Some of the best disc golfers in the world took time out of their busy day yesterday to help teach people the finer points of the game at Silver Creek Park.
The participants ranged in age from the very young to senior citizens.
The clinic was held in advance of the Silver Cup tournament being held this weekend at both Rollin Ridge in Reedsville and at Silver Creek Park.
We spoke with one of the golfers, Patrick Brown, an Austin Texas native who has won numerous tournaments around the world.
He said he and the rest of the pros love participating in these free clinics.
“Just to open the eyes to people about the sport, and get discs in the hands of kids,” he told Seehafer News. “I have taught 85-year-olds to 10-year-olds out here. It’s great exposure and a great experience for a lot of people.”
Brown has played at some of the premier disc golf courses around the world, and he said that the course at Silver Creek Park is right up there with some of the best.
Patrick Brown teaching the art of the approach.
“This championship layout is really good,” he said. “Rollin Ridge is block to block championship layouts, really good. They have had Silver Series, they have had Elite Series here too. We are trying to get it back here, it’s just a little far out destination compared to, a lot of stuff is kept in mid-America right now. Although those people are suffering, because right now Harmony Binge is 102 degrees. We are here, it’s 75 and loving it.”
We also spoke with Jim Van Lanen, a volunteer at numerous courses around the area, and he said some adjustments do get made to the course to make it a bit more challenging for the world-class athletes.
Jim also explained that having the Silver Cup in Manitowoc County is good for the community because, “it shows off our great disc golf courses, and we have some of the top players in the world showing off how you can play on some of these courses. Local players can come and see what they can actually aspire to become.”
Play actually began this morning at 8:00 a.m. at Rollin Ridge, with Saturday and Sunday’s rounds being played at Silver Creek Park.
The public is invited to come out and watch the competition, walk the course with the golfers and see the beautiful course.
You can see more pictures from the clinic below.
