New course of action

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By Steven Martens | Tuesday, October 17, 2006 12:08 AM CDT | () comments

Steven Martens/QUAD-CITY TIMES Cody Block, 12, left, Clayton Block, 16, and their father, Jayce Block, of DeWitt, Iowa, demonstrate their putting skills at the new disc golf course at Lake Malone, just south of U.S. 30 east of DeWitt.

DeWITT, Iowa — Local disc golf enthusiasts now have a new place to play with the opening of a disc golf course at Lake Malone, located just south of U.S. 30 near DeWitt.

The 12-hole course is the third in Clinton County, said Mark Roberts, environmental education coordinator for the Clinton County Conservation Board.

Roberts said the disc golf course was a good use for the land.

“We had this big chunk of property that really wasn’t being used,” he said. “It’s a growing sport and a good use of land that doesn’t interrupt other uses.”

The game is played in much the same way as traditional golf, but the players throw a disc, a smaller version of a Frisbee, at a basket.

Roberts started playing disc golf about 20 years ago when he was in college and said he found it to be an inexpensive and entertaining form of outdoor activity.

Disc golf also can be enjoyed by people of all ages and levels of athletic ability, he said.

“It’s just a fun, relaxing time for folks,” he said.

The 11 baskets at the course were made by local disc golfer Jayce Block of DeWitt and originally donated for use at DeWitt’s Westbrook Park. When city officials decided to expand the Westbrook Park course to 18 holes, they purchased regulation baskets, so the baskets Block made were taken to Lake Malone.

A family who lives on the west edge of the park expressed concerns that discs may end up on their property and golfers may go onto the private property to retrieve them, Roberts said, so he altered the layout of the course to minimize the risk.

Block started playing the game about six years ago at the course in Folletts as a way to get outdoors and spend time with his three sons, now ages 18, 16 and 12.

“I just fell in love with the game,” he said.

Block said his family now makes disc golf part of their vacations, playing courses in communities they visit. He estimated that they have played 30-40 courses in four states.

Building the baskets was a winter project for him and his boys, Block said.

“It’s been a neat experience for all of us,” he said.

Block said the baskets cost him about $100 each to make, but he felt he was making a contribution to the community by encouraging participation in a sport that he says offers young people a fun alternative to surfing the Internet or watching television.

“It’s a mental sport as well as physical,” he said.

Steven Martens can be contacted at (563) 659-2595 or smartens@qctimes.com.

Q-C courses

In the Quad-Cities, there are 18-hole courses in Geneseo, Ill., Milan, Ill., Moline and Davenport, as well as DeWitt, Iowa; a 12-hole course at Devil’s Glen Park in Bettendorf and 9-hole courses in Clinton County, Rock Island and Folletts, Iowa.