As a sport, disc golf is taking flight

To the list of good reasons to live in Greater Boston, add this one: proximity to the longest disc golf course in New England.

Disc golf, for those who don't know, is similar to the game played with a small white ball. What's different is that there are neither clubs nor holes in disc golf. Instead, players fling a plastic disc -- don't dare call it a Frisbee -- into a steel basket.

''There is a very quick learning curve, the cost of equipment might total $20, and the sport is more forgiving" than traditional golf, said Dean Withrow, an enthusiast from Middleborough. If you are 2 degrees off with a disc, he explained, it might go 25 feet left or right instead of sailing 100 yards into the woods like an errant golf ball.

Withrow, a 50-year-old painting contractor and graphic designer, is vice president of the Borderland Disc Golf Committee. About six years ago, he and Rich Gunther, the president, led the effort to design and carve out an 18-hole course at Borderland State Park, on the border of Easton and Sharon.

With the help of other enthusiasts, they created a challenging course that attracts several hundred players on a nice weekend day and a hardy few in the depths of winter, when they tie ribbons to their discs to keep from losing them in the snow.

''In 2000, about 10 people even knew this was here," says Gunther, a 38-year-old operations manager for Amtrak. Since then, he said, the number of players at Borderland seems to be doubling annually. About 20,000 rounds were played in 2005.

''Disc golf is a huge, growing sport in this area," Withrow said.

There are 16 disc golf courses in the state, although Borderland is the only one in a state park, according to the New England Flying Disc Association. Its members are trying to get courses set up in several other state parks, including Wompatuck in Hingham.

Over the weekend, the Borderland group hosted its biggest event of the year, the Spring Fling, which drew highly ranked players from as far as Georgia. But local entrants were the ones who stood out in the field of 88, which included many pros (yes, there are disc golf professionals); the event was held despite the rain.

The top three divisions were won by Mike Dussault of Sharon, Eric Kaplan of Brockton, and Bobby Piaseczny of Stoughton. Dussault shot a 49 in his morning round, setting a course record. Competitors took home a total of $5,500 in cash prizes and other awards, said the tournament director, Matt Stroika of Tewksbury.

''About 10 people in the country can make their living" from the sport, Stroika said.

Last year's winner was Tim Walsh of Northbridge, who shot 105 on 36 holes, 17 under par.

On a recent afternoon, Withrow, Gunther, and several friends demonstrated the sport they love. Forty feet from a 26-inch-wide steel basket, they nailed putt after putt, their discs flying straight into the structure's vertical steel chains.

Their drives soared over a vast meadow, 350 yards and more. Gunther even showed that he could roll a disc farther than most people can hurl one; his roller went 100 feet in the air and 200 more on the ground.

Players carry the hard plastic discs by the bagful, and Withrow's black case contained about 18 in a rainbow of colors. Discs are about 9 inches across, smaller and heavier than a Frisbee, and retail for $7 to $20 each.

Each has its own way of flying. One called the Firebird will go hard to the left when thrown backhand by a right-hander; the Valkyrie will go to the right.

But Withrow and others emphasize that the casual player will do fine with four discs or even two.

The basic types are the driver, with a sharp edge; the midrange disc, with a blunter edge; and the putter, with high stability derived from its relatively domelike top surface.

In disc golf, distances are measured in feet, not yards. One can shoot from one of three tees. The most challenging are the blue tees, which are 320 feet to 910 feet from the hole and for which par is 68. Closer in are the white tees, for a par 54; and even closer, for family groups, are yellow tees.

Holes in one are possible; 14 have been recorded, on seven holes, on the Borderland group's Web site, borderlanddiscgolf.com.

You can play whenever the park is open, 8 a.m. to sunset, for no more than the $2 parking fee. The visitors center has an ample supply of discs to lend; many are lost, and, if no one claims them in a year, they become loaners. Every Thursday at 4:30, a league attracts 15 or 20 players, who put up $6 each and can win cash prizes.

Withrow and Gunther are part of a closeknit group of about a dozen men who keep the course looking sharp. They have begun an adopt-a-hole program that so far has provided for 16 holes.

''A good course makes you think," Gunther said. ''And we tried to design a course that gives you several options on each hole. It's a thinking course."

If nothing else, he said, disc golf is ''a great excuse for a walk in the park."