Big Guns Disc Golf Tournament Headlines West City Park

The disc golf club is ready for its biggest draw of the year: the Big Guns Showdown at West City Park in Festus this Saturday.

The tournament, in its second year, will feature two rounds of disc golf in a best-shot doubles format, with four levels of competition. A sponsored $400 prize will be added along with a 50-percent payout for the Open division pot, with merchandise prizes awarded to the Advanced, Intermediate and Recreational divisions.

“Our hope is that we can attract some of the St. Louis pros to come out,” said Joe McKee, president of the JC Sharpshooters. “We want them to go home and brag about the event and encourage more pros to come out and play next year. Ideally, if everything is successful, Big Guns will become a PDGA C-tier event.”

Becoming a sanctioned Professional Disc Golf Association tournament would provide greater exposure and allow professional disc golfers to build tournament points toward their PDGA ranking. It would also be a huge step for the Sharpshooter club, which has made great strides in its first year of formation. The Sharpshooters’ sister club, the River City Flyers, the St. Louis disc golf club, ran four sanctioned PDGA events this year.

Along with the day of disc golf, Big Guns organizers will provide lunch and beverages, as well as several skill competitions for numerous merchandise prizes. Closest-to-pin rewards will be awarded on several holes and an ace pool will be collected for holes-in-one. The event will also feature a putting duel contest, as well as a long-drive competition amongst each of the four divisions.

West City Park is a picturesque course designed by local legend in 2006, featuring challenging terrain, woods and several water hazards. Each hole features two tees and two pin placements, and the Sharpshooters recently added concrete pads during a volunteer cleanup work day in June. After winner payouts, funds raised from the Big Guns tournament will go back into West City Park and other Jefferson County courses for future improvements, such as benches, signage and general maintenance.

“We like to call West City our ‘big-boy course,’” McKee said. “Jokerst Park in Festus is our beginner course, and West City is our big-boy course. Right now it’s a disc-eating course, with water hazards and out-of-bounds areas where it’s very easy to lose a disc. It’s going to be a full day of disc golf. We want the pros to come out and show off what they can do—throw that long disc.”

Registration for Big Guns will run from 8:30 to 9:30 a.m. on Saturday, with a late registration period for 15 additional minutes and a $10 team late fee. Registration is $30 per team for Recreational, $40 per team for Intermediate, $50 per team for Advanced, and $60 per team for Open. The tournament will begin with a shotgun start at 10 a.m.