Sumter Showdown disc golf tourney set for Saturday at Dillon Park course

A slightly revamped disc golf course at Dillon Park awaits competitors in this weekend's 7th annual Sumter Showdown Disc Golf Tournament.

The tournament, which is the Sumter City Disc Golf Club's opportunity to showcase its home course and introduce players from around the region to Sumter, happens on Saturday beginning at 10 a.m.

The course "has been known since its creation as a challenging course for players of all skill levels," according to club president Kelly Melton, who undertook the effort to bring a public disc golf course to Sumter in 2013. "Some of those challenges have also been barriers to new players. With the incessant flooding over the last couple of years, some of the holes on the course were nearly impossible to maintain.

"We have partnered with the County Management to bring some of those holes out of the woods and into the open, adding signage and making the course more visible and welcoming to the community while retaining many of the challenging wooded holes the course is known for," Melton said in a news release.

Melton said the county has also contracted for the installation of concrete tee pads that should be in place in time for Saturday's tournament.

Nationwide, the sport of disc golf is growing, a fact attributable to its low cost of entry, both for players, who can buy a starter pack of discs for around $20, and for parks and recreation managers because of moderate startup costs and minimal maintenance. The sport's governing organization, the Professional Disc Golf Association, reported a nearly 15% increase in its enrollment in 2017 with over 103,000 members.

Melton is excited about the future of disc golf, but also about the present.

"We would love to see a second course developed here in Sumter at Patriot Park, and have the Sumter Showdown expand into a full weekend event with multiple rounds on multiple courses," Melton said. "This year, our focus is on getting folks out to test the new Dillon Park layout and hopefully entice more local amateurs to play in their first tournament."

PULLOUT

WHAT: 7th Annual Sumter Showdown Disc Golf Tournament

WHEN: Saturday, April 20 (event starts at 10 a.m.; players should arrive at 8:30 a.m.

WHERE: Dillon Park, enter and park at North Wise Drive entrance TO REGISTER: Visit https://www.discgolfscene.com/tournaments/Sumter_Showdown_7_201

FOR MORE INFO: Check the Sumter City Disc Golf Club on Facebook or contact Hobe Scholz at hobe.scholz@gmail.com.