The weather was perfect Saturday at Veteran's Park for Fulton's inaugural Summer Showdown disc golf tournament.
This was the first tournament in Fulton sanctioned by the Professional Disc Golf Association, the professional association for the game.
The Summer Showdown was considered a C-Tier event. PDGA defines this level as "local events that can easily be run in one day, on one course, with a minimal amount of staff and volunteers, but they certainly do not have to be small and/or simple."
The hierarchy of PDGA tournaments is C-Tier, B-Tier, A-Tier, Disc Golf Pro Tour and PDGA Major.
Summer Showdown had 87 disc golfers compete, out of a maximum 90 available slots.
Jon Freemond was one disc golfer who played in the tournament. He has been playing disc golf for almost three years. Freemond said it is great that Fulton finally had a PDGA tournament.
"I'm glad that Parks and Rec worked with us to help put this on, and the public being respectful of us being out there and the game just growing," Freemond said.
He said the game has grown a lot in the past year, with many members of the community taking an interest in disc golf.
Freemond said the disc golf community in Fulton is huge, with league play on Sundays constantly growing.
The director of the tournament was Tim Rickerson. He said the planning for the Summer Showdown started around June.
Rickerson said the most challenging aspect of planning was making the rules of the layout as simple as possible, such as what areas were in and out of play.
Rickerson said he was very pleased with the turnout of the tournament.
"I'm absolutely thrilled," Rickerson said.
He said it was great to see so many people from local areas help support the disc golf community, as they are continuing to grow and expand.
"Our club is all about community and environment and growing the game. ... I can't express how grateful I am to all these people for being here," Rickerson said.
The first round of play began at 9:45 a.m., with the second beginning at 1 p.m.
Summer Showdown had 16 different player divisions for all skill levels and ages, ranging from junior 18 to amateur 60 plus.
The tournament featured a $5 ace pot. An ace in disc golf is the equivalent of making a hole-in-one in golf, with a player taking only one throw to get their disc in the basket. If a player gets an ace, they get the money in the pot.
The Veteran's Park disc golf course offered players a mix of holes. Some holes were very open, with others being more technical with added obstacles such as trees in the way.
The course features 18 baskets of play, and an additional basket to take practice shots.
Trophies were provided to all the winners in each player division. Summer Showdown also sold raffle tickets for disc golf prizes.
While this is the first official PDGA tournament in Fulton, there is still plenty of play going on regularly. The Fulton Disc Golf club hosts a summer season league every Sunday during the summer at Veteran's Park. League play features three player divisions -- open, intermediate and recreational.
Jon Freemond sends a disc flying towards the basket at the Summer Showdown.
A player tosses his disc in an attempt to sink it in at the basket.