Greater Peoria has become a national mecca for disc golf.
Disc golf has become increasingly popular over the last two decades, with courses popping up all over the region. Nate Heinold, director of the Discraft Ledgestone Insurance Open and a board member of the Professional Disc Golf Association (PDGA), has been playing for nearly two decades and has competed in four World Championships. “Disc golf appeals to all demographics,” he explains. “Most disc golf courses are in public parks, so there is no charge, and you can play a full round on some courses in under an hour, if you are by yourself. And walking around a park for 18 holes is great exercise.”
With a dozen 18-hole courses within 25 miles of the city (and another 11 nine-hole courses), Greater Peoria has become a national mecca for disc golf. Thanks to Heinold’s work building up the Discraft Ledgestone Insurance Open over the past eight years, he won the bid to host the 2019 PDGA Professional Disc Golf World Championships.
Central Illinois is the perfect setting for this premier event—“the Olympics of disc golf,” says Heinold, who expects to host 300 players from all over the world. And they won’t simply show up the day before the tournament, he adds. “They will travel here in the months leading up to the event to practice the courses and get their reps in. Some players will be in Peoria 10 days before [it] even starts,” he says, noting the positive impact on the local economy. “We are even planning events at Dozer Park and several other local establishments in conjunction with the event.”
The 2019 PDGA Pro Disc Golf World Championships will take place August 13-17, 2019 at courses in Eureka, Morton and Pekin—with players competing for a record-breaking $130,000+ purse.