SAFFORD, Ariz. — The Gila Valley will host its first-ever sanctioned disc golf tournament this summer with the Desert Chains Classic, bringing competitive disc golf to the region under official rules.
The tournament, sanctioned as a PDGA C-Tier event, is scheduled for August 30th with round one at the Graham County Fairgrounds Course and round two at the Discovery Park Course.
The event is organized by the Gila Valley Disc Golf Club, a nonprofit that maintains and manages both courses. The club has space to accommodate up to 144 players across professional and amateur divisions.
“This is a major step forward for our disc golf community,” club organizers said. “It brings in new visitors, increases awareness of our local courses, and contributes to the region’s growing sports tourism market.”
The Professional Disc Golf Association (PDGA), the sport’s governing body, sanctions more than 6,000 tournaments annually worldwide. In Arizona alone, there are more than 50 PDGA-sanctioned events each year, reflecting the state’s active disc golf scene.
Similar to traditional golf, disc golf is played by throwing a flying disc from a tee toward a target, typically a metal basket, aiming to complete each hole in the fewest throws possible.
Disc golf has been growing in the Gila Valley since early 2021, when local resident Matt Hart completed the area’s first course at the fairgrounds. The original nine-hole course featured homemade baskets, built by Hart himself as part of a grassroots effort to bring the sport to the valley.
Through fundraising efforts by the Gila Valley Disc Golf Club, the original homemade baskets were later replaced with official PDGA-approved baskets, and nine more holes were added to expand the fairgrounds course to a full 18 holes. The club also funded and installed all 18 baskets and tee pads at Discovery Park, further expanding disc golf access in the community.
Organizers expect most players to come from outside the Gila Valley, estimating about 45 local disc golfers among the potential field of 144 players.
Tournament details
The Desert Chains Classic will offer cash payouts for professional divisions and trophies and player packs for amateur divisions, in line with PDGA regulations.
The event is sponsored in part by the United Way of Graham and Greenlee Counties. Disc golf vendors are expected to be on-site during the tournament.
Organizers hope the tournament will become an annual event, helping to promote sports tourism in the area and encouraging more visitors to discover and return to play the local courses.
“This brings new people to town who may not have played here before,” the club said. “Once they see what we have to offer, we hope they’ll come back.”
Disc golfers interested in competing must register by August 15th at https://www.discgolfscene.com/tournament/Desert_Chains_Classic_2025.
Registration will close when the field fills or on the deadline, whichever comes first.
