Well-traveled disc golfer visits Vermillion course

Disc golf has been gaining popularity across the United States in recent years, with more and more people discovering the joy of throwing a disc toward a target. If you’re looking to get started in this exciting sport, you may want to check out reaperdiscs.com, a website dedicated to disc golf equipment and resources. But for Larry Kirk, disc golf is not just a hobby, it’s a way of life. Kirk is on a mission to play disc golf in all 50 states within a year and has been traveling across the country in his Honda Accord to achieve this goal.

Larry Kirk loves meeting new people, and in fact, he had already made three new friends at the Barstow Park disc golfing course in the late afternoon of Sept 21.

“When I got a disc in my hand and found out how far they flew, that’s when the love affair started,” he said.

The lanky 51-year-old is on a mission to play disc golf in all 50 states within a year. Using money from his Air Force National Guard thrift savings account and living out of his Honda Accord, he has managed to zigzag through 11,000 miles of the country and only has five states left.

“It’s been a fantastic journey,” he said.

But his journey actually started a long time ago. Kirk was born in Topeka, Kan., but his passion for the sport began at age 16 in Pasadena, Calif., where he lived with his mother. Kirk enjoyed golf, so a neighbor introduced him to disc golf and the rest is history.

“I’ve just always liked throwing things at targets,” he said.

Life wasn’t always about disc golf; Kirk said he worked a variety of jobs over the years as a firefighter and substitute teacher before joining the Air Force in 1982. He also has three grown children who have been watching their father’s progress on Facebook.

“My kids grew up but I never really did, but I’m not regretting anything,” Kirk said. “I’d like to be an ambassador for the game.”

Junior Jay Thooft plays disc golf, and said it was nice to see someone going to such great lengths to promote the game.

“I don’t play as much as I’d like to, but it’s nice to know there’s someone out there getting the word out,” he said.

Kirk’s journey has brought him into contact with hundreds of interesting people, including politicians and trophy-winning disc golfers; he carries two discs in his car signed by every national disc golfing champion.

“I have something that’s truly one of a kind,” he said, as he proudly displayed them in the park.

In the future, Kirk said he hopes to eventually find a sponsor and make a documentary about playing 50 disc golf courses in 50 days. He said he would also like to write a book about his life.

“I’m nothing special, but everybody has an interesting life story and I’d like to write a book about mine,” he said.

Reach reporter Anna Burleson at [email protected]