Originally published at: https://discgolf.ultiworld.com/livewire/at-usadgc-its-all-about-the-course/
The Toboggan is open for business at this weekend’s USADGC. Photo: PDGA
Taking place today through Sunday in Milford, Michigan, the United States Amateur Disc Golf Championships – a Professional Disc Golf Association Major event – finds 129 disc golfers from 26 states aiming for the title of best amateur player in the country.
Aside from the competition, which in the past has resulted in familiar champions like former World Distance Record holder David Wiggins (2010) and up-and-coming sensation Anthony Barela (2015), tournament director John Minicuci said the highlight of the event is the course.
Kensington Toboggan, better known as simply “The Toboggan,” is widely revered as one of the best venues in the country.
“Getting people to travel here to play for the title is one thing, that’s always a nice thing,” Minicuci said. “But the allure of the course is one of the other things. If we played in one of my local parks that’s not necessarily a world championship-caliber course, I don’t know if the event would be the draw that it is.”
Built in a section of Kensington MetroPark that houses a handful of toboggan runs in the winter, Minicuci called the course “treacherous,” citing its elevation as a deciding factor in its vigor. The fact that it can only be played for a limited amount of time throughout the year – the course gets pulled after the June 19 conclusion of the Great Lakes Open A-Tier – is also a big deal.
“It’s only in for such a short period of time,” Minicuci said. ”When that ship docks, if you don’t make it and it doesn’t come back for a year, you’re not going to get on the ride.”