If the traditional game of golf is "a good walk ruined," perhaps a game of disc golf is a good walk enhanced and celebrated.

Disc golf offers a new spin on the conventional sport, with all the natural splendor and beauty, all the nature and fresh air, but without green fees, inconvenient tee times, divots, lost balls or ugly slacks.

And through the design of new courses like the one slated for creation in Carrboro next summer, one can add greater accessibility to the list of features attracting more and more enthusiasts to the sport nationwide.

"It costs little or no money to play," said Katie Allman of the Carrboro Parks Project. "Of course you can put a little money into buying the [specialized] discs, but you can also play with a regular Frisbee. It's low-cost, it's great for all ages, from kids to seniors. It's not just for the college-aged male."

Specialized discs -- and that includes the "Frisbee" brand name -- can be purchased locally at such supporting outlets as the Great Outdoor Provision Company and Play It Again Sports.

Through the Carrboro Parks Project, an ad hoc, nonprofit committee for small-parks funding, a new disc golf course will likely be created in Carrboro's Anderson Park by next summer without significant impact on the park's natural beauty or existing facilities.

The new course will be only the second in the Chapel Hill area, the first being located at UNC's Outdoor Education Center aligned with the fairways of the former Chapel Hill Country Club.

Allman said the notion of a course in Carrboro was hatched by professional disc golfer Matt Smith and Carrboro recreation and parks facilities supervisor Brendan Moore.

"Matt Smith is a professional with the Professional Disc Golfers' Association, so he had an avid interest in it," Allman explained. "The course at UNC is heavily used, and parking's an issue, so there was definitely an interest among the population of people who play of getting another local course."

"I played a lot of recreational Ultimate Frisbee in college," Smith said, "and I learned about disc golf around the year 2000 when UNC had Pole Holes that were only these sticks in the ground out at the UNC course. I started playing around 2001 and started competing around 2003. I've been playing ever since.

"I'd known Brendan Moore for quite a while, and he approached me when this became an option at Anderson Park," Smith added. "We walked the area and came up with a preliminary design, which we brought to the attention of a few folks. A company called 'Innova Disc Golf' will take our idea, tweak it a little, and come up with a final course design."

The Carrboro Parks Project (www.carrboroparks.org) was formed in 1999 by the town's Board of Aldermen to discuss purchasing land for a neighborhood park. This appointment eventually led to incorporation in 2001. Since that time, the Carrboro Parks Project has successfully raised funds for the installation of fencing at the Anderson Park Dog Park, the installation of a shade sail at the Town Commons Play Area, and the installation of tennis backboards at Anderson and Wilson Parks.

According to the PDGA Web site (www.pdga.com), the sport of disc golf is played like traditional golf, using flying discs or Frisbees instead of a ball and clubs. Formalized in the 1970s, the sport's object is to complete each hole in the fewest number of strokes (or throws in disc golf).

"I really like it because it's a sport that can be played by all ages," Moore said. "It's popular, it's growing, and there aren't that many courses in the area."

The Carrboro Disc Golf Course will fit neatly into the menu of nearby courses, including Cornwallis Road Park and Valley Springs Park in Durham; Kentwood, Cedar Hills Rotary Park, and Buckhorn at Harris Lake County Park in Raleigh; and Cedarock Park in Burlington.

Moore said that details have yet to be worked out on exactly how the course will fit into Anderson Park, the only area park large enough to hold a full 18-hole course.

"That's to be determined," he said. "There's a lot of land between the outer edge of the walking trail. The course would be predominantly in the woods ... and wouldn't affect any of the existing facilities."

"There's a little space around the park entrance and going around the woods near there, along the pond," Allman said. "It's a great spot for it, and we wouldn't really have to take down any trees or anything."

"It will be a great course for anyone to learn on," Smith insisted. "It won't be as long as the UNC course, but it will be technical with shots that have to turn different directions."

"Our goal is to have it up and running by the beginning of next summer," Allman added. "That's feasible because the design is already under way. If we can raise the next couple thousand dollars by the end of the winter, the town said the public works can probably get the land ready for the installation of baskets."

The total funding needed to support the creation of the disc golf course would be close to $8,500, the Carrboro Parks Project estimated. Several initiatives have already taken place in an effort to raise funds, including a disc golf tournament held at the UNC course on Nov. 2, jointly hosted by the Carolina Disc Golf Club and the Carrboro Parks Project.

"We were hoping for a little bit more of a turnout," Allman conceded, "but we still did a bit better than we expected. We raised about $700, and we're really happy with that, as it was a one-day event. Generally, tournaments are two days."

Additionally, Zach Ward, a disc golf enthusiast and executive producer of Carrboro's DSI Comedy Theater, recently agreed to match remaining funds raised by the Carrboro Parks Project with $4,200 of his own contributions on behalf of DSI.

Allman said that the project would make use of donations of any size currently.

"This project is a definite go," Allman said. "It's just a matter of raising the rest of the money, and there's only about another $2,000 left to go. We've had a lot of e-mails and small donations from the community, but I think that's how we'll end up raising the rest of the money for this course -- people donating smaller amounts of money."

With a little extra push from the Carrboro Parks Project and a little drive by local enthusiasts, it would appear that a modest amount of green is all that stands in the way of making this new healthy fitness alternative fly.

Contact Randy B. Young at chnsports@nando.com or by calling 932-8743.