Powell Recreation District Director Colby Stenerson was all smiles as players approached the first tee of the disc golf course he’d set up at Homesteader Park last week. He’s hoping to start a new trend, setting up a six-basket course from 6-7:30 p.m. on Thursdays.

Unfortunately, Stenerson has been a little lonely the past few Thursdays nights, as disc golf has been slow to catch on at Homesteader Park. The sport has taken off across the country. Many parks have found disc golf to be the answer for stagnant attendance and courses are popping up everywhere. The sport has recently even made it to television with cable coverage of national tournaments.

Broadcasts of some of the biggest disc golf events reached 82 million cable households last year and increased to 95 million this year.

“Disc golf is not a fad,” Russell Schwarz, of Innova Disc Golf, said in a recent news release.

Yet Park County’s only course — though temporary at this point — is more of a ghost town.

“Only a handful of players have come out,” Stenerson said.

The rec district purchased six baskets for summer academy classes. It didn’t make any sense to let them gather dust in storage so, last year, he started offering rounds in the park on Thursday nights in the fall. Stenerson restarted the effort last month.

“We had the targets, so I thought, why not make another fun offering?” he said.

Stenerson said this is the perfect time to schedule rounds in Powell’s largest park because baseball is over for the season and he can utilize the entire area to map out holes. The course changes every week “to help keep play fresh” and wends through manicured fields, past exercise equipment, the skateboard park, a remote control race track and near the newest attraction — the city dog park.

“We’ve been kicking around the idea of making the holes permanent, but with the park so active, it could be difficult,” he said.

With only six baskets available, players are forced to play three times through to make an 18-hole game. Play is fast, despite having the space to have several holes over 300 feet.

Played much like traditional golf in terms of rules, scoring and etiquette, disc golf differs by throwing a specialized plastic disc off a tee and eventually into a chain-catching metal basket. Disc golf also departs from traditional golf in the relatively low cost to install a course and its affordability to play.

All you need are some discs. Some opt to carry a bag with specialty discs for drives, chips and putts. Others opt to carry a single disc, hoping not to lose it in tall grass or other hazards. Discs can be purchased for less than a couple cups of Starbucks, but none can be found for sale in Powell as of yet.

Other courses have been built recently in the area, including in Greybull and Red Lodge. The Greybull course, known as “The Shack,” is a short par-3 course built in 2017 that takes full advantage of the terrain. As a result, it’s fairly technical. The longest hole is 230 feet, but plays up a 25-foot cliff and the basket is guarded by trees. A good mix of open and guarded baskets challenges players to make precise shots, but is mostly flat and lightly wooded and considered a beginner course. More holes and other upgrades will be added as funding becomes available.

In Red Lodge, a technical nine-hole course called “The Shaft” was built in 2011 and plays through a flat field, a wooded area along Rock Creek, and a grassy area near the tree-lined softball complex. If you golf and fish, bring a fly rod for some casts into the creek after a couple fast rounds.

Players at Powell’s temporary course should be prepared to pay $2 per night. Stenerson has discs available for those wanting to try it for the first time, but they aren’t of the highest quality. Play in Greybull and Red Lodge is free.

Stenerson said if he sees a strong showing for the next two weeks, he may be tempted to extend the season, depending on the weather. The fall Powell Rec District activity guide — inserted inside today’s (Thursday’s) Tribune — can help residents start planning for the coming months.