The sport has become more popular in recent years, and the reasons are clear — disc golfing is simultaneously very accessible while also providing a challenge to those willing to take it farther.

“The discs are cheap, you can go out there and everyone can throw it,” Zachary Scharlemann of New Ulm said. “And it gets so enjoyable once you see the consistency and can realize how the disc works and how you can get it to follow a line. Super easy to get into, but a really high ceiling if you want to keep throwing it.”

Scharlemann is a key organizer for the Brown County Disc Club (BCDC) and has been an avid disc golfer for the past several years. Scharlemann began disc golfing casually with his brother, Johnathan, but soon discovered that there was far more the sport had to offer.

“After the first two years, and I think this is true with most people,” Scharlemann said. “The first two years you’re just kind of throwing out there with a disc, just trying to throw it as hard as you can, but eventually we figured out how the disc worked.”

Ray Perez winds up in a tee box of Land of Memories Disc Golf Course in Mankato.

Scharlemann soon found BCDC and became a regular member, golfing with the leagues as they played in the various courses in the area.

Disc golf is a fundamentally simple game — throw the disc in the hole. This means that anyone, regardless of age, gender or ability, can participate. But Scharlemann is quick to point out that the sport has layers and layers that can hook someone forever.

“It’s less about trying to chuck it as hard as you can and more about trying to get that disc to try to follow a very specific line that the whole is asking for,” he said. “You throw consistent enough and you know how they work, you can get them to do what you want. That’s really kind of the coolest thing about it. It takes a while to get to that point, but if you stick with it enough to see that, then the sport just opens up and it becomes something completely different.”

Discs, as opposed to Frisbees, are designed to twist and turn in the air before landing. Power is applied with not just the arm and the wrist, but the core and legs. This can determine how many turns and how fast the turns will be.

“Learning the difference, it can take a long time,” Scharlemann said. “But once you learn to put your whole body into it, and you see how these discs are supposed to start to fly, once you get that, then you can start to understand how all those discs have a place, because they all do different things.”

Jeremiah Perez prepares to throw a disc at Land of Memories Disc Golf Course in Mankato.

BCDC hosts several weekly events on the local courses, with doubles and singles events being common. The leagues have a low, five-dollar buy in, and members encourage anyone they meet on the courses to join them while they play.

Something that BCDC is considering doing is starting a more beginner-focused league that helps people develop their skills and love for the sport. But as it is now, the leagues split up beginners and more experienced players to keep doubles play balanced.

Scharlemann emphasized that the leagues in New Ulm are far more about the social and community aspects of disc golfing, and not so much the competitive side.

“Getting outside, having a conversation with friends as you throw the course and the love of the game is the reason we do it,” he said. “The casual vibe allows us to welcome those who are new to the sport.”

BCDC generally sees somewhere from 10 to 20 participants in its leagues and events, and Scharlemann said he has noticed more and more people playing on the courses in recent years. Scharlemann theorizes that COVID 19 introduced many people to the sport.

“It’s so fun to see more people out there,” he said. “COVID definitely is what introduced a massive amount of the population, because it was something you could go outside and do. But I think beyond that, it’s a sport that will hook you once you get to that point where you can get it to do what you want. Once you hit that point, boy I know so few people that have just not continued to play. Because there’s that high ceiling, it can be addicting.”

One such person who got hooked was Angel Munoz, a Farfax native. Munoz got started playing during the COVID pandemic and has been playing in competitive leagues in the 50 plus division, qualifying for nationals last year and just missing by a single shot this year in the qualifying round in Moorhead. Munoz said he enjoyed the game because it was both simple and challenging. He often golfs with his niece’s husband, Ray Perez, and Ray’s son, Jeremiah. Munoz introduced Ray to the sport a year ago and got Jeremiah a disc set about six months ago, and the three enjoy golfing on many of the courses in the area.

There are several disc golf courses in and around New Ulm, with three nine-hole courses in New Ulm alone.

“It’s pretty cool that we’ve got three courses in New Ulm, and they complement each other pretty well,” Scharlemann said. “Nehls [Park] is where I see most people, and those holes are really, really open and long, which is great. At MLC, they put theirs up maybe four or five years ago, that course is open to the public when they don’t have practices, and it’s a little bit shorter and more technical. A bit more of that shaping that you need to do. Then South Park is a really good combination of the two where you have some longer holes and some shorter ones where you’ve got some obstacles in the way that you have to shape around.

Also in the area are nine-hole courses in Winthrop and Madelia, as well as a new one in Sleepy Eye that still has more temporary holes and tee pads, but is being improved and worked on.

“My brother was working with the city to get that course in Allison Park,” Scharlemann said. “That one’s a great example, I think that’s a perfect course to get started on. Every hole has some sort of line that needs to be shaved, but at the same time, they’re shorter. It’s a great course to go to learn how to get the disc to do what you want it to do.”

For 18-hole courses, St. Peter offers a more wooded course at Riverside Park, while Land of Memories in Mankato recently re-opened from this summer’s flooding. Fairmont also has three 18-hole courses though the woods and offers a higher difficulty for those looking for a challenge.

“Grow the sport,” has become sort of an unofficial motto for disc golfers looking to introduce new member. Scharlemann says that anyone interested in trying it out can look to the BCDC Facebook page for ways to start.

“It’s a great place to get advice or if you have questions about it or want to meet up with one of us to talk or throw around a bit or whatever,” Scharlemann said. “It’s just an awesome community, we’re all about that … We’ve had middle schoolers all the way to 60-plus-year-olds. Some of those 60-year-olds can throw well over 300 feet too. Talk about a sport for everybody, once you figure it out, it’s a lot of fun.”

Scharlemann added that if someone is thinking of trying out disc golfing, they should just go give it a try.

“Stick with it, to the point where you are able to get the disc to do what you want,” he said. “The sport really takes off from there if you’re willing to give it the time. If you haven’t tried it, you just got to try it. It’s such an accessible, low-cost thing… Go out to a course and give it a go, have an open mind to it and don’t think that you’re not equipped for it, because it’s a really accessible sport.”