The 11th annual Mac Attack Charity Disc Golf Tournament Presented By Core & Main was held on Saturday, May 13, 2023. Special thank you to Patrick Harrity for coming back to TD; and Gavin Wilson and Keith Raffield of Red Hills Disc Golf for making it happen.
Scroll down to see pictures compliments of Jennifer Coleman.
65 players enjoyed 36 holes of friendly, but competitive disc golf at MacIntyre Park Disc Golf Course including one cash CTP, a prize CTP in each division, three Ace Holes, and an optional Ace Pool; breakfast thanks to Lewis Produce, Dunkin’ and Flowers Bakery; lunch compliments of Barberitos; beverages and cookies by Henderson’s; ice cream sandwiches from Blue Bell; and an awesome player pack, MAXI disc, and more than $10,000 in prizes thanks to all of our generous donors and hole sponsors. And to kick off PDGA Women’s Disc Golf Week, every lady received a prize pack curated especially for them. The players received a lot, but they also gave back by donating party items like cake mix, frosting, candles, and more to make Birthday Boxes for kids at The Treehouse, Vashti, and Never Lost. Together, players, donors, and sponsors raised more than $10,000 for HOTC. We are so thankful to be a part of such a supportive community!
We might not be the biggest city, disc golf course, or tournament, but we’ve definitely got a lot of heart, and it shows every year at this event. Thanks to all the players who show up in support. You’re the best!
Scroll down to see pictures compliments of Jennifer Coleman.
Congratulations to Mac Attack XI Winners (See complete standings at pdga.com):
MPO:
1st Tim Vernon
2nd Jamie Kiep
3rd Eli Harrell
*Jamie and Tim went head to head and tied with two of the lowest scores (-20) in MacAttack History, with Tim coming out on top in the playoff. Tim’s unofficial 2nd round rating of 1038 is the second lowest in MacAttack history, only behind Jamie’s 2017 2nd round of 1042.
Pictures compliments of Jennifer Coleman. Click to view and enlarge. Images may be downloaded and shared for personal use only – Copyright 2023. Thank you!
After a two-year hiatus, on April 30, Mac Attack Charity Disc Golf Tournament Presented By Core & Main came back to celebrate its 10th anniversary!
Scroll down to see pictures thanks to Madi Edenfield and Peter Celis.
65 players enjoyed 36 holes of friendly, but competitive disc golf at MacIntyre Park Disc Golf Course including two CTP Holes, four Ace Holes, and an optional Ace Pool; breakfast thanks to Lewis Produce, Dunkin’ and Flowers Bakery; lunch compliments of Barberitos; beverages and cookies by Henderson’s; ice cream sandwiches from Blue Bell; and an awesome player pack, MAX disc, and prize packs thanks to all of our generous donors and hole sponsors. The players received a lot, but they also gave back by donating three giant bags of individually wrapped food items and $100 to Backpack Buddies summer food program, and Pro Player Jamie Kiep donated his winnings and the proceeds from sale of his promotional swag. Together, players, donors, and sponsors raised more than $10,000 for HOTC. We are blessed to have such a supportive community!
We might not be the biggest city, disc golf course, or tournament, but we’ve definitely got the biggest heart, and it shines through at this event. Two years away did nothing to damper the spirits of our partner Red Hills Disc Golf, or the players who show up in support. Thank you all!
Scroll down to see pictures thanks to Madi Edenfield and Peter Celis.
Congratulations to Mac Attack X Winners:
MPO
1st- Jamie Kiep -13
MA1
1st- Tim Vernon -12
2nd Shawn Haskin -6
3rd William Holt -5
MA40
1st Gareth Pyle +8
2nd Matt Stringer +10
3rd Adrian Pyle +11
MA50
1st Ray Vandewalle +4
2nd Lloyd Sawyer +8
3rd John Norris +16
MA2
1st Dalton Scott Smith E Congratulations also to Dalton Scott Smith for hitting an ace on hole 10 in round 1. That shot won him $460!
2nd Clayton Cooley +2
3rd William Marrapodi +3
MA3
1st Jared Kirk +4
1st Britain Edward Pyle +5
3rd Peter Render +9
FA3
1st Lynn Sawyer +43
MA4
1st Gavin Wilson +12
2nd Zach Hester +16
3rd Devon Crum +20
3rd Chaz Brady +20
FA4
1st Madi Burgess +35
2nd Emily Hastings +41
3rd Erin Vick Blackwell +48
MJ15
1st Peyton Barnes +19
2nd Reid Brooks +49
Pictures thanks to Madi Edenfield and Peter Celis. Click to view and enlarge. Images may be downloaded and shared for personal use only – Copyright 2022. Thank you!
