Mooney Grove Park to Host Nationally-Ranked Disc Golf Tournament

September 2, 2010

Tulare County’s Mooney Grove Park in Visalia will host the fourth annual End of the Trail Classic disc golf tournament during Labor Day Weekend.

The End of the Trail Classic is just one of five nationally-ranked pro-am Super Tour events that will be held in California this year.

The Visalia Disc Golf Crew, the tournament hosts, has pre-registered 150 players who will compete in the Men's Open, Men's Open Masters (over 40), Men's Open Grand Masters (over 50), Men's Advanced Amateur, Women's Open, Women's Advanced Amateur, and four other player divisions.

“Tulare County is honored to host a disc golf tournament of this stature,” said Steve Worthley, Chairman of the Tulare County Board of Supervisors. “Participants will travel from throughout the country to play disc golf in Mooney Grove Park, the crown jewel of the County’s parks system.”

Official play begins with the first of three rounds at 9 a.m. on Saturday. Round No. 2 begins at 1:45 p.m. on Saturday. Round No. 3 begins at 8:45 a.m. on Sunday. The Final Nine Safari, the highlight of the tournament, will begin shortly after play ends in Round No. 3 on Sunday.
  
Tournament play is held on two championship-level courses that were specially-constructed within Mooney Grove Park. One course, the Perry Championship Disc Golf Course, is rated as a difficult course by the sanctioning organization, the Professional Disc Golf Association, or PDGA.

"With both courses, we are drawing professional and amateur players from all over," said Chuck Woody, End of the Trail Classic tournament director.

Woody said the Perry Outback course has some of longest driving holes to be found anywhere, with two par four holes stretching just over 700 feet in length, and some of the toughest par three holes in the Valley.
 
Organizers say there has been extraordinary interest among PDGA players in competing at Mooney Grove Park because of the difficult play, the broad recreational expanses and unique setting in the middle of one of Central California's largest and oldest native oak preserves. Woody also said PDGA professionals love the End of the Trail Classic because the tournament offers one of the largest slates of cash awards and prizes for the size of the tournament's playing field.

Park admission is $6 per carload. Tournament information is available at: www.disctribution.com.

Tournament Background
 
The concept for the annual End of the Trail Classic was developed in 2007 by the Visalia Disc Golf Crew and the equipment manufacturer Disc Golf Association. The two organizations partnered with Tulare County Parks and Recreation to include the End of the Trail Classic in the "Steady Ed" tournament series.
 
Coincidentally, in 2007 Tulare County Parks and Recreation was in the process of planning to develop disc golf courses in Mooney Grove in order to meet public demand for more recreational facilities and to further enhance park usage. The Perry family, owners of San Joaquin Valley College and avid supporters of local youth activities, stepped forward to donate funds to enhance the 18-hole Perry Championship Disc Golf Course and to design and construct the 18-hole Perry Outback Professional Disc Golf Course. From there it was a natural progression for San Joaquin Valley College (along with DGA) to become the major sponsors of each annual End of the Trail Classic.
 
Other major tournament sponsors include The DROP ZONE, Sequoia Community Corps, discovertularecounty.com, Tulare County Film Commission, tularecountyemap.com, and 40 tee sponsors.
 
"This is truly a community-driven event, but it is receiving national attention," said Neil Pilegard, Tulare County Parks Director. "The best part is there is no additional admission charge once you pay to come into Mooney Grove Park."
 
Steady Ed Headrick was the engineer who developed the first Frisbee for Wham-0 in 1964, who is considered the "father of disc golf" later founded "The International Frisbee Association (IFA)" and began establishing standards for various sports using the Frisbee such as Distance, Freestyle and Guts. Upon his death, Headrick was cremated (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cremation ), and his ashes, in accordance with his final requests, were molded into memorial Frisbees and given to family and close friends.
 
Woody said the spirit of "Steady Ed" will be present during the End of the Trail Classic in more ways than one. Tournament organizers plan to "fly" one of the special memorial Frisbees containing Steady Ed's ashes at the start of the event on Saturday morning.