Disc golfers welcome opening of new park
Posted on Sunday, March 23, 2008
BENTONVILLE — Spirits were high and discs were flying at Lake Bella Vista Saturday for the grand opening of the Lake Bella Vista Disc Golf Course.
About 100 disc golf players and park enthusiasts gathered for the opening and tournament, sponsored by the Twisted Flyer Disc Golf tournament team.
It’s the county’s first disc golf course, and the nation’s newest. The course has been added to the list of 2, 500 Professional Disc Golf Association courses across the nation.
The course came as the result of a donation from the National Golf Association, which donated a portion of proceeds from the 2007 Hooters Tour / Bentonville Open for the course. The donation came out of a promise from the organization to give a portion of its proceeds back to the community, and the project was suggested by Bentonville Convention and Visitors Bureau President Kalene Griffith.
Once the city of Bentonville was on board with the new Disc Golf course, the Parks and Recreation Department provided the many supplies put into place by volunteers throughout the winter.
Organizers anticipate the 18-hole course will host between 250 and 500 players on the weekends and after work, which will bring in tourism and shoppers.
Disc Golf is a fairly young sport really only existing professionally in the last 25 years. As “ Frisbee” throwers looked at advancing a favorite childhood game, a group began playing “ Frisbee target games” which later evolved into the Amateur and Professional sport sanctioned by the Professional Disc Golf Association.
Disc Golf welcomes all ages, and discs for the game cost between $ 7 and $ 12.
Chuck McAllister of Bentonville is a member of the Northwest Arkansas Disc Golf Association, and was one of several volunteers who worked on the course. “ I am very happy, ” he said. “ I’ve been working with the city for about two years on this; now I can come here before work every day and play. ”
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