Disc Golf League Beckons for Ballwin Frolfers

Paying respect to the local course’s popularity, a city-sponsored disc golf league already is drawing residents from Ballwin, making Tuesday nights at Schroeder Park a friendly disc golf destination.

In a partnership with the River City Flyersto, the City of Manchester is hoping to add some structure to the sport locally.

“People seem to love (disc golf),” said Stephanie Hardesty, the recreation supervisor for the park. “It brings out young families, people come out after work, we have a group of older men who come out in the mornings and play pretty regularly.

“I think over the years, we just realized how popular the sport is 365 days a year. Everything seemed like a good fit. We already have a nine-hole course in place, there was no reason not to try a league.”

The league plays 18 holes with weekly prizes offered for “closest-to-pin” contests, and a season-ending barbecue bash is open to any golfer who participates over the summer. The instructional league randomly pairs frolfers each week, giving beginners the opportunity to play alongside local pros like league organizer Jim Gleason of Ballwin.  

“This was something I’ve wanted to do for years, especially recently with my kids getting older,” said Gleason, who's been walking the course for nearly a decade. “It’s a chance to organize the players at the Schroeder Park course, but at the same time try and pass on some of the rules and basic skills of the game.”

The 18-year old course is a hidden treasure of Manchester, an early design of  that takes advantage of elevation changes, scattered trees and heavy forest. Its central location has brought in heavy amounts of traffic over the years and the city recently responded with some healthy upgrades. Schroeder Park now features concrete tee pads at each hole, and several holes have been adjusted to take use of more park space.

“Schroeder Park is a great beginner course, nothing too long or intimidating – no 500 foot holes,” Gleason said. “It’s geared perfectly toward beginning players and a great course for young kids, just because of how short it is.

“But as someone who has played that course hundreds of times, I can go out there one day and shoot three or four under par, and the next day shoot three or four over par. You still have to be able to make your shots and use your skills. Yeah, it’s mostly shorter shots, but they are just as important as the long ones are.”

The league is $5 per week, with $2 split between park improvements and the finals barbecue, and $3 paid out to the top teams for the night. An optional $1 will get you into the rolling ace pool for the evening (did anyone mention the short holes at Schroeder?), and prizes include passes to the park’s pool facility next door.

“We didn’t want to make this anything that was much of a commitment, we just wanted people to see they could come out one day at a time and have some fun,” Gleason said. “We have a couple fairly advanced-slash-professional players out there every week, and we’re more than willing to pass on the knowledge and skill we’ve learned over the years. It’s casual, and only $5 to come out and have fun, meet some local neighbors and just enjoy the game.”

The new 2011 Schroeder Park Summer League runs every Tuesday night through Aug. 9, meeting at the first-tee pavilion at 5 p.m. with tee off at 5:30.