The winners will also qualify for the 1999 United States Disc Golf Championship, to be held at Winthrop University in Rock Hill, S.C. Qualifying events in 37 Southern cities have narrowed a field of almost 3,000 players to 90 amateurs and 90 professionals who will vie for the right to be called a Southern National Champion. Both fields will also compete at West Mobile County Park. Amateurs will play at Chickasabouge Park, while professionals will play at Cottage Hill Park. Invitations went out after Independence Day festivities for the 1999 Southern Nationals Tournament, to be held Labor Day Weekend in Mobile, Ala. But others are out for different reasons. An "ace pot" awaits the player who scores a hole-in-one (it happens more frequently than in traditional golf) and for the novice or amateur, a $10 entry fee promises at least a free disc. Some play for the prize 18 sponsors contributed over $1,000 in prizes for this tournament. Of the 90 golfers participating in the Arkansas championship, 34 are amateurs. There's more good news for this blossoming sport. The immaculate course boasts sponsors on almost every hole, some tee-boxes have water coolers, and three new holes were added for the tournament. "This is our largest tournament ever," he says. Shaw sits back and watches the Arkansas championships progress with a big smile. (tye-dye shirt to right of telephone pole) before the Arkansas Disc Players gather to hear ADGA Secretary Blake Fisher of N. "I get more pleasure throwing 250 foot through an alley than throwing to a hole in the middle of a field." It gives everybody a fair advantage," he said. Linton is one of the more skillful players on the tour, as he's shot 52 aces since he began playing in May 1987. While some regions favor wide-open fairways, Southern disc golf courses are often set in wooded areas which require navigational skills. John Linton of Memphis has also noticed differences in the game. "Down South, it's more casual and laid back." They wear collared shirts when playing," Holoch, of Pearcy, Ark. "In Minnesota it's treated more professionally, like a big-time sport. While on the Professional Disc Golf Association (PDGA) tour, 1997 Amateur World Champion Thor Holoch noticed Southern players take a different approach to the game. That attitude may be unique to the South. "We're all out here to have a good time." "I never met a disc golfer I didn't like," he says. Shows believes people are the reason disc golf is prospering in the South. Shows is a member of "The Twin City Chain Gang," a disc golf organization started in March that already has 35 members. "Most players travel on a tight budget," President Robbie Shaw says, "so it helps when you can save on the hotel fee." Members of the Arkansas Disc Golf Association (ADGA) put up out-of-town players for the weekend, something that happens at many Southern tournaments. Yet he didn't have to drive home after spending all day at the tournament. Brad Shows drove four hours from his West Monroe, La., home to play in the Arkansas Disc Golf State Championship, one of this year's qualifying tournaments for the Southern Nationals.
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