Organizer Gregg Swift demonstrates disc golf on a proposed course east of Carson City, Nev., on Wednesday, April 6, 2016.
To the casual observer, the plot of land between Rifle Road and Highway 50, just over the Carson City border into Lyon County, looks like any other Nevada desert scene. Sagebrush scattered with juniper trees under a wide, blue sky, surrounded by mountains.
But Gregg Swift sees a potential playground — made better by its native state.
“You’re in a beautiful, natural setting,” he said.
Along with a group of designers and advocates, Swift is working to create a disc golf course, where the brush, trees, rocks and sand are going to serve as ready-made obstacles.
“It’s great recreation,” he said. “One of the biggest draws is that it is very inexpensive. You just buy a couple of discs and come out and throw. It’s not like going to a golf course and having to get a tee time.”
The premise of disc golf is similar to traditional golf, attempting to complete the course in the fewest strokes — or throws — possible.
“Instead of a ball and clubs, however, players use a flying disc,” according to the Professional Disc Golf Association. “A golf disc is thrown from a tee area to a target which is the ‘hole.’ As a player progresses down the fairway, he or she must make each consecutive throw from the spot where the previous throw has landed.”
Elevated metal baskets will serve as “holes” on the new disc golf course.
Swift was an early devotee to the game, playing all over the West Coast for the past 30 years.
In 2010, he and a group of fellow players — the Eagle Valley Disc Golf Association — began a quest to create a local course.
“It’s been a long process,” he said. “We have been vetting sites, seeing what is available.”
In a land transfer deal between the Bureau of Land Management and Carson City, they were able to secure 100 acres near the depot for the Virginia and Truckee Railway.
The first phase will include a championship, 18-hole, course, along with a smaller 9-hole course. A second championship course is planned for the second phase.
“The game plan is to try to get the 27 holes going, then down the road work on the final course,” Swift said.
Dell Martin, a fellow organizer and member of the Eagle Valley Disc Golf Association, said players can stick to one course or mix and match parts of one course with another.
“I’ve played disc golf all over,” he said, “and this is going to be a really well put together, challenging complex. It will bring tremendous value to the community.”
The group needs to build a parking lot before work can begin on the courses. In total, Swift said, it will cost $1,000 per hole to complete. Businesses and individuals can sponsor a hole entirely or partially.
He said the community will benefit from the course, where families can spend time together learning a new sport.
“It’s a really relaxed atmosphere,” he said. “You don’t have to stress if you’re a beginner. And, after a while, it becomes addicting. The game is phenomenal.”
For more information or to donate to building the course, call Dell Martin at (775) 741-5233 or Gregg Swift at (775) 230-6201.