Volunteers who built the Wasatch Wunder hope it leads to more courses and players in the Wasatch area. This weekend, a tournament happening there is open to the public.
The course winds along a creek, pastures and forest at Wasatch Mountain State Park. It’s the product of over 2,000 collective hours of community service in the past year.
That’s according to Scott Belchak, the course designer and leader of the community effort. He picked up the game while living in Minnesota, playing for fun at first and eventually at the competitive level.
Frisbee golf combines the rules of regular golf with aerodynamic discs thrown into goals made of metal baskets and chains.
Since moving back to Utah, Belchak says it’s been a personal mission to grow the sport in the area. With the help of about 50 people who shared that vision, the 18-hole course came together quickly last spring.
“I sent the email in February,”Belchak says, “and then six weeks later, we had a fully installed of course. I’m pretty sure it’s a world record for idea pitched to staff and having a full-fledged PDGA event at a course. It’s been a wild ride this year.”
The Professional Disc Golf Association is an international governing body for the sport, which puts on competitions and has sanctioned nearly 10,000 courses worldwide.
The course builders installed tee pads last month. Those are the platforms players stand on to throw. Now they want people to get out and enjoy it.
“You know, the more foot traffic that we get there, the less work that the volunteers have to do,” Belchak says. “There’s more people establishing trails and more people mashing down the grass that grows inside fairways.”
Scott Belchak
Wasatch Mountain State Park helped coordinate volunteers and donated materials and the baskets.
Belchak says the first hole is an example of how the course matches different ability levels. One option is to throw from a hill into a valley that requires about a 400-foot toss to start. A second, more manageable tee pad is 250 feet from the fairway.
“It’s great for everybody, whether you’ve just picked up a Frisbee and want to start off, or if you’ve been playing for years,” says Bobby Grieve, a lifelong Midway resident who plays there regularly. “It’s got a competitive level to it, but if you were just out there for your first time, you’d have more fun there than any course in Utah. It’s beautiful property, especially right now with all the leaves changing and everything. It’s just gorgeous.”
This weekend, a PDGA-sanctioned singles tournament is open to anyone who wants to play in divisions ranging from youth to recreational to pro.
The first annual WunderFall on Saturday will raise money for the course. Heber Valley businesses have made donations to help the tournament offer prizes. Belchak says the money raised will pay for signage and amenities like shady sun sails.
Every Sunday at 10:30 a.m., an open group meets to play in amateur and pro divisions. People can show up and play — no prior sign-up required.
The course starts at the Wasatch Mountain State Park golf course parking lot. For now, Grieve says the best way to follow the course is with the help of the UDisc app, which offers an interactive map. Parking costs $10 for those who don’t use a state parks pass. Otherwise, it’s free to play.
Visit the Wasatch Wunder Facebook page or search “Wasatch Wunder” on udisc.com for more information on the course and how to register for the WunderFall tournament.