Disc golf course hosts first event

Tucumcari's rustic new 18-hole disc golf course shone in its debut event, officially titled "Shootout at Six-Shooter Siding," Saturday and Sunday at Five Mile Park.

Six-Shooter Siding was a name assigned to a 19th Century railroad camp on the site where Tucumcari now stands.

In the weekend's Shootout event, which was a tournament sanctioned by the New Mexico chapter of the national Professional Disc Golf Association, 45 disc golfers hurled and tossed flying discs all over the golf course's tall grass, cacti, trees and bushes for three rounds of this relatively new variation on traditional golf. Disc golf acquired its name in 1976, according to the national Disc Golf Association.

This weekend's Shootout participants came from Colorado and Texas, as well as New Mexico, including the Albuquerque area. Their number included a nine-year-old world champion junior disc golfer, Kolby Sanchez of Roswell, and an 85-year-old former world champion, Ronald Byrd, of Rio Rancho. Every age group in between and both males and females were represented, at ability levels ranging from professional to beginner.

Disc golf is similar to regular "ball" golf, except players throw flying discs similar to Wham-O Frisbees toward raised baskets, rather than propel balls with clubs into holes marked by flags.

"For a first-time event on a brand new course, this event was quite a success," said Jeff Lewis, an Albuquerque professional disc golfer and the event's official coordinator.

Lewis said some touches like food vendors and portable toilets placed around the course were uncommon touches and credited local event coordinators, including Daniel Zamora, president of the Tucumcari Disc Golf Association, and Mark Grissom, who helped line up event sponsors, with the event's success.

"I think it went really well," Zamora said. "I'm really excited."

The event was very successful, he said, and any mistakes "can be easily corrected" in future events.

"I've seen a lot of Facebook posts from people thanking us for putting on the event," he said.

He said he hopes to add to already admirable community involvement and to collaborate with other disc golf clubs in eastern New Mexico and west Texas.

"Wait til next year," Zamora said, but added, "maybe we can get something together for the Spring."

The Tucumcari course was established in August. City of Tucumcari crews installed concrete teeing areas and sunk foundations for the official baskets that for disc golf serve in the role of holes for regular golf.

They used $30,000 in city Lodger's Tax funds, which are reserved for tourism activities.

Zamora, Grissom and several other volunteers, including Tucumcari Mayor Pro Tem Robert Lumpkin, conducted some grooming before the weekend's event, and city crews mowed some grass to mark fairways and trails between baskets and the next tees.

There were cash prizes for winners in different divisions.

Albuquerque professional disc golfer Marcos Castillo, who ranks second among New Mexico professional disc golfers, won the $295 grand prize. His score was 162, 12 under par for all three rounds, and 19 strokes (or tosses) better than the second-place winner.

As in ball golf, the lowest score wins.

The second prize of $175 went to Trent Pierson of Amarillo, Texas, whose score was 181 for all three rounds.

Other cash prizes went to grand-master, or senior, class winners Errol Peak ($185, eight over par) and Raymond Morris ($110, 16 over par), both of Albuquerque.

Winners in other categories received merchandise certificates, which they could use at a vendor booth on-site from Disc Golf Play Store in Amarillo.

Still other prizes awaited from a "ring of fire" game in which contestants threw putter-discs at a portable basket, and a horseshoes-like game in which players tossed from further away in attempts to land discs into a basket or get close to it.

Other winners were the event and the course itself.

"I loved it," second-prize winner Pierson said. "It's a fresh course and well-designed, and a little rough."

He was impressed that the Six-Shooter Siding tourney "got a lot of support from the community."

Lisa Gallagher of Clovis, who placed first among women players, said "It's a great course."

She also complimented the event as well organized for a first-time tournament.

"I like that there were food vendors here, and rest rooms and water available on the course," she said.

Gavin Wright of Denver, Colo., said of the course, "It was fun. It's a little rough with the bushes, grass and cacti, but it's fun."

Some players like Art Keenom of Albuquerque, commented that the tall grass resulted in a lot of lost time looking for lost discs.

"You spend too much time looking," he said.