Springdale Elementary School Gets Disc Golf Course, Community Members Can Also Use The Course

Springdale Course Is Also Open For Public Use...

STAFF PHOTO JASON IVESTER Machiah Pearson, 9, a Harp Elementary School fourth-grader, tosses a disc toward the first basket Thursday on the new disc golf course in Springdale.
STAFF PHOTO JASON IVESTER Machiah Pearson, 9, a Harp Elementary School fourth-grader, tosses a disc toward the first basket Thursday on the new disc golf course in Springdale.

SPRINGDALE -- Residents have another option for outdoor activities because of a new disc golf course at Harp Elementary School.

Nine metal baskets, installed at the beginning of March, are positioned on the grass along the north side of the school, said Laura Wood, special education teacher. Her students led fundraisers during four weeks in the fall and raised about $2,200. Cox Communications also donated about $2,200.

At A Glance

How Disc Golf Is Played

• Disc golf is played like golf but with a flying disc instead of a ball and clubs.

• The sport is usually played with an elevated metal basket as the goal.

• The point is to get the disc into the metal basket with the fewest number of throws.

• Trees and shrubs on a course can be used as obstacles.

Source: pdga.com

By The Numbers

Disc Golf

• 90 percent: Courses in public parks.

• 90 percent: Players who are men in college to their mid-30s.

• 5 percent: Pplayers who are women.

• 1 Percent: Players who are children.

Source: Professional Disc Golf Association

While the course will be used by students during school hours, it's also is available for public use, said Allison Strange, principal.

Six students ran around on the grass Thursday, throwing and chasing flying discs. Wood, attempting to show the students how she throws, threw a disc over the fence and onto the neighbor's property. Wood said the discs have the school logo on them so neighbors can easily return them.

The course also will be used for physical education classes, Strange said.

"This is about physical health, well-being and keeping those kids moving," she said.

Playing disc golf teaches children physical skills such as balance, coordination and body placement, said Steve Lambert, youth and education committee chairman for the Professional Disc Golf Association. The sport also can be incorporated into science lessons through basic physics concepts such as the forces of flight, lift and rotation.

"It is an education opportunity for aerodynamics with kids," he said.

Participating in the sport also teaches children about perseverance, focus and honesty, Lambert said.

"Disc golf teaches character to kids," he said.

Colby Martz, a Harp third-grader , said he never played disc golf before the course was installed. He said he wants to keep playing the sport and wants to learn how to throw the disc farther.

"It's fun, and it gives us some energy," he said.

The Harp course is the first school-based course in Springdale. Officials from the Fayetteville Disc Golf Association helped with installation, said Ray Moore, association president. Other courses the association helped install are at Vandergriff Elementary School, Owl Creek School, Holcomb Elementary School and Holt Middle School in Fayetteville.

"We do anything for the kids," he said.

Moore said he will be going back to Harp soon to teach students about basic form. He also wants to hold a workshop with teachers from the schools to teach them more about the sport.

NW News on 03/22/2014

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