A co-worker’s zeal for disc golf inspired Mandi and Adam Jensen to give the sport a try, and only a year later, they’ve become enthusiasts themselves and even brought sons Maverick and Ryker and daughter Phoenix into the fold.

“It really is a good sport for families,” Mandi Jensen says. “We have three kids, and our youngest is 6 and our oldest is 12, so they’re not interested in many of the same things.” But when the family plays disc golf, “we’re all together and we’re all having fun.”

All it takes to play disc golf is a flying disc—known by many as a Frisbee, the Wham-O toy company’s registered trademark name—and a visit to one of Omaha’s three disc golf courses; Seymour Smith Park (68th and Harrison streets), Hummel Park (north of the Florence area off John J. Pershing Drive) or Cunningham Park (northwest of 84th and State streets). The rules are simple: Whether playing a 9-hole or 18-hole course, the basic objective is to land the disc in the disc pole hole or “basket” in as few throws as possible.

“The disc golf that we have at three locations in our parks in Omaha is a park amenity open to the public. There’s no charge, so you can just walk on and get in at any time,” says Tracy Stratman, recreation manager for the City of Omaha Parks, Recreation and Public Property department.

An ongoing partnership with the Omaha Metro Disc Golf Association (OMDGA) has helped to establish and expand facilities in the community since the mid-1990s, and volunteers from the group continue to support upkeep and invest plenty of sweat equity in maintenance year-round.

“From the City side, this is what makes our partnerships work and our parks successful. If somebody comes to us with an idea of an amenity that they want to see in a park, we work very hard with those groups to try and make it a reality,” Stratman says. “The parks are public spaces for the people and so we take our partnerships very seriously, because we can’t do it alone.”

The Hummel Park course, which OMDGA helped design, is considered by players to be the most challenging in the area and has even gained national recognition.

“Hummel is indeed getting such a solid rep,” says Bill (“Mr. Bill”) Hulbert of the OMDGA, “I’ve played with so many people from out of town that, after one round, are putting it on their list of favorites. It’s got everything: it’s not extremely long, and it has signature holes that you have to put it in a certain place on your first shot or you’re hosed.”

The OMDGA has been hosting the disc golf competition for the Cornhusker State Games (now the State Games of America) since 1994 and this August, for the first time, will be hosting the 2015 State Games of America national disc golf events at Hummel and at least one other course.

Hulbert still remembers buying his first disc at the age of 7, saving his 15-cent allowance for four weeks to buy a 49-cent “Pluto Platter.” A founding member of the first Omaha-area disc golf club and a 2013 Nebraska Disc Golf Hall of Fame inductee, Hulbert says he’s enjoyed watching the sport grow locally from a single course and a small following to a thriving activity and community known for its open arms.

“The community of disc golf people is really welcoming,” Jensen says. “They’re more friendly than you can imagine.”