By Trevor Jackson
WHILE the Valley Lakes precinct has somewhat quietened down in the recent days after the roar of the Legend of the Lakes hill climb, the excitement levels are again building, this time for a Disc Golf event.
The City of Mount Gambier Eruption is set to explode onto the scene, with 45 entries vying for points in the national tour system.
The event includes classes ranging from novice, to advanced, to women and all in between.
It will be played over the pro course, which includes two water hazards and plenty of challenges for players.
Mount Gambier Disc Golf Club president Mat Weyers said the course was in pristine condition at this time of year and the club is keen to showcase its venue again to a wider audience across three days, although the event almost did not go ahead.
“This is our big event on the national tour,” Weyers said.
“We were almost at the point of not running it due to Covid but we decided to go ahead with reduced entries.
“We had 120 entries originally but lost more than half of those.
“We are now around the 45 mark, a bit down on what we would like, but we are looking forward to putting on a good event this weekend and showcase the course.”
While the numbers are down, Weyers said that would not detract from the quality of competition on display.
Players from Queensland, Tasmania and Western Australia will join others from Adelaide and the Limestone Coast to put on a good display of disc golf.
“We are still happy with that number and have some interesting battles across some of the divisions,” Weyers said.
“There are good numbers in the men’s novice and men’s advanced, with some strong competition for national tour points.”
Mount Gambier’s Ryan Nicholson and Adelaide’s Daniel Hartley will be one battle to watch, while in the women’s category, Adelaide’s Anna Kolodina will face tough opposition from Mount Gambier’s Michelle Schulz and Amy Weyers.
With national tour points up for grabs, players will certainly not take this event lightly.
Schulz currently leads to women’s FA4 division, ahead of Kolodina and Amy Weyers.
For the men, the MM1 division provides some interest for the Limestone Coast, with Nicholson in fourth place, two spots behind Hartley.
Local knowledge could play a role, but with the difficult water hazards, which take in the edges of the Valley Lake itself, there is little room for error.
Long shots are required to clear the danger and make good position, which should provide plenty of excitement as the players push to move up the national leaderboard.
With the six best round for the year going towards the national tour points, there is plenty of incentive to perform well.
The event will take place over three days, with 18 holes played each day.
Action kicks off on Friday at 1.30pm, then 9am Saturday and Sunday.
Weyers said the public was welcomed to watch some of the best disc golf played in the region.
