Local disc golf player takes 2nd

Competed in the SOWS

Photo Local disc golf player Ron Cole during a SOWS event in Oregon. Submitted

Cole, who has played disc golf for around five years, took part in the Pro Masters level at the Southern Oregon Winter Series.

Participants took part at events  every two weeks at locations throughout Oregon, from the Grants Pass area to Roseburg.

Cole was pleased to have fared so well against some of the best players in the region after placing in the top 10 in the series the year before.

“I still feel pretty good about it,” he said. “I’ve been playing

(disc golf) practically every day.”

Cole said it helped to have played at Crescent City’s Beachfront Park, which has a challenging course and conditions like a fair amount of wind.

“It prepares you for tough conditions and courses,” he said.

The goal of the game, which was started in the 1970s, is to complete each hole in the fewest number of throws. A golf disc is thrown from a tee area to a target, which represents the hole.

As the player advances down the fairway, he or she needs to make each consecutive shot from the spot where the previous throw landed, according to the Professional Disc Golf Association webpage.

Cole has been a major proponent of disc golf in Del Norte  County and is in charge of the Wild Rivers Disc Golf Club.

He has been at the forefront in getting disc golf courses established here. This includes Beachfront Park and a beginner’s course at Joe Hamilton Elementary. Cole hopes to eventually have a course at the College of the Redwoods, Del Norte, campus.

The Beachfront course is currently 21 holes, and Cole said it  needs three more to be complete at 24.

Cole also teaches disc golf and said he has enjoyed seeing both young and old take up the sport.

Education coordinator at the Gateway Education Center, Cole said the sport has also been great to get both kids and adults more active in the community.

“It helps get people outside and away from the television,” he said.

Other locals who played in the  Southern Oregon Winter Series included Kevin Mealue, who took 15th in the advanced amateur division, and Blane Dodson.

For more information on free lessons through the Wild River Disc Golf Club, call Cole at 954-7666.