds take place over two days (Friday and Saturday) before players scoring in the top 25 percent (men’s and women’s) advance to the finals on Sunday.
Every athlete plays four total stations over two days, located in Ford Park, Vail Village and Maloit Park in Minturn. Athletes play in one of four different pools and each have their own personal schedule, meaning you can catch a piece of the action all day and at every location.
The total purse for the weekend is $8,500 (big in disc golf world), with equal payouts for men and women.
Pro tips
Your best bet for spectating is going to be in Vail Village, at the corner of Gore and Bridge Streets, in front of Patagonia. This is where the skills competition goes down. It’s fast, it’s compact, and you can see just what makes multi-time world champion Des Redding one of the best in the world.
Oh, and whatever you do, don’t call it a Frisbee.
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