The sport of disc golf is growing in West Ottawa. There are many students that have come to discover the sport the past few years. Since there are several WO students that play, the question arises: who is the best disc golfer in the school?

On Thursday, October 8 there was a school wide disc golf competition where the top players gathered to prove their dominance. There were two competitions, a distance driving challenge and a putting challenge.

In the distance challenge, the competitors got three separate throws to prove how far they could throw a disc. There were several throws that went over 350 feet, but the longest drive was roughly 415 feet by senior Jackson Klamt. The disc he used was an Innova Champion Tern, one of his favorite distance drivers.

“I had the right disc for it,” Klamt said. “Using the power and momentum in my arm and upper body, I was able to thrust the disc out of my hand at the correct angle and throw the disc very far.”

Although it was a very windy day, Klamt was able to slice the disc through the air which allowed the disc to carry and ultimately give Klamt the title of the best distance driver at West Ottawa.

The contestants in the putting challenge got two throws from a certain spot, then, if they made the throw, they would have to move 10 feet back. If they made that shot, then another 10 feet was added. Ultimately, the player that lasted the longest before missing two putts would be the putting champion of West Ottawa.

During the putt off, the players had to deal with strong winds as they tried to sink putts from various distances. All the competitors were able to make their first putt at 10 feet, but after they moved back to 20 feet, only four of them were able to make their putt. When the distance moved from 20 feet to 30 feet, only one person was able to defeat the odds and make such a difficult putt.

Senior Drew Behrendt used a Discraft Banger GT to take first place. He thrived under pressure and stepped up his game to take home the title of the putting champion of West Ottawa.

“I lined myself up with the basket, I shook off the emotions with a flick of my wrist, I pulled my momentum back and released slightly to the right of basket so the wind would gently drop my disc into the chains,” Behrendt said.

There are several courses around the Holland community that WO students visit to work on their disc golf skill. There are three local public courses scattered around the Holland area; Winstrom Park, Shore Acres Disc Golf Course, and Macatawa Greenspace.

Winstrom Park, which is located between Perry Street and 160th Avenue, is by far the easiest course around. It is a course that is not heavily wooded, and the fairways are wide and easy to navigate. There are several score-reducing holes including a hole that is less than 100 feet. Overall, Winstrom is a great place to tune up your skills that is also local.

A course that is very difficult compared to Winstrom is Shore Acres. This course is located in the Saugatuck Dunes State Park, which is off of 138th Avenue and State Park Drive. Shore Acres is well maintained and has a variety of holes ranging from long and wide open, to short and simple, and to heavily wooded and highly technical holes. This course will challenge a player of any skill level, and requires a player to minimize mistakes in order to keep a low score.

Macatawa Greenspace is a course that has the same level of difficulty as Shore Acres. The course is located in Paw Paw Park, which is in Zeeland. This course is only four years old, but has already become very popular because of the diverse holes and quality course maintenance. It does however, have four holes that border or go over water. Due to the water, and long skinny fairways, this course requires a player to concentrate on every shot. Any lapse of concentration will most likely result in a disc heading for the depths of a cold, smelly pond, and the odds of getting  the disc back are slim.

Disc golf requires a lot of practice, but is a lot of fun. Being able to throw a disc over 400 feet doesn’t come natural, it requires a player to work on his form and find the right discs. Klamt, for example, has been playing for over two years, working hard every time he play to get his form on point. “I was really shocked when Jackson was able to throw his disc that far, I’ve been playing with Jackson a lot, and this is the farthest I have ever seen him throw. He usually has a strong putting game, but he never has been able to get a lot of distance on his drives; he really stepped up his driving game for the competition and was able to whip the disc farther than anybody else,” Soph. Danny Deforest said. Disc golf is a simple sport that almost anybody can get the hang of. If you ever need something to do, go and play a game of disc golf at one of our local courses and challenge your friends to a game.