A new disc golf course is being constructed in Hidden Valley Park in preparation for a tournament hosted by the Kings County Disc Golf Club on Saturday, Jan 28.
The construction of the course was the result of collaboration between the Kings County Disc Golf Club and the City of Hanford. Hanford’s Parks and Recreation Department donated the buckets set to be used for the course construction, while the Kings County Disc Golf Club will build the course using the donated buckets.
“Hopefully, people will enjoy it,” said Kings County Disc Golf Club President Connor Rose. “People want to see it. Maybe they’ll run into us, and if they do run into us, feel free to ask us questions. We love answering questions about disc golf.”
Members of the Kings County Disc Golf Club were at Hidden Valley Park Tuesday morning taking first steps to build the course, with vice president and treasurer of the Kings County Disc Golf Club Patrick White estimating that the buckets would be added to the course on Thursday.
Parks and Facilities Manager Levi Winebrenner said that the club had been easy to work with on past collaborations and was excited to see another way for the community to use Hanford’s parks. Winebrenner said that the Parks department is trying to support whatever efforts they can to get residents out and active in local parks.
“More people using the parks is always a good thing to me,” Winebrenner said. “The more parks are being used, the less chance negative activity has the opportunity to set in and tighten. Getting more people out using parks, getting people in green spaces and getting active is always a good thing. That’s what we build these parks for and that’s why we maintain them.”
To enter Saturday’s tournament, called the Frozen Classic because of the winter temperatures, entrants will need to bring a $10 buy-in fee, which will be used to pay winners, and canned foods.
The Kings County Disc Golf Club plans on donating the nonperishable food gathered during the event to a local charity or food bank. White said that last year’s event gathered enough food from participants to fill the bed of his pickup truck.
Rose expects the club to continue to get a lot of use from the course after the tournament ends. According to the club, the permanent baskets often catch discs better than their temporary counterparts and save players a large amount of time and effort moving heavy buckets around the park. The previous year’s tournament used temporary buckets.
“It was a lot of work,” White said. “We had to move them to all the different positions, and there’s nowhere to drive out there, so we have to walk. Now, with stationary, permanent baskets, it’ll be that much easier, that much better, less cleanup. It’s going to be good.”
Rose and White encouraged anyone interested in the club or the tournament to seek out the Kings County Disc Golf Club’s Facebook page for more information and said their club was always accepting more members.
Rose said he enjoys watching the group enjoy themselves and get excited over incredible shots. White, meanwhile, appreciates the constant pursuit of perfection in disc golf.
“When I was little, there was a quote that my mom had in the bathroom for my dad, because my dad loved ball golf,” White said. “And the quote on the bathroom wall said, ‘the game may always be the master, but it’s the few moments mastered that make it worth the play.’ And that’s why I play disc golf. You’re never going to be perfect, but it’s the few times that you are perfect that make it the whole point to come out.”
Rose recommended that any new players who are intimidated by entering a tournament could try playing in one of the club’s doubles sessions.
“Doubles is a great starting point, because then you have a partner if you’re uncomfortable and feel like you’re going to do badly,” Rose said. “We try to make it fair and pair newer people with more experienced people. You can just go out there and have some fun.”
