May 2026 • Nebraskaland 33
By Justin Haag
Zane Hesting watches his disc fly to
the basket at Chadron State Park.
JUSTIN HAAG, NEBRASKALAND
In parks throughout Nebraska, and far beyond,
visitors are finding entertainment in slinging
plastic toward metal.
I
t's Monday night, so the summer air will soon be accented
with faint sounds of flying plastic clinking on metal
chains over the Pine Ridge terrain of Chadron State Park.
The group arrives one by one, parking vehicles, grabbing
bags and congregating at a concrete slab without need for
instruction. Soon, they take turns flinging plastic discs across
countless greenspaces, then follow the discs from place to
place with the familiarity of moving around their homes.
This is the weekly scene at the Chadron State Park disc
golf course, which has become special to this group, just as
courses throughout the state, nation and world have become
to others. It got its start when Jake Rodiek was working as
an assistant superintendent at the northwestern Nebraska
attraction. He designed the layout before being promoted
to the head superintendent position at Mahoney State Park.