Volunteering is good for you – mentally, spiritually, and physically.
Volunteering is good for our community – a healthy and pleasing environment makes for happy citizens.
Volunteering is good for others – when you donate your time and skills to a local non-profit, community agency, or project site, you are improving, directly and indirectly, the health and well-being of local children, seniors, and families, now and future.
In partnership with Live Better Thomas County, HOTC has added new, or improved existing, volunteer projects to include ways of promoting and creating healthy habits that benefit everyone:
Tracking steps.Pedometer Project – For 2019-20, HOTC began distributing Live Better pedometers to all volunteers to exhibit the physical benefits of volunteering. Volunteers track and log their steps while volunteering at project sites. So far, volunteers have averaged over 4000 steps during a 2-3 hour volunteer period. That translates into approximately 2 miles per volunteer. We look forward to seeing the yearly totals! Need to log your steps? Click here.
Healthy food options.Manna Drops – In January 2019, HOTC began including fresh produce at all of our free food distributions. Along with boxes of food staples, recipients receive bags of produce (so far – sweet potatoes, apples, tomatoes or collards) along with a recipe card compliments of Live Better which provides nutritional information and a healthy cooking idea.
Vegetable seedlings. Pop Up Plants – With the help of Lowe’s, Nutra-Ag, and Bonnie Bell, volunteers pot vegetable seedlings (strawberries, collards, cabbage, and squash to date) which are then given to community agencies for their clients and/or community garden. To help promote sustainable food practices, growing and food preparation instructions are included, along with a positive and inspirational message. In October/November 2019, more than 500 seedlings were distributed.
Surprise smiles! Sidewalk Art – Using stencils, and “magic rain-away spray”, volunteers create surprise sidewalk art promoting positive mental messages and/or physical activity like hopscotch. Sometimes, we all need a little surprise word of kindness or fun to brighten our day and our mindset.
Planting roses.Improvement of Public Spaces – Working with community partners, volunteers beautify vacant lots and green spaces. Litter pick-ups, landscaping, painting and repairing buildings, and planting of new trees and plants are all ways to improve the way our community looks and feels.
Learning disc golf.Disc Golf In The Community – In 2009, HOTC installed a 12-hole disc golf course at MacIntyre Park to encourage simple, healthy, outdoor activity for all ages. We hope to make a new installment at Cassidy Pond Park in the near future!
Look for these and other healthy living initiatives designed to help all of us live better!
The ninth annual Mac Attack Charity Disc Golf Tournament presented by Core & Main was held on Saturday, May 11 at MacIntyre Park Disc Golf Course. As always, we had an amazing day thanks to a full house, including five Pro Players; the weather gods which produced some threatening skies, but nothing more; and the most generous players who came ready to compete, but with open hearts.
This charity event benefits HOTC volunteer and community service programs. Thanks to our hole sponsors and donors for making this tournament possible especially Presenting Sponsor – Core & Main, Food Sponsor – Barberitos, and The City of Thomasville. Big props to Pro Player Jamie Kiep for coordinating a raffle of unique disc golf items which raised over $400; and to all the players who donated food and money to Backpack Buddies summer food programs. THANK YOU!
With two $250 CTP Holes, four $250 Ace Holes, and an option Ace Pot, there was lots of cash to be won. Shout out to David Fairbanks for his Ace on hole 6B, and to Dennis Tipton for taking home the CTP cash pot!
We look forward to doing it again soon.
Enjoy pics from Jay Flowers and Bella Pozo. Please feel free to share for your personal use.
Excerpted from Thomasville Magazine, Fall 2012. To read the article in its entirety, click here.
One of the world’s fastest growing sports can now be found right here in Thomasville at our very own MacIntyre Park: Disc Golf. “What is Disc Golf?” you may ask. The easiest way to explain it is to compare it to regular ball golf, but instead of using clubs to hit a ball, disc golfers throw discs to navigate the course. The manner in which the holes are completed also slightly differs between the two. In Disc Golf the player attempts to “hole out” by ringing a pole-mounted basket with chains hanging above it. The chains can be used as a sort of backstop to halt the flight of the disc and make it drop into the basket below. The overall goal is to get the disc in the basket in the fewest number of throws or “strokes”, just like its ball golf cousin. Rob Taylor, a local disc golfer and committee member for Red Hill Disc Golf says, “It is easy to learn, a healthy activity, and accessible to people of all ages and fitness levels.”
