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UGA Grads Help Restore Athens Disc Golf Legend
U.S. and World Champions come to play Athens, thanks to Planet Earth Designs
Five years ago, on a county-owned piece of land not normally open to the public, Athens held the last of a major disc (Frisbee) golf tournament series that ran for nearly a decade and hosted world champions. The disc golf world mourned its closure.
But thanks to a couple of University of Georgia’s School of Environmental Design graduates, Ryan Harris and Ryan Fickel of Planet Earth Designs, Athens once again welcomed disc golf champions to “The Crucible.”
“It’s a revival of a legendary course, and to have any part in it, we’re happy to help,” says Harris, who also finished 2nd in the Advanced division.
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They’re not alone in their assessment of the course. General registration for the tournament, Prodigy Disc Presents the 2014 Flying Eye Open at The Crucible, sold out in less than 3 minutes. Three-time U.S. Champion Will Schusterick and 2-time U.S. and current World Women’s Champion Catrina Allen headlined several pros who played the tournament.
“It’s one of my favorite courses of all time,” says 2009 World Masters Champion Phil Arthur, who is also a two-time Flying Eye Open winner and Prodigy Disc co-founder. “You have to play golf, literally, instead of just throwing toward a target and putting and moving on.”
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“The Crucible is one of the most challenging courses I have ever played. I would consider it a next generation disc golf course,” says Schusterick, who also lists it as a favorite course and finished 4th in Open this year (and 3rd in the 2008 tournament when he was 16 years old).
“The land is spectacular,” says Doug Porter, designer of The Crucible and tournament director. “There are at least 8 holes out there that would be the signature hole on most courses. It’s just a really special place for me and, I’ve been pleased to learn, for a lot of other people as well.”
Disc golf is considered one of the fastest-growing sports in the country. Similar to regular golf, the goal is to get a modified disc into a basket in as few throws as possible. For professional-level courses, this involves throwing discs hundreds of yards, in the open or through woods.
When tournament organizers Porter and Marilyn Estes approached Athens-Clark County Leisure Services about temporarily opening the 73-acre land to the public for the tournament’s return, county officials agreed as long as any hazardous landscape work be done by insured professionals, a stipulation that would have jeopardized the tournament’s financial feasibility. The county suggested finding a disc golf-friendly company to help.
Enter Harris and Fickel, who not only learned their landscape design skills from UGA, they learned disc golf and played it several times a week at Sandy Creek Park, a course Porter co-designed with fellow Athenian Rob McMaken. While Planet Earth Designs only does design and installation, they were more than willing to lend their tools and elbow grease to head up the local volunteers and get the course back into shape.
“The Crucible is Doug’s designed course. I consider Doug kind of my mentor. What Doug helped me learn, I helped Fickel learn (and he’s learned a lot on his own), so it feels like a big circle,” says Harris.
They welcomed the opportunity to return Athens to the disc golf world with a course that, according to Fickel, challenges the Pros “who need to be challenged more than they are” at other pro tournaments.
“It’s a course that’s catered more to the advanced and pro-level player, and they’re going have the most fun at a course like that,” says Harris. “They’re going to be with the most challenged. I was watching the footage of the Memorial out in Arizona and most of the holes are reachable and there’s wide-open sky around the objects, so they can just throw these shots they throw all the time and get the birdie. The Crucible pushes people of their skill level to really execute long, good shots to have these birdie opportunities.”
Harris and Porter co-designed the disc golf course at Alexander Park, considered the most played course in Atlanta. More recently, Planet Earth Designs designed and installed the well-received disc golf course at Little Mulberry in Dacula, GA.
In addition to tools and elbow grease, Planet Earth Designs are also donating what little free time they – and Harris is a new father – have beyond work for their other, often non-disc golf, clients.
“We’ll meet with the homeowner, walk around with them, and then go home and spend whatever time it takes to design a sufficiently cool space that’s beautiful and grow and mature nicely, and think about all the aspects we can,” says Harris. “We’ll install it and come back and install more stuff if they like.”
Their work has included classic patios with water features to even a pet memorial area. They also address basic issues like water drainage, which can impact house foundations, and clearing tree limbs, which can improve the appearance of someone’s property with a few easy cuts.
“Let’s fix what’s here - drainage, tree limbs - and then we can make it prettier or more functional,” says Harris.
Their personal investment in the work can be a drawback, however.
“The worst part is working on something and then leaving it,” says Fickel. “There are a couple of jobs in particular I loved. Then you have to leave it and somebody else gets to enjoy it.”
This month, they got to enjoy their contribution to Athens with nearly 80 other players and a gallery happy to watch.
Related stories:
Huge Disc Golf Tournament Returns, Thanks to Athens Small Businesses
Athens’ Best Kept Secret - From Athens
Gallery:
2014 Crucible Signs on the Course
Crucible Saturday afternoon - Round 2
Crucible Sunday Morning - Final Round 3
Crucible Sunday Afternoon - Awards and Such
Video:
Will Schusterick - Flying Eye Open Round 1
Will Schusterick - Flying Eye Open Round 2
