Home to one of the top-rated disc golf courses in the country, it’s no surprise that the sport is growing in popularity here in Fountain Hills.

Players can be spotted out on the course just about every day of the week, chucking weird looking Frisbees at those strange metal baskets you see peppered throughout Fountain Park.

In recent years, Fountain Park has had an even stronger community build up around its disc golf course.

The site has become the traditional kick-off spot for the Professional Disc Golf Association’s season, and the Fountain Hills Disc Golf Club has made upkeep and play on the course a primary focus -- hosting tournaments, beginners lessons and weekly events.

Disc golf is a unique sport, no doubt, but it’s one that just about anyone can easily get into.

Fountain Hills resident Mike Brahy was recently one such newcomer to the sport.

“I lived here from 2001 to 2003 and I knew that there was a disc golf course here,” Brahy said.

“I moved back here about a year and a half ago. I had played Frisbee a lot as a kid, so I thought disc golf would be fun to try.”

So that’s exactly what he did.

“Just a couple of months after we moved back to town I bought a couple of discs and started to play,” Brahy explained.

He added that the discs are different than the ones he grew up throwing on the beach, and they have to be thrown differently, too.

Other than that, though, the object is simple: Try to get the disc in the basket in as few tosses as possible.

The sport is played similar to regular golf, with players starting each hole from a tee box. Obstacles depend on the location of the course but, here in Fountain Park, your main challenges will be some rolling hills, trees and, on a handful of the holes, the water.

One of the local Disc Golf Club’s many revitalization projects in recent years was to install brand new baskets as well as new tee signs to help guide players around the course.

The sport itself is free to play, with the only cost going into purchasing discs. These typically cost $10-$15 for standard discs, with more serious players forking over quite a bit more to get “just the right disc.”

A beginning player, according to Brahy, can get into disc golf for very little out-of-pocket cost. He said there are also plenty of tutorial videos online for learning the ins and outs of play, with your best resource being your fellow players.

“I learned a bit here and there online, but mostly I picked things up by running into other players,” he added.

“Everybody’s really friendly, so it was nice to get a few tips here and there as we played.”

When asked how his first round went, Brahy smiled.

“Really bad,” he said.

“But after a couple of rounds I could see some improvement, and that was encouraging.”

Brahy admits that the local course can be a little intimidating to new players due to the occasional water hazard, but he recommends either playing it safe or simply skipping those holes until you’ve learned more control over the discs.

“It’s also just a beautiful course,” he added.

“It’s nice to get outside. And while regular golf can take five hours to play a round, I can play a round of disc golf in about an hour and a half.”

Looking back, Brahy said he was most surprised to discover how open the community of disc golfers turned out to be.

“It’s been so easy to meet people and hook up for a match on any disc golf course I play,” he said.

“I’ve played in California and Florida, as well as here, and people will usually welcome you and you can pick up and play with them right there on the course.

“Playing with other people and asking questions is the best way to learn. All it takes is a couple of discs and that’s enough to get you started. See if you like it.”

For those interested in picking up the sport, Plaza Fountainside’s Card$mart carries a selection of discs, located a disc’s throw from Fountain Park’s first tee box.

Spinners on the Green on E. McDowell Rd. is also a favorite location for disc golf shoppers, with used sporting goods stores like Play it Again Sports offering a cheap way to give disc golf a go (or add a few inexpensive discs to your collection for those tricky water shots).

To learn more about the Fountain Hills Disc Golf Club, as well as its weekly events and lesson opportunities, visit discgolf.club.