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Soaring in popularity: frisbee golf
CU: the new hotspot for disc golf
4:00 am May 22 - by Elizabeth Weber – buzz Writer
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Thomas Paine Elementary School »Address: 1801 James Cherry Drive Urbana, IL 61802
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Bill Wilbur Wallis drives over 20,000 miles a year, has traveled to six countries and 15 states, and has spent a total of 23 years doing what he loves best: playing disc golf.
President of the Peoria Frisbee Club and former coordinator for the Illinois chapter of the Professional Disc Golf Association, Wallis’s biggest goal is to see disc golf recognized by mainstream media and sports associations as a legitimate sport.
“I’ll keep promoting it for as long as I can,” he said.
According to Wallis, disc golf’s popularity is on the rise with the number of people playing on the rise 10 percent to 12 percent percent annually for the last 7 years. Illinois is currently ranked sixth in the US for number of courses and participants, with Texas and California ranked No. 1 and No. 2, respectively.
This past March, the city of Champaign announced its plans for building a destination park over the former landfill site on Route 150 and included an 18-hole disc golf course as part of the many different recreational outlets it will offer. Mahomet has also announced plans to build a 9-hole course, which is expected to be open soon.
However, Wallis thinks CU and the rest of downstate Illinois still have some catching up to do.
“Peoria’s currently the hotbed for disc golf in the Midwest,” he said. “They have more courses in the area than the total number of courses in Indiana.”
The most popular spot for disc golf in CU is Lohmann Park, a 9-hole course located directly behind Thomas Paine Middle School in Urbana. Patrons like Bryce Brown and Tim Harbugh admit to going almost every day.
“I’ve been doing this for almost 5 years and it’s a great excuse to be outside,” Harbugh said. “I started when I was in college and it was an escape from the dorms.”
When not playing disc golf or working as manager of Bell Sports in Rantoul, Wallis does promotional tours, promoting disc golf to youth and adolescents. Every year he notices more interest in the sport.
“It’s going to explode, it’s just a matter of a few years,” he said.
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