Popular sport no passing fad for fans

Drive by Park Circle on any given day of the week.

Casual passers-by may notice the people milling around the grassy areas tossing several round objects through the air to some unknown destination.

They are golfers, albeit golfers of a different stripe. They are disc golfers. Many of them are members of Charleston Disc Golf Club. Over the past two years, both the game and club have grown in popularity.

Disc golf functions much like a regular game of golf out on the greens.

The object of the game is to traverse a course from beginning to end in the fewest number of throws of the disc. The target for the disc on each hole is a basket.

Every Tuesday, the Charleston Disc Golf Club meets at the park for several rounds of play. The club started with only a few players, but now the roster boasts nearly 80 members from all walks of life from around the tri-county area.

The Charleston Disc Golf Club was formed in 2002. Later that year, the city of North Charleston made upgrades to the fields surrounding Park Circle off East Montague Avenue that included baskets for the discs.

Jonas Card of James Island is president of Charleston Disc Golf and has been instrumental in promoting the organization. Many have been drawn to join the club after seeing players at Park Circle. Invariably, people stop and inquire, many eventually join and spread the word, Card said.

Disc golf is popular among the college and young professional crowd.

"Charleston is a young city," he said. "A lot of college students and young adults are moving to the area."

Card's introduction to the game came first through playing catch with Frisbees while in college. He later learned about disc golf and has been playing ever since. He is a member of the Professional Disc Golf Association.

Yes, there is such an organization.

Card plays competitively and travels extensively for games and competitions throughout the Southeast.

There are other disc golf courses in the Charleston area. The newest is West Ashley Park, a 200-acre park off Mary Ader Avenue. The others are Trophy Lakes on Johns Island, the Naval Weapons Station Charleston in Goose Creek, which is open to those who have a morale, welfare and recreation pass, and at Charleston Southern University.

Card is a fan of the Park Circle course.

"It's a fairly easy course," he said. "There are no lakes where you can lose discs or thick woods. Part of the draw is that it's a nice park."

Connor Thompson of Mount Pleasant agrees.

"Park Circle is a very beginner-oriented course," Thompson said. "For a beginner, it's a good course because it's an open field setup."

Thompson's mother, Vanessa Chambers, introduced him to disc golf several years ago on Mother's Day. Chambers is a professional disc golfer and former World Champion in 1986 and 1987. She is also a member of the Disc Golf Hall of Fame.

"It's a fun game. Most people, once they start playing, they find that," she said. "If there were more courses available, there would be more people playing."

Mother and son both agree that to be good at disc golf, as with any sport, requires a large amount of practice and mental focus.

"You have to stay mentally in the game to be able to execute those shots consistently," Chambers said.

Disc golf has been a bonding activity for Chambers and her family, who enjoy playing at Park Circle. But the jury may still be out on whether Thompson could best his mom in a round.

"Connor can throw longer distances, but I still beat him sometimes," she said.

For more information, e-mail Card at CDGC@Bellsouth.net or visit http://bellsouthpwp.net/c/h/charlestondiscgolf/.

Reach Jasiri Whipper at 937-5540 or jwhipper@postandcourier.com.