Warm weather attracts flocks of disc golfers

PREPARE FOR TAKE OFF:
Derle Gilliam, of Cottonwood, prepares to throw his disc at the Anderson River Park Disc Golf course last Thursday afternoon.

Disc golf enthusiasts are enjoying their sport this summer at the disc golf course at the Anderson River Park.

Derle Gilliam, of Cottonwood, went disc golfing last Thursday afternoon.

He says he enjoys the activity for both the sport and the atmosphere.

"This course here is just fantastic. You go through the trees, and see some beautiful scenery and it's a perfect sport to get excercise too," Gilliam said.

Gilliam has been disc golfing for about a year.

"I thought about it for quite some time, then I discovered that this is a really nice course, and it was only 5 miles away from the house," Gilliam said.

"So I decided this was more my style than the old-fashioned golf," he said.

The disc golf course in Anderson is one of several courses throughout Shasta County. Discs are sold at most local sports stores. There is even a Shasta Disc Golf Club, which holds local tournaments that attract up to 100 people.

The object of disc golf is simple. You 'tee off' by throwing a special Frisbee from a concrete pad toward a disc golf basket. The goal of the game is to throw your disc in the basket in as few throws as possible.

Local disc golfer Gilliam said he played the sport at the Anderson River Park about twice a week last summer, and plans to do the same or more this summer. A year into the sport, Gilliam is still perfecting his technique.

Throwing a disc is a different than throwing a Frisbee, Gilliam said.

"For my research I went on the Internet on YouTube and looked at a lot of professionals. I realized the grip is a whole lot different, and it took me a while to practice that," he said.