Disc golfer ready to repair local course

It started with a birthday present.
A birthday present that Jacob Elliott quickly threw into Yahoola Creek.
“When my wife and I would come to the park and walk dogs I would see the disc golf baskets,” said Elliott. “And I would say ‘That looks like it’d be fun.’”
So last year his wife Emily, surprised him with a bag of specialized discs.
Elliott then headed straight to the first tee at Yahoola Creek Park.
“The very first throw on this hole I said ‘Oh I’ve thrown a frisbee before’ and it went straight off into the river,” he said with a grin.
Emily now has a picture of Elliott fishing that disc out of the water.
But from that first watery shot, Jacob was hooked.
The UNG software developer can often be seen playing through the 18 discs golf “holes” at Yahoola Creek Park.
“Sometimes three to four times a week,” he said. “I think the thing that really attracted me to it is it’s something you can enjoy with friends or alone and it’s super low cost.”
He’s also made plenty of disc golf buddies while on the course.
“You end up meeting a lot of people,” he said.
But during those golfing rounds Elliott came to realize that Yahoola Creek Park’s course is missing something.
Namely, three somethings.
“Of the 18 holes here they have three that don’t have baskets,” he said. “Holes 6, 12 and 8 are four-by-four posts. That’s annoying.”
Not only is it annoying, it’s holding the course back from an official Professional Disc Golf Association (PDGA) designation and the perks that could go along with it.
“Those three baskets are “$1,200 [total] but for that $1,200 you can get tournaments and leagues and all that kind of stuff,” said Elliott.
So he’s set out to do something about it.
On Saturday, October 24, Elliott will host a Par 2 tournament at the local park.
The beginner friendly event costs $30 per participant and is open to all. Entry fees include three discs and a free Prodigy Disc Golf hat. (Those interested in signing up or sponsoring a hole can visit: discgolfscene.com/tournaments/Yahoola_Creek_PAR2_Powered_by_Prodigy_2020)
“All the profits from the tournament, all the money, will be going towards hopefully buying one or two of those baskets,” said Elliott.
Meanwhile, local Tourism Director Sam McDuffie said the chamber will help promote the event.
As a former park ranger, McDuffie has seen first hand how a solid disc golf course can serve as an outdoor attraction capable of drawing out-of-towners and locals alike.
“It has the potential to attract a market that I don’t know if we’ve ever tapped into,” he said.
As the event approaches, Elliott will be writing a disc golfing blog on the chamber website as he promotes the course and hopefully attracts enough tourney participants to raise funds for the three final baskets.
Though he doesn’t plan on stopping there.
Once those missing baskets are added he’s hoping to add some concrete tee-pads to the course as well.
”You go out there on a muddy day and it’s a death trap,” he said with a laugh.
But that’s for another project.
And another tournament.
“I think that’s one of the things that so interesting about the disc golf community,” Elliott said. “There’s such a love of the sport people will do that. They’ll say 'I think my local park should have a course. I’m going to get permission from the county to go do it myself.'”
In the meantime, Elliott is hoping to see plenty of participants, and potential golfing buddies, out there in the park.
The course is open to all.
No tee times are required.
And, Elliott added, the discs are inexpensive and durable.
“If you buy a disc it’s going to last you a long time,” he said. “Unless you lose it in the river.”