A combination of traditional golf and frisbee played in Logan for more than a decade is gaining popularity and global exposure.
Sixty-one disc golf competitors will this Sunday 10 August vie for glory in the annual Logan Open, a tournament run by the Logan City Disc Golf Club.
Rhys Kruger and Stephen McCloud have run the club for more than a decade. Mr McCloud has been involved with the Logan Open for the past two years.
“It’s the same as traditional golf except instead of using a ball and a club, we use a frisbee or disc and a basket at the target,” Mr McCloud said.
“The basket has some chains hanging down from the top to the bottom, and in the bottom there’s a bucket, so the disc has to hit the chains and fall in the bucket.”
The Logan Open will be held at a course at Alexander Clark Park, which has nine baskets and takes Mr McCloud an average of 40 minutes to play, if his plays go to plan and the disc doesn’t end up in the bushes.
The sport is typically played individually, but at the end of the year, the club holds a doubles competition, and occasionally, matches are played in teams.
“At the moment, we have 61 people registered, we could have a maximum of 72, just because you can’t put any more players on the course.
“You’re allowed four players on each basket when you’re playing a team.
“It’s just going to be everyone battling to see who’s the winner.”
There are four divisions: juniors, women’s and men’s divisions, and an open division, which is for professional players.
Every second Sunday, the club runs a league day which is designed to get new players in, to get a feel for the sport and how a tournament is played, Mr McCloud said.
Disc golf’s popularity increased during Covid lockdowns in 2020 and 2021.
After spending so much time indoors, Mr McCloud said people were eager to spend more time outdoors.
“We saw a big boom over Covid, but now we’re slowly getting more players coming in,” he said.
“About 30 people regularly attended our league days.”
Players from disc golf clubs based on the Gold Coast and Sunshine Coast also attend league days in Logan, which helps connect the communities and grow the sport.
Currently, an Australian disc golf team, the ‘Sugar Gliders’, is in Chengdu, China, competing in the World Games, which will begin on 7 August.
“It’s a sport that’s good for all ages, it’s an excuse to get out and exercise,” Mr McCloud said.
“Anyone can throw the discs; it’s a good family activity and it’s a good excuse to get out of the house.”
