GRAND RAPIDS, MI -- For the increasingly popular sport of disc golf, there are 10 dates that together make up the Professional Disc Golf Association "majors."

In 2017, Michigan will host two of those events.

One is the U.S. Amateur Disc Golf Championship, held annually since 2002 at Kensington Metropark near Milford.

The other -- a first-ever PDGA Masters World Championship -- will be hosted at several courses in the Grand Rapids area. The event will be held at seven area parks from Aug. 12-19.

Having the tournament in Grand Rapids means improvement to local courses, the economic impact of hundreds of visitors and, potentially, a message that the community is a major player in the disc golf universe, according to Assistant Tournament Director Jacob Stahl.

"We'll definitely show them what Grand Rapids has to offer," Stahl said. "We have just a plethora of courses available to disc golfers in the community."

He predicts 400 players or more disc golfers will descend on Grand Rapids to compete in the inaugural PDGA Masters event this summer.

"It's going to be a huge economic boost," Stahl said. "We're going to have 400 competitors coming from all over the world, and they're bringing family, friends and caddies to help them."

The game of disc golf mimics golf, but is played with a flying disc or Frisbee (instead of a ball), which players attempt to get from a tee area to a target (think, hole) in the fewest possible throws (strokes). Often the tees are concrete and the targets are metal baskets with hanging chains to help catch approaching discs.

The sport traces its roots back to the 1960s and 70s, but has grown exponentially in more recent decades. Disc golf courses are much more common than they once were, often added as part of renovation projects at city, county and state parks across the country.

In 2015, the PDGA reported 30,454 active members, 5,500 courses and 2,581 sanctioned events. That number of courses is more than double the number listed by the PDGA in 2007, and nearly ten times more than the association reported in 1995.

Michigan itself is near the top of the list of states with the largest number of disc golf courses, according to the PDGA's course directory. The Grand Rapids metro area alone lays claim to 19 courses.

Scott Stacey, who has been involved in recent years an effort to renovate the course at Johnson Park, started playing disc golf in 2006 and never stopped.

"I just played a tournament a few weeks ago and froze my butt off," Stacey said.

The number, concentration and quality of the courses in the Grand Rapids area has set the community apart from others in the disc golf world, he said.

"Grand Rapids is already known as being a disc golf mecca," Stacey said. "We have a ton of options here."

The upcoming championship's featured course will be Grand Rapids' Riverside Park, but the eight-day event will also include play at six other locations:

* Fallasburg Park near Lowell

* Grand Rapids North Rotary course (Grand Isle Park) near Belmont

* Brewer Park in Gaines Township

* Johnson Park near Grandville

* Black Falcon course near Kent City

* Bluegill course near Wayland

Of those, Johnson, Fallasburg and Brewer are all part of Kent County's park system, which is involved in planning efforts alongside local groups of disc golfers and the Kent County Parks Foundation.

Kate Meyer, the foundation