The fifth hole of the Nesbitt Park disc golf course in Nesbitt Park. The course was installed in 2017.
Kevin Carroll | Times Leader
Group welcomes newcomers to disc golf
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Billy Corcoran tees off during a round of disc golf on Sunday at Nesbitt Park.
Kevin Carroll | Times Leader
KINGSTON — Nesbitt Park overlooking the Susquehanna River has long been a place for exercising and recreational fun, especially in the summertime. Joggers and bike riders are a common sight on any given day.
But in recent years, the park has seen a surge in a different kind of recreation, in the form of one of the area’s fasting-growing sports: disc golf.
“It’s pretty easy to get into, all you need are the discs which don’t cost too much,” said Joe Poplawski. “And once you start, it’s addicting.”
Poplawski is a game shop owner by trade, operating Sword in the Stone Games on South Washington Street in Wilkes-Barre. But he’s also become an avid disc golfer in recent years, and he rounded up a small group to hit the Nesbitt Park course on a beautiful Sunday afternoon for some action.
“I wish it was about 12 degrees cooler,” Poplawski joked.
The nine-hole course was installed in the park back in 2017. Since then, a Nesbitt Park Disc Golf Facebook group has turned the small course into quite the popular destination for both high-level players and beginners just looking to try something new.
Poplawski and his group, some of them from the game shop and some just looking to get a game in, met up around 1 p.m. on Sunday and played a quick round, smiling and laughing the whole way through.
“It’s not that serious,” Poplawski said. “But it’s a lot of fun and decent exercise. … You work muscles you wouldn’t work just sitting on the couch.”
As its name would suggest, disc golf bears some similarities to traditional golf: The goal is to get the disc into a basket (the “hole”) situated a couple hundred feet away. The Nesbitt Park course is strictly par-3, meaning that to get the disc into the hole in three shots would be considered making par.
The gang was keeping score, but Poplawski and some of the other more experienced players made it a point to offer pointers and praise for some of the newer golfers.
Jared Yakscoe said that he had only been playing disc golf for five days prior to Saturday, and yet he had some of the smoothest-looking shots on the course, drawing lots of love from the rest of the group.
Yakscoe started playing at the insistence of his friend Billy Corcoran, who was also part of the six-person group playing on Sunday.
The course stretches through most of the park, with plenty of trees to contend with as golfers look to finish their round under par. The ninth and final hole comes with an added obstacle: A fallen tree lying right across the fairway.
Anyone looking to break into the world of disc golf could check out the Facebook page to see when games are being played. Typically Friday nights are popular.
There’s also a tournament, called the “Nesbitt Trilogy Challenge,” scheduled for Aug. 29 starting at 9 a.m. that, for a $35 entry fee, is open to anyone regardless of skill level. Registration for the tournament could be found at https://www.discgolfscene.com/tournaments/Nesbitt_Trilogy_Challenge_2020.