DALTON, Ga. — Sailing a disc past the trees on the 18th hole at the Westside Park disc golf course is a challenge, and the breeze Saturday probably didn’t help. But players were giving it their best shot.

“There’s some tough holes here. But that’s part of the fun,” said Kate Ditali of Woodstock. “This is a great course.”

The Whitfield County Parks and Recreation Department (WCPRD) held a ribbon cutting for the disc golf course Saturday, followed by a pro tournament with 90 players taking part.

And while the park may have only officially opened Saturday, several of the players said they’d already played it.

“We came up and played a few weeks ago,” said Ditali. “My husband heard about it.”

Will Schusterick, who designed the course, said he was pleased with the turnout.

Schusterick is a former No. 1 disc golf player in the world and three-time winner of the U.S. Open. He is now co-owner of Prodigy Disc, a Whitfield County-based manufacturer of disc golf discs.

“Every course offers something different, so when players hear about a new course, they want to try it out. We’ve got players out here who are 12 and 13 and players who are 75,” he said.

Schusterick said that age isn’t necessarily an impediment when it comes to competing in disc golf.

“I started playing at 14,” he said. “At 15, I was playing in the biggest tournament in the United States, the United States Open, and I won the United States Open when I was 18.”

Barry Robbins, a member of the Whitfield County Board of Commissioners, said he was happy with the number of people taking part in the tournament.

“I’m really impressed at how many people have come out and from how far away some of them have come to play,” he said. “This is going to be a nice opening.”

When WCPRD Director Brian Chastain asked players to raise their hands if they were from outside Whitfield County, almost all of them raised their hands.

A glance at license plates showed vehicles in the parking lot from Alabama and from Florida. There were a number of vehicles from Hamilton and Bradley counties in Tennessee, as well as Franklin, Knox, Marion and Sequatchie counties. From Georgia, there were vehicles from Catoosa, Cherokee, Cobb, Dade, Floyd, Fulton, Gordon, Gwinnett, Murray and Walker counties.

There were veteran competitors and relative novices.

Brent Miller, from Chattanooga, has played disc golf since 2001.

“I’ve played this course six or seven times now. It’s probably the best course in the area,” he said.

But Kara Stolze, from McDonough, said this was only her second tournament.

“We found out about the tournament online. People who have played the course say it’s a really good one,” she said.

Steve Card, executive director of the Georgia Recreation and Park Association, was among the dignitaries who came out.

“I’m just here to recognize Whitfield County on behalf of the Georgia Recreation and Park Association for the new amenity they have added to this beautiful park,” said Card, who was formerly the director of the Dalton Parks and Recreation Department. “I can’t think of a better way to christen this new facility than to have some of the best players from across the region compete in a tournament.”

Card said he is an avid disc golfer and had played the course a number of times.

“It didn’t officially open until today, but there’s been plenty of people out here,” he said. “That’s the thing about disc golf. If a course is good, it can attract players from 75 miles away, and this is the nicest course in this region. There’s no doubt about that. And this is a sport people from 4 to 94 can play.”