STRUTHERS — Soon after first tossing a disc that resembles a small Frisbee but is slightly heavier, Joshua Propst developed an interest that he will tell you is above par.

“I’ve been playing disc golf for about 2 1/2 years now,” the New Middletown man said. “I picked up the disc one day and just started throwing.”

Propst began playing disc golf while living in Edmund, Okla., and was pleased that he will have another local site at which to keep his throwing skills sharp. That’s because the Struthers Rotary Club dedicated a nine-hole disc golf course at Mauthe Park in Struthers.

He also was among those who attended a ribbon-cutting ceremony Saturday morning at the 14-acre park, 156 Smithfield St., to celebrate the occasion.

Propst, who has played the sport in Boardman Park and at a few sites in the Cleveland area, also was one of 36 players who took part in an inaugural tournament after the gathering, in which four people were on each hole.

The object of disc golf is to have the disc, which is about 8 inches in diameter, strike a series of chains on a tee pad and fall into a circular basket surrounding the bottom of the chains with the fewest throws — the equivalent of trying to sink a shot with the lowest number of strokes in traditional golf. Players toss their discs from where they land, much as a golf ball is putted from where it stops on the course, explained Justin Edwards of Poland, a 2006 Struthers High School graduate who was instrumental in designing the course.

Edwards’ wife, Ashley, collaborated with him.

Justin Edwards also praised the Rotarians and the city for working together to raise grant money and other funds to make the project possible.

Karen Edwards, the Rotary club’s president and Justin Edwards’ mother, said the course will bring added recreational opportunities to the city.

“Struthers is now a destination for fun,” she said, noting that Saturday also was World Polio Day, which the Rotary International organization established more than 10 years ago to celebrate the birth of Dr. Jonas Salk, who led the first team to develop a vaccine against the disease.

Local Rotarians also have worked for years to eradicate the crippling disease, Karen Edwards continued.

Bob Clyde, Struthers parks superintendent, recalled that discussions on the project began in 2018 during city council meetings. The disc golf course effort was “two years in the making” and has since attracted renewed interest in Mauthe Park, he continued.

“I’ve never seen so many people at the park as I’ve seen this last month,” Clyde said, noting that the tee pads and baskets were installed in late September.

It’s probably a safe bet that Propst will be among the frequent visitors, especially since he can compete at a location much closer to home.

“I will play here regularly,” he said.

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