MOLINE, Illinois — For the first time in 13 years, the Annual Iron Lion Open fielded a group of junior disc golf players at the annual tournament in the Quad Cities.
“It’s great to see essentially the future of the game getting involved,” said Tournament Director Chase Roberts.
“All (are) playing in the amateur division: We have one 12-year-old, three ten and under, and one female 12 and under, which is fantastic, because getting women to play is hard too. To see a young girl that wants to play is great.”
About 80 players total, amateurs and pros, participated in the 13th Annual Iron Lion Open, playing two rounds throughout the day at Prospect Park.
Players usually play a round at Eastern Avenue in Davenport first, Roberts said, but organizers decided to move the first round to Moline as well, due to Prospect Park’s better drainage and conditions.
The tournament is a C-tier event sanctioned by the Professional Disc Golf Association.
Roberts said the Quad Cities have become a hotbed for disc golfing because of the number and variety of courses concentrated in the area — and it’s an affordable sport compared to regular golfing.
“Most area courses are free,” he said. “We don’t use clubs, we throw discs. We don’t have hole, we have a basket, what we call basket, a hole.”
