Ball golf isn’t the only sport changing in Albert Lea. A lot has changed in the way of disc golf in Albert Lea within just the past year.

The city went from having an underplayed and somewhat short nine-hole disc golf course at the upper part of Bancroft Bay Park to having an 18-hole course that is one of the most used features in the city’s parks system.

This spring, the parking lot has been full when the weather is nice, and people at times have had to wait to tee off.

Three disc golfers have shared their thoughts on the popular 5,551-foot course. Tribune Managing Editor Tim Engstrom, computer programmer Jeshua Erickson and postal carrier Scott Pirsig play the sport together. (See their comments with the photos of each hole.)

Last summer, Shinefest volunteers and Pro Manufacturing worked with the Albert Lea Parks and Recreation Department to make the course a reality. Jim Troe at Pro Manufacturing deserves most of the credit. He did the work of getting sponsorships. The sponsors are listed on signs at tees.

The baskets were installed in August, and there is a local club now, too. It’s called the Flying Lea Disc Golf Club, and tee time for league play is 5 p.m. Sundays. Engstrom, Erickson and Pirsig also are members of the new club.

Courses in many towns weave in and out of other park features such as tennis courts and swing sets. They go across big open lawns or around well-groomed trees and are flat. Albert Lea’s new course receives high marks from the sport’s enthusiasts for being different. It cuts through prairie grass, around naturally growing vegetation and has rolling terrain.

Players say it’s more of a walk at a nature area than a typical city park.

Disc golf employs baskets, but they still are called holes, from its older sibling of ball golf. Each of the 18 holes at the course have characteristics, and no matter the length they are all par 3.

Hole 1

Length: 279 feet

Tim: Bushes get in the way of approaches from the right; go off the fareway.

Jeshua: Stay to the left; don’t worry about going into the rough.

Scott: Good starting hole. Length not intimidating, but the players watching you drive may be.

Hole 2

Length: 339 feet

Tim: Right-handed throws typically tail to the left, so make the disc go right to avoid the reeds.

Jeshua: Bat house? I can’t believe I hit the bat house!

Scott: For me, it’s either pull it in the swamp or hit those branches looming over the right of the fairway.

Hole 3

Length: 202 feet

Tim: Shoot around that big tree at the curve in the path without hitting other trees.

Jeshua: Up a hill and through a hallway of trees isn’t easy.

Scott: This is the hole I usually combine disc golf with pinball.

Hole 4

Length: 320 feet

Tim: Try to throw right of the big pine but stay in fareway; your second shot will thank you.

Jeshua: Confucius say, “Many hours hunting for disc in trees on left.”

Scott: Toughest par on the front. Basket placement requires a well placed approach.

Hole 5

Length: 261 feet

Tim: Let the disc do the work of tailing to the left.

Jeshua: To par, don’t throw too far.

Scott: Easiest par on the front. Love the way basket is tucked in the corner.

Hole 6

Length: 216 feet

Tim: Use a mid-range disc that flies straight; maybe try a forehand throw.

Jeshua: Huck that thing straight!

Scott: Round 2 of pinball and golf; my son Cal’s first birdie hole.

Hole 7

Length: 395 feet

Tim: Go go farther, don’t throw upward; throw outward.

Jeshua: Um, that cluster of trees on the right is filled with disc magnets.

Scott: The course opens up once again so for those of us just learning an overthrow is almost a given.

Hole 8

Length: 395 feet

Tim: Throwing slightly into a mild crosswind can spin a disc farther.

Jeshua: Keep your shot down, especially into the wind!

Scott: A very comfortable hole when the wind isn’t howling.

Hole 9

Length: 312 feet

Tim: High visibility makes this one a showcase for distance and accuracy.

Jeshua: Two fairways; either one is fine.

Scott: Great hole to finish the front, a chance to maybe improve the round.

Hole 10

Length: 271 feet

Tim: A risky putt can turn a par attempt into double bogey.

Jeshua: Past the sign, over the bushes and up the hill.

Scott: Elevated basket has taught me to throw my approach a bit harder than I think I should.

Hole 11

Length: 315 feet

Tim: An easy one, but many discs have been lost in the rough on the left.

Jeshua: Forget your first shot; throw a good second shot.

Scott: Most of the nasty scuff marks on my discs were aquired here.

Hole 12

Length: 245 feet

Tim: Throw to the open area to the right of the bushes.

Jeshua: Good chance you’ll be shooting from inside a bush.

Scott: Short pretty hole. Keep it out of the bushes and a par or better is yours. 

Hole 13

Length: 347 feet

Tim: Get to the top of the incline, then throw far on the second shot.

Jeshua: Not my favorite hole.

Scott: Overthrow theory comes into play here once again.

Hole 14

Length: 364 feet

Tim: Whip it. Whip it good.

Jeshua: Long, boring, windy hole.

Scott: Don’t need to do anything fancy here. It’s similar to 13.

Hole 15

Length: 322 feet

Tim: The tee points you into the pines; aim your stance left.

Jeshua: Patience, my friend, patience.

Scott: Trees on the right by basket have a magnetic effect on my discs.

Hole 16

Length: 277 feet

Tim: Tee points you left, so throw a little right. Don’t throw too far.

Jeshua: I plan to birdie this hole on Sunday.

Scott: Favorite hole. If I could, I’d pitch a tent under all those beautiful pines and spruces.

Hole 17

Length: 230 feet

Tim: Try a forehand shot to sail your disc through the corridor of trees.

Jeshua: A chance to redeem yourself if you blew 3 or 6.

Scott: Although it certainly falls under my pinball/golf category, it was the first hole I parred.

Hole 18

Length: 461 feet

Tim: The hardest of all holes. Get your disc on the other side of the trees, even if it lands in the rough.

Jeshua: Uh, like, my disc has landed all over this vast land. Let’s see where it goes today.

Scott: Tough finishing hole. Scratches and scrapes are an absolute for any beginner on this hole