FAIRMONT - Kyle Pinkman of St. Cloud had a great Saturday morning at the Cedar Creek Open disc golf tournament in Fairmont.
The 28-year-old professional tossed a 42, a course record for Cedar Creek West, and had a four-shot lead going into the afternoon. But that was all just icing on the cake.
"I like the camaraderie," he said. "I travel all over to play and you recognize the same people. It's like a big family. You just have a lot of fun and play some disc golf."
Pinkman has been coming to Fairmont to the open for several years, saying the tournament is well run by tournament director Trevor Boehne. He also noted Fairmont's hospitality, with numerous sponsors contributing to the event's success.
"That's what the sport needs," he said.
Des Moines pro Ernie Westmark said he and other players typically find out about tournaments like Fairmont's online. The local event is sanctioned by the Professional Disc Golf Association. Westmark said a three-hour drive to Fairmont is manageable, and the tournament offers a nice prize pool, with first place worth $1,000.
"I like the competition," Westmark noted.
Jon Riggs of Fairmont is generally considered the driving force behind the disc golf courses in Fairmont. The first was built in 1996, the second in 2006. Riggs says that when the first one was put in, there were about 2,000 courses nationwide. In the ensuing 10 years, that number has tripled.
The East course in Fairmont was built first. It has a more recreational feel, Riggs said, while the West course is more challenging. During the Cedar Creek Open, disc golfers play both courses.
Riggs says the tourney brings 80 to 90 golfers to town every summer. They play for two days, staying overnight and spending some money locally. Riggs believes Fairmont has the only publicly owned two-course facility in the state, giving Fairmont an opportunity to host the event while other cities cannot.
Riggs noted the contributions of sponsors to the tournament. He said the Fairmont Area Chamber of Commerce Festival and Events committee gave a $1,500 grant to the tournament. Other major sponsors included McDonald's, Jake's Pizza, Godfather's, Tami's on the Avenue, El Agave and Torgerson Properties.
While it costs from $35 to $70 to enter the Cedar Creek Open, it normally costs nothing to go out and enjoy disc golf in Fairmont. Riggs said a disc is $8 to $15, and that's the only start-up cost, making disc golf a lot simpler (and a lot less costly) to enjoy than standard golf.
"It's an alternative sport," Riggs says. "It's for those without a lot of money to invest in an organized sport. It's for kids with no money, and for old fogies like me too."
Disc golf today has a wide cultural base, but has its roots in the counterculture, with many people getting their start playing Frisbee, perhaps in college. That's exactly how Pinkman got his start, saying he found a disc one day and gave it a toss.
"I just found the knack and fell in love with the sport," he said.