By ANDREW PETERSEN H&R Staff Writer

It's been almost more than a month since Marc Anderson met with the Decatur Park District, and he's still beaming over the outcome.

In the process of establishing the Decatur Disc Golf Club, Anderson sat down with park district executive director Bill Clevenger and director of operations Jim Kiefer on Aug. 10 to discuss the possibility of installing a course in Decatur.

Along with his brother-in-law Jay Bakula, Anderson attended the meeting not knowing fully what to expect but emerged surprised on multiple levels.

"We went in there expecting to have to sell them on it," Anderson said. "We went in and handed them our proposal, got halfway through it and they said we didn't have to sell them.

"I expected more of having to sell them on the idea and them contributing money."

As it happens, the park district is quite open to housing a course in Decatur, specifically at Anderson's suggested location within Fairview Park.

Funding is another matter, though, with the park district preferring to follow the format used in building the skate park and the upcoming Bark Park for dogs. In this scenario, the project is funded through donations and money collected by an outside organization, with the park district supplying and maintaining the land.

While he didn't expect to be responsible for the sum of the $5,279 projected cost for the proposed nine-hole course, Anderson isn't about to complain.

After all, he's made significant strides for beginning his planning a little more than a month ago.

Anderson, who lives in Decatur, assumed his self-appointed duties after reading about Illiopolis resident Steve Vose's efforts to bring disc golf to Decatur in a July 14 article in the Herald & Review. Shortly thereafter, Anderson planted the first seed for the club in the form of a Web site - www.decaturdiscgolf.com.

Vose, who approached the park district in December 2004 about setting up a course, completely supports Anderson's proposal, as do more than 40 others who have signed a petition on Anderson's Web site.

"It's a pleasant surprise," Vose said after Anderson's meeting. "It looks like things are going in a really good direction.

"A big part of the sport in general is promotion and getting the word out."

The message is being spread, particularly throughout online message boards of the existing disc golf clubs in Springfield and Champaign.

The Springfield club is working with Anderson to schedule a trial run of the proposed course layout at Fairview. The run-through, which would use portable baskets for each hole, is tentatively set for Sept. 16 pending park district approval.

Clevenger admires Anderson's gumption but cautions that implementing a permanent course will require several more steps and a bit more time.

"It's great to see somebody come forward with initiative," Clevenger said. "I think that what we need to do is look at sites to see if it's feasible or not feasible. I think it's premature to say that we're way down the road."

Nevertheless, ideas continue to dance around in Anderson's head.

With the fall semester just under way, Anderson plans to introduce his proposal to Millikin students, who could easily walk to a course at Fairview.

As for fundraising, Anderson plans to target businesses as sponsors for signs on each hole. Millikin has crossed his mind as a candidate for an overall course sponsor. Hosting more trial events is still another option.

"It's not been easier than what I thought, but things have rolled along better than I thought," Anderson said.

Disc golf in Decatur remains little more than a concept on a Web site, but with a dedicated and growing faction, the real thing doesn't appear far off.

Andrew Petersen can be reached at apetersen@herald-review.com or 421-7971.