PEORIA, Ill. — Disc golf has been a sport exploding in popularity in recent years, and that will be evident this weekend throughout the Peoria area.
One of the biggest tournaments of the year, the Discraft Ledgestone Insurance Open, is held in the area as professionals and amateurs travel from all over the country to play.
According to Tournament Director Nate Heinold, this year’s tournament will be the biggest ever seen.
“We have 1,975 [players] registered this year, which is the largest disc golf tournament in the history of the sport,” Heinold told The Greg and Dan Show. “The largest tournament before was about 1,600 and change.”
Heinold said the tournament uses 12 courses around the area and are constantly looking to add more.
Competitors this weekend will play at Lake Eureka Park, Wildlife Prairie Park, Northwood Park in Morton, Washington Park, Bradley Park, and others.
While disc golf may still be unknown to many, the sport continues to grow rapidly, according to Heinold.
“With the pandemic, the sport in the last year essentially doubled in size,” said Heinhold. “The number of players, through our research, more than doubled on a casual level.
“I wouldn’t even say it’s booming — it’s more than booming.”
Heinold said Peoria has made a name for itself in disc golf, as Peoria is top 10 in the world as far as quality of disc golf courses.
“We have several championship courses,” said Heinold. “We are definitely a disc golf destination — there are several big cities that don’t come close to what we have.”
The fee to spectate the event is $10 per day, with some of the money being donated to five charities.
Heinold said spectator passes can be purchased online at the tournament website or you can simply walk up and pay.
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