Another Round hopes to rally disc golf community in Salt Lake
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Image courtesy of Another Round Disc Golf Salt Lake
A new disc golf center — with a pending taproom — aims to harness the sport's strong history in Utah to energize and organize players around new chances to throw.
The latest: Another Round Disc Golf, a popular bar and disc shop chain based in Charlotte, North Carolina, opened its fourth location in the U.S. this week in Murray.
Context: Utah disc golfers helped pioneer the sport, with one of the world's first permanent courses at Millcreek's Creekside Park, which opened in 1982.
- That course is named for Walter Frederick Morrison — the Utahn who invented the Frisbee in 1937.
- Another Utah course, Ogden's Fort Buenaventura Park, was the scene of one of the greatest shots in disc golf history: The "Holy Shot," thrown by golfer James Conrad at the 2021 World Championships.
Yes, but: Salt Lake County has fewer disc golf courses per capita than most U.S. counties, according to an analysis by Jacob Barham, president of the Salt Lake Tunnel Runners disc golf club.
- Of 2,064 counties with at least one course, Salt Lake ranked No. 2,008, with six courses for about 1.19 million people at the time of Barham's analysis (a seventh course opened last year in West Jordan). Many smaller counties have two, three and four times that many.
What they're saying: "Even though there's this incredibly vibrant community in Salt Lake, there's not enough courses," shop owner Ben Marolf told Axios. "Traditionally disc golfers have not been very civically involved. That's part and parcel of what this shop is meant to do."
- Marolf said he hopes having a gathering place will facilitate more planning and activism for public courses.
The intrigue: Another Round became popular in part for its taprooms that sell craft beers to patrons — a trickier proposition under Utah's liquor laws.
- The shop has opened sans bar for now and is seeking a liquor license similar to those granted to bowling alleys and axe-throwing venues, Marolf.
- The shop plans to stock the taproom with local beers.