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SALT LAKE CITY — For some, disc golf is not just a sport, it's a lifestyle, affecting people in ways they didn't know was possible. It changed the life of one Ogden man while offering possibilities to another.
“I came and threw one disc and that was it. It was over. I was hooked,” “Big” Jim Gerdes said.
He visits the course at least three days a week and can’t get enough. Four years ago, Gerdes looked like a different man, tipping the scales at nearly 400 pounds.
“I did nine holes and it was time for a nap. I was just out here walking. I couldn’t believe how tired I was,” Gerdes said.
Gerdes says he now feels happy and healthy, saying it’s all because of disc golf.
“I don’t have any back problems. I don’t have any knee problems. I’m pretty convinced the motion of what you’re doing is just like the doctors telling me how to stretch and everything else.”
After shedding nearly 100 pounds, the sport has become part of his life. Some days, Gerdes plays as many as four rounds, logging about 10 miles in a day.
It’s that drive that has worn off on Jim’s son, Justin.
“Disc golf for me is just something I can come out and do since I can’t do strenuous activities due to physical limitations,” Justin said.
Justin Gerdes joined the Marine Corps in 2006, and five years later was diagnosed with Bicosta aorta disease. Contact sports were no longer an option for Justin, making disc golf an important part of his life.
“It kinda helped me relieve stress a little bit and forget what’s going on with myself. We play fast rounds, we play slow rounds. It kinda helps me out with my cardio a little bit and gets me stretching my muscles,” Justin said.
It's a game he and his father now enjoy together. Last June, Gerdes helped to start a disc golf club called “Club Royal Star” and now has more than 100 members.
“Come out here and just get moving. If you’re big, if you’re small, tall, short, doesn’t matter. There are benefits for everyone that comes out here,” Gerdes said.
Contributing: Nkoyo Iyamba, Rich Piatt, Jenniffer Michaelson
