My City July 2021

The

crowd surrounded the basket, taking practice puts and warming up for the Disc 4 Arts charity tournament to benefit the Flint

(L-R FTF BOARD MEMBERS DAVE LONTEEN, GARY CHALICE AND PAUL GRASSO

Institute of Arts. Competitors were diverse, of all skill levels and ages, and excited to play the temporary urban course created on the grounds of the Cultural Center and Central High School. After taking a number of practice throws, golfers headed to their designated starting holes and with two blasts of an airhorn, the Disc 4 Arts tournament began. Participants belong to a welcoming group of enthusiasts who share a passion for the sport of disc golf. In recent years, the disc golf community grew by leaps and bounds in Michigan and around the country due to the efforts of numerous grassroots organizations and volunteers. In Genesee County, Paul Grasso and the Flint Town Flyerz (FTF) are at the center of it all. “We formed Flint Town Flyerz in 2007,” says Co-founder and President, Paul Grasso. “We started running leagues

Recognized by the Professional Disc Golf Association (PDGA), FTF follows the organization’s rules and regulations of the sport. The majority of the FTF are PDGA members of amateur status but a PDGA membership is not mandatory to join. (The PDGA is the national membership organization and governing body for the professional sport.) The FTF runs three leagues in or near Flint (Goldenrod, Mott Park, Holly Woods), hosts four annual PDGA sanctioned events for PDGA Michigan Amateurs and professionals, and participates in and hosts charity events such as the recent Disc 4 Arts event in Downtown Flint.

at Goldenrod in Davison and the Holly Woods course in Holly. Personally, I fell in love with the sport on a business trip in San Diego around 2001 and when I got back to Genesee County, there was nothing here. I spent a lot of time traveling to a few courses in the state. When Goldenrod Disc Golf Course was built in 2003, that’s when things really took off in the area.” Four years later, Grasso and fellow throwers Mark Stephens, Gary Chalice, Dave Lonteen and Jeff Moellering founded FTF.

As the sport continued to slowly grow across the country and membership in the FTF continued to increase, Grasso and his colleagues looked to expand course offerings in Flint. “After a while, we began collecting dues to build a development fund for a new course,” remembers Grasso. “We talked to the city and the board at Mott Park and our plan for a course was accepted. We were able to contribute $5,000 to the project and that amount was matched by Kettering University and the Community Foundation of Greater Flint.” Grasso and the Flyerz got to work.

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