By GARY CARL/for The Herald — The last weekend in July saw the third year of the Middle Fork Open Disc Golf Tournament; a PDGA* sanctioned event. It was a B tier tournament (there are A, B, & C tier tournaments). Ed Mooneyhan, local disc golf aficionado, won first place in the MA40 class.
Ed says that the Oakridge Disc Golf Club started the Middle Fork Open to showcase the two disc golf courses they have created here locally: The Old Mill Course (in Oakridge) and the Office Bridge Course (in Westfir). Mooneyhan, who has been playing disc golf for about 23 years was a casual, and not very serious player until about 6 years ago. With the advent of the Oakridge Disc Golf Club, he became more serious about his game.
Disc golf in Oakridge started as a vision
It was then that Ed met Jason Nehmer, who was in the process of building a 4-hole disc golf course at Osprey Park here in Oakridge. It was Jason’s vision to build a full 18-hole disc golf course. That vision eventually came into fruition. First was at the Pope & Talbot’s mill site, now known as the Oakridge Industrial Park (OIP). It is now fully functional and classified as a world class disc golf park.
Volunteers built on the vision
While many folks volunteered their time and effort to create the Old Mill Disc Golf Course and the Office Bridge Disc Golf Course, Deb & Dave Borton are two volunteers who have contributed countless hours and should be recognized for their tireless work. Without them and the many others, Disc Golf in Oakridge would not be what it is today. As the sport of Disc Golf gains traction in Oakridge, serious opportunities are opening.
Recently, Oakridge co-hosted the Tim Selinske U.S. Masters Championship. Over 400 players came to Oakridge to compete in the event. The disc golf club partnered with Circle Bar Golf Course to host top professional disc golf players from around the world. Oakridge’s restaurants were bustling, motels were busy, and the local bed and breakfast guests were plentiful. Oakridge was buzzing.** A growing sport indeed!
* Professional Disc Golf Association
**Rural Tourism Marketing Program (RTMP) and Transient Room Tax (TRT) funds are periodically allocated to events that support tourism.
George Custer lives in Oakridge with his wife Sayre. George is a former smokejumper from his hometown of Cave Junction, a former captain in the U.S. Marine Corps. and ran a construction company in Southern California. George assumed the volunteer duties as the Editor of the Highway 58 Herald in 2022. He loves riding his Harley-Davidson motorcycle, building all things wood, and playing drums on the weekends in his office.
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