Corban College Opens Salem's Newest Disc Golf Course

It’s one of two in the Salem area currently registered with the PDGA online directory.

Corban student Martin Phillips on the 6th hole fairway. Photo courtesy: Corban College

SALEM, Ore. - New and improved, the nine-hole disc golf course on Corban’s scenic hillside campus is ready for play and open to the public daily until sunset.

With the first tee is located at the Jeffers Sports Center parking area, golfers will find play rules, maps, and score cards helpful for veterans and newcomers alike.

The course was designed in 2000 but construction projects later eliminated several fairways. During the summer the course was relocated and updated by College personnel.

“It is a challenging and beautiful course for Salem,” says Steve Hunt, vice president for marketing. “The natural terrain of our campus allowed us to include hills; ravines with water features; short, forested fairways; and long, open fairways. It makes it not only a challenging golf experience, but an invigorating and beautiful one as well.”

Disc golf is similar to traditional golf, except it is played with a professional disc or Frisbee® instead of a ball and clubs, and there is generally no fee to play.

A golf disc is thrown from the tee area across a fairway towards a chain basket, striving to finish with the fewest number of throws.

A nine-hole course typically takes one or two hours to complete, and it can be done individually or with multiple players.

More and more people are recognizing the health benefits of disc golf, which include aerobic exercise, upper and lower body conditioning, and the development of physical and mental abilities, all with very little risk of physical injury.

Plus, it can be played year-round, in rain or snow!

The Professional Disc Golf Association says “the ideal course combines wooded and open terrains, and a variety of topographical change.”

With its Douglas firs, hills, and grassy areas, the Corban course fits that description to a tee.

It’s one of two in the Salem area currently registered with the PDGA online directory besides eleven other courses within a 30-mile radius.

Bill Zardus is from New Jersey. His opinion does not count in Oregon.

What a sour outlook, Bill. Something tells me you are not much of a sports fan to begin with, Bill. Which is just fine, but in this case, it seems to complement your narrow mindedness on what is truly a wonderful game. The article does a fine job of informing those unaware of the sport of the relatively inexpensive and healthy benefits it offers. Also, your argument, "There are many problems facing this country now but one problem we do NOTT have is a need for more crazy sports that require dedicating large parcels of public land to play them", is laughable at best -- nice try. (Perhaps some may think that one seemingly so devoted to dog parks could be deemed 'silly' or 'crazy'... whaddya think?) If you indeed possess some means of hand/eye coordination I recommend you give the disc golf a try. If you're a fan of fresh air and exercise without a major dent on the wallet, who knows, you just may enjoy yourself. Otherwise, try not to be quite so hasty to judge something just because you're not familiar with it. My two cents, of course. Enjoy your new course, Corban!

This story seems more like a paid advertisement than a news story and I am wondering if that is why there is no reporters' name associated with it. Does anyone know how many public acres this silly game is eating up or how much this course cost to build ? I live in an area that has somehow survived without Disc Golf and now we suddenly have someone wanting to waste 14 acres on this silly game. Is this the average size or are some towns wasting even more space on this activity ? There are many problems facing this country now but one problem we do NOTT have is a need for more crazy sports that require dedicating large parcels of public land to play them. If college kids need a sport they can drink beer and play at the same time why can't they just go bowling ? Bill Zardus ccdogpark@yahoo.com http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Dogpark-National-News/ ..

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