Not everyone in town this week has a clubhouse badge for the Augusta National Golf Club.
No worries, though.
Brian Graham, the executive director of the Professional Disc Golf Association, is extending an open invitation to one and all to visit the PDGA-managed International Disc Golf Center in Columbia County's Wildwood Park.
The facility includes a clubhouse, pro shop, Headrick Memorial Museum, Disc Golf Hall of Fame, several practice holes and two disc golf courses. A third course is expected to be finished by the end of the year.
"This is an international destination for people in our sport. We're one of the fastest growing sports in the world right now," Mr. Graham said.
The facility is the product of a public-private partnership between Columbia County and the PDGA.
The PDGA was looking for a competition complex and a means to consolidate resources to promote growth, Mr. Graham said. The county wanted to increase traffic in Wildwood Park and to boost the local economy, he said.
Mr. Graham said the PDGA will hold 15 events at the facility this year. The center also has a tournament, which is open to amateurs and professionals, on the first Saturday of every month.
The executive director said "loaner" discs are available for people who want to try the sport.
"We have a lot of traditional golfers who take up disc golf, and they're amazed at the similarity," Mr. Graham said.
The rules, terminology, etiquette and strategy in disc and "ball" golf are the same.
However, Mr. Graham said, disc golf is less expensive, less time consuming and "has a smaller learning curve" than the conventional variety.
"For the most part, it is just a fun game. It is just a great walk in the park," he said.
For more information about the facility, call (706) 261-6342.
Reach Betsy Gilliland at (706) 868-1222, ext. 113, or betsy.gilliland@augu
DID YOU KNOW?
- Wildwood Park's International Disc Golf Center, which is managed by the Professional Disc Golf Association, was christened with a Frisbee that contained the ashes of Ed Headrick, the PDGA founder and inventor of the modern Frisbee and disc golf's Pole Hole.
- Frisbees were invented by Yale University students in 1920. The students tossed tin pie plates from Frisbie Pie Company, calling out "Frisbie" to warn passersby. The spelling was changed when Wham-O Inc. began mass producing the saucers in 1957.
- There are seven disc golf courses at six locations in the Augusta area -- Pendleton King and Lake Olmstead parks in Augusta, Riverview Park and the Hippodrome in North Augusta, and Patriots and Wildwood parks in Columbia County. There is a charge of $3 for county residents or $5 for nonresidents for unlimited play at the two Wildwood Park courses.
MY AUGUSTA
For a week when guests are frequent, we asked several well-known local figures to share some of the favorite places they show. This week, watch for more stories to see what they had to say.
April 06, 2008: Janie Peel, commercial real estate broker 
April 07, 2008: Brian Graham, Professional Disc Golf Association
April 08, 2008: Terry Elam, Augusta Technical College
April 09, 2008: Scott Dean, former mayor of Harlem
April 10, 2008: Becky Shealy, Augusta Aviation
April 11, 2008: Mike Stacy, marina manager
April 12, 2008: Clay Boardman, building redeveloper
April 13, 2008: Allen Dean, U.S. Army Corps of EngineersYOUR AUGUSTA
Readers share their favorite places to take guests:
"When I am showing my out-of-town guest Augusta I always take them to the Haunted Pillar and tell them the story over drinks at the Eagles Nest where they can see all of downtown. It's such a great view." -- Miriam Shawkat
Do you have a favorite local place? Why not share it: bill.kirby@augustachronicle.com
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