Dirk Moore throws a disc on July 1, 2025, at Centennial Park Disc Golf Course in Lawrence.

Disc golf and regular golf have a lot in common as far as scoring, fresh air, and the risk of landing in the rough, but the Kaw Valley Disc Golf Club sees tossing a Frisbee through the park as a more accessible way to make friends and enjoy the outdoors.

Each Tuesday, the club meets at one of several disc golf courses throughout Lawrence and players are assigned into groups to compete against one another and as a league. The current president of the Kaw Valley Disc Golf Club, Mac Maser, said league play is where players can gather and share the love of the sport.

“On an average summer night, we have 50-55, people out here playing disc golf, and we just randomize cards. So it’s a great opportunity to meet new people. We have some extremely good players, and we have some extremely average players,” Maser said.

He said the professions of people who play run the gamut from welders and construction workers to business owners and attorneys.

“It’s a lot bigger than the general public might realize. People know of disc golf baskets like, ‘oh, the random metal thing that’s at your public parks. Sometimes you see hippies throwing Frisbees at them’, but, it really is a lot deeper than that,” Maser said.

Dirk Moore putts into a basket on July 1, 2025, at Centennial Park Disc Golf Course in Lawrence.

photo by: Chris Conde/Journal-World

Chris Stoddard, of Lee’s Summit, Missouri, throws a disc on July 1, 2025, at Centennial Park Disc Golf Course in Lawrence.

While the league’s player groups may be randomized, Maser said the league is still broken up into skill levels for amateur, intermediate, and advanced players. He said its up to the player which group to sign up for. Players range anywhere from 8-65 on any given day and while the majority of the players are men, it isn’t uncommon to see women at the events.

Maser said that new players or those with average skill levels can really benefit from being in a group with a more advanced golfer.

“You can play for years and years and still be awful at (regular) golf. I spent enough time trying that and getting mad at myself. Throwing a Frisbee and watching its flight is really beautiful, but it’s also easier than hitting a tiny ball with a club. It has also like a confidence building aspect to it,” Maser said.

Beyond the weekly league, the KVDGC is also host to numerous tournaments and events throughout the year. Event coordinator Dirk Moore said the tournaments give players something to build toward in their daily game and that most events usually come with a charity element.

Moore said that the club held a tournament in February that benefitted Lawrence’s Just Food where people could buy a mulligan for the game with a canned good. He said the club’s championship tournament is coming up in October, The Clinton Lake Classic. The tournament will cover all three courses at the lake, Bloomington, Bob Mowery’s, and Archer’s disc golf courses.

Mac Maser throws a disc on July 1, 2025, at Centennial Park Disc Golf Course in Lawrence.

Moore said kids and their parents who want to get involved with the junior league should watch for posts on Facebook for schedules.

The skill level of players reaches even the professional level as two Lawrence golfers, Kevin Babbit and Hans Coleman, participated in the Pro Disc Golfers Association Professional Masters World Championships tournament last week in Minnesota, Moore said. (Babbit took first place in the Mixed Pro 55+ category and Coleman placed 24th in the Mixed Pro 40+ category, according to unofficial results from the organization on Sunday.)

Moore said Lawrence will have its first PDGA tournament in November with plans to make it an annual event.

Maser said the club coordinates with the city to help maintain the courses. He said the club itself gathers monthly to do maintenance work like picking up garbage and clearing brush from the course.

“We try to make it so if the casual golfer wants to come out and play around, the course is always ready for them. We take a lot of pride in our courses,” Maser said.

Hank waits patiently as his disc golfing party plays a round on July 1, 2025, at Centennial Park Disc Golf Course in Lawrence.

The KVDGC’s main course at Centennial has also been dealing with a large homeless population. Maser said the club does what it can to not cause any tension between the players and the people who live nearby.

“If we see someone walking across the fairway, we’re not going to throw. We don’t want to make anyone mad. We don’t want to step on anyone’s toes. They’ve done a great job of not posting up anywhere where the course actually goes,” Maser said.

He said while there have not been any major issues and the homeless don’t camp too close to the course, there is one hole that has been lost to the issue.

“We used to have a pin position that was kind of down that little tunnel of trees that we haven’t been able to use for a few years. The club just kind of comes to terms with that,” Maser said.

Mac Maser’s bag of golfing discs on July 1, 2025, at Centennial Park Disc Golf Course in Lawrence.

He said while he has heard numerous stories online from people in the community who don’t want to use the park because it doesn’t feel safe, the KVDGC hasn’t been made to feel unwelcome.

Paul Geisler is one of the newest board members of the KVDGC. He said that he loves the sport and the club because its a place where people can truly connect. He says disc golf is primarily free other than needing a disc or two, which can be purchased for just a few dollars. Geisler himself though has a large collection of discs along with a rolling bag to carry them.

Maser too carries a large number of discs. He said he could go on and on about discs and what they can do, or not do. He said it can be kind of addictive once you start buying new discs and that the next disc might just be “the one”.

Maser said the courses in Lawrence — Centennial, Edgewood, and Quail Run — are just the right setup for people at any age who want to get into the sport. The only thing wrong with disc golf he said is that he wished he had known about it sooner.

“For a lot of us, disc golf was a sport that we didn’t discover until later in life. I wish I knew about disc golf when I was 7 years old, because I could be way better than I am now,” Maser said.

Geisler said that joining the club and playing disc golf was just a logical conclusion for him to combine his love of the outdoors with the need for fellowship in his community.

“I’ve always enjoyed being in parks or at city or state park, and growing up, throwing a Frisbee was a natural thing that we would go out and do. So for me, it was a natural combination. It’s a good way to get out, get some exercise… It’s a very grassroots supported sport, and it just gets me motivated to get off the couch and go have some fun with these people,” Geisler said.

For an in-depth look at places to play in Lawrence and Douglas County, click here.

Dirk Moore, left, assigns groups for a disc golfing league match while Copper, right, supervises on July 1, 2025, at Centennial Park Disc Golf Course in Lawrence.

Shym Possible throws a disc on July 1, 2025, at Centennial Park Disc Golf Course in Lawrence.

Chris Stoddard, center throws a disc on July 1, 2025, at Centennial Park Disc Golf Course in Lawrence.