The sport really got a boost locally when Hands on Thomas County (HOTC) and the City of Thomasville pulled together volunteers from the community to build and install the course in October of 2010. “Having a course in our home town only grew our love for the sport” says Taylor. With the continued growth of the sport and local support from avid disc golfers, a bag tag league was started. The participants in the bag tag league get a numbered tag that is used as a trophy of sorts when they play against one another. Challenges are issued by players with higher number tags to those with lower number tags with the hope of shooting a lower score that round and ending up with the lower tag. This bag tag league was created to encourage players to play together, add an additional competitive element with the goal of attaining that coveted #1 tag, and also to encourage players to learn and obey the rules of the game. Jim Henderson, a committee member for Red Hills Disc Golf and administrator of the bag tag league, thinks “playing for bag tags is a great incentive to meet up with the other participants in the league and can make each round a little more fun and competitive”.
Out of the bag tag league, Red Hills Disc Golf was born. This local disc golf club adopted the mission to be “dedicated to the promotion and growth of disc golf in the greater Thomasville, GA area by encouraging new players to get involved in organized disc golf, helping Hands on Thomas County develop and maintain all Thomas County disc golf courses, promoting organized disc golf events, and striving to instill community awareness of the great sport of disc golf while fostering a spirit of competition.” In an effort to thank Hands on Thomas County and the City of Thomasville for the installment of the course, Red Hills Disc Golf hosted their first tournament, dubbed the “Mac Attack” in March 2011. An amazing group of 40 players showed up for that first event and they were able to raise $1000 for the nonprofit organization. Due to its overwhelming success, the decision was made to hold a second tournament in December of 2011 and call it the “Jingle Jangle”. This tournament built on the success of the first by featuring 44 players and raising nearly $1400 for Hands on Thomas County.
Since then, 2 more tournaments have been held, MacAttack 2 and Jingle Jangle 2. Each growing in participation, reach and excitement; and nearly tripling the proceeds from past tournaments which benefit Hands On Thomas County’s volunteer and community service programs. The tournaments have also begun including a player collection drive. Participants of Jingle Jangle 2 in December 2012 donated new toys for the kids at Vashti just in time for Christmas.
On May 18, 2013, HOTC and Red Hills Disc Golf will host MacAttack 3 which will be their first Professional Disc Golf Association (PDGA) sanctioned C-Tier event. Proceeds will benefit HOTC, and there will be a collection drive of new and gently used discs to be donated to HOTC Youth Disc Golf programs that will encourage local schools, youth groups and individuals to get active in this up and coming sport. Click here for event information and registration. For tournament sponsorship opportunities, click here.
Though there is always a large field of professional and advanced players, the largest group generally is in the Recreational Division. Red Hills Disc Golf committee member and HOTC Board Member Allen Thornhill explains, “The Recreational Division, or Rec Division, is for the more casual disc golfer, or maybe someone who is just getting into the sport. It’s great to see this area’s biggest names in disc golf show up for our tournament, but I’m most excited about the large number of Rec players. We see new players, a few guys in their seventies, and a handful of junior players all the way down to age 12.”
Red Hills Disc Golf has a toss, or informal non-tournament round, every Sunday afternoon at 2:00 and would like everyone to know that it is open to ALL players regardless of skill level or club membership. The last Sunday of each month the format of the toss is Doubles where randomly drawn teams of two play the course together only using the best throw made by either player on each shot. They also would like to extend an open invitation to the community to come out to MacIntyre Park and give this fast-growing sport a try. They are convinced it will be a sport you will fall in love with as they have. Members can offer demonstration and instruction on different throwing styles and techniques, explanation of the different types of discs and flight patterns, and even let you throw some of the different discs to see which suits you best. “Most of us just went and bought discs and started throwing them” said Thornhill. “I personally would’ve loved the advice and instruction from an experienced player when I first started out”.
To get in contact with Red Hills Disc Golf, email tvillediscgolf@gmail.com or find “Red Hills Disc Golf” on Facebook. For more information on disc golf including statistics on its recent growth, visit the Professional Disc Golf Association website.