BLUE ROCK SPRINGS IS TRANSFORMED FOR DISC GOLFERS
Approximately 180 participants expected at inaugural event
Golfers will be flocking to Blue Rock Springs on Saturday, only instead of bringing clubs they'll be toting frisbees, or discs.
The West course at Vallejo's venue will welcome more than 180 professional and amatuer disc golfers for a tournament that will have 50 percent of its proceeds go to the Solano Sunset Rotary Club. Joining Valero and Innova, Vallejo Farms has stepped up as an Ace sponsor.
The general public is welcome to attend to see the best players play one of the fastest growing sports in the world.
“I'm super excited for the disc golf community — it's a chance to play on a beautiful course as well as spread the word on disc golf,” Napa Solano Central Labor Council Executive Director and longtime disc golfer Jon Riley said. “These kind of opportunities don't come around often. The event sold out in five days, so a lot of people are interested.”
One of the event organizers, Scott Riley, assisted in designing and opening a course on the Lake Chabot Golf Course integrating disc golf to an established ball golf course, adding to many courses popping up all over the world.
Jon Riley said that designing the course at Blue Rock Springs was different than the one constructed at Hanns Park in 2021.
“It's different any time you take the topography out of it,” Jon Riley said. “We want to stay away from the areas such as the greens and the sand traps, but other places that are deemed out of bounds in regular golf, those are places disc golfers like to go. Thankfully we are able to have a lot of our holes start off on existing golf cart paths. A couple of our elevated throw off pads are just gorgeous.”
Disc golf has been growing in Vallejo since the pandemic. In 2021 Jon Riley went before members of the Greater Vallejo Recreation District and took on questions of what it would take to get a disc golf course up and running at Hanns Park. That same week, GVRD Director Gabe Lanusse confirmed that money to build the park could come from Measure K, saying in an email to the Times-Herald that “We are thankful for Measure K because it allows us to make improvements like this to our parks for Vallejoans.”
The sport has continued to grow, with courses popping up at the Vallejo Waterfront Weekend as well as a July event in American Canyon Ruins for the Disc Ruination Pop-Up Disc Golf Tournament hosted by Beñejos Disc Golf.
“What we're seeing a lot of lately as far as growth is a lot of young people as well as female golfers,” Jon Riley said. “I've seen a 10-year-old throw a disc a country mile. I think a reason why a lot of people are continuing to learn the sport is because it doesn't take a whole lot of money to play.”
The UFO golf club will be organizing the Saturday event and volunteers from the Benejos Disc Golf Club — a combination of the Benicia, and Vallejos Hanns Park clubs, along with the Napa Club — will be ensuring a smooth transition from a traditional ball golf layout, to add 36 baskets to the 18 hole course.
The Coach Sarna League will be on hand with volunteers to help with parking, and assisting the community members that show up who want to see what all the buzz is about with disc golf.