Wind and rain did not deter disc golfers from the final tournament of the season, nor has it discouraged them from planning for an expanded program next summer.

The Wrangell Disc Golf Club finished its fifth season with its first Fall Classic tournament Sept. 26-27.

Open to all ages and skill levels, the two-day event featured a best-ball doubles round Sept. 26, won by the father-and-son team of Dan and Jackson Powers, and a singles tournament on Sept. 27, won by Derek Ross.

Players were forced to contend with wet and windy conditions each day, making it hard to grip their plastic discs and equally hard to plant their feet for the throw as they aimed for the basket on each hole.

“Perfect. Conditions were wonderful,” Ross answered in a post-tournament interview.

Gathered under the pavilion at the clubhouse on the second day, the players peeled off wet layers as the final scores were tallied.

“I like how the discs fly through the air,” said Ross, who competed in both the doubles and singles events and who has been playing disc golf for about 10 years. “It’s pretty satisfying.” 

He was ushered to the scoreboard by Patrick McManus, Wrangell Disc Golf Club president, to stand for a photo, but Ross first stepped back to his bag to retrieve a disc. “I gotta hold up my Beast,” he said before the photo. “The Beast did it for me.”

Discs are divided into three basic categories: drivers, mid-ranges, and putt and approach. Manufacturers name their discs to market them. When Ross finally stood for the winners photo, the “Beast” he was holding is a driver produced by Innova.

“Club champion,” McManus declared, prompting Ross to declare what will come in 2027: “You boys are going down next year,” he said.

“But next year you will be the defending champion,” McManus responded.

As players packed up after the last tournament of the summer, McManus said the club is already planning for the future and wants to grow the sport in Wrangell. “A league in the summer. That’s my goal,” he said. “Play some tournaments, have a lot of fun.”

Disc golf, sometimes called “frolf” (a mashup of “Frisbee” and “golf”), began in the 1960s on college campuses around the country on informal courses with beach Frisbees and players aiming at trees or trash cans. Modern courses feature dedicated tee pads for the first toss, similar to golf, and baskets where players aim their discs, just like golfers aim for the greens and flagsticks.

Each hole on the course is assigned a par — the number of tosses a player is expected to need to reach the basket.

The 18-hole course at Muskeg Meadows ranges from the shortest at 170 feet to the par 5 longest at 600 feet. A basket-in-one is the same as a hole-in-one in golf, with a 270-foot disc toss into the basket the current record at the Wrangell course.

A lot of new players tried the sport at the start of pandemic shutdowns of indoor activities in 2020, which was the same year that baskets were installed at Muskeg Meadows after a couple years of planning work.

Discs can start around $12 and run past $30 or even $40 for high-end brands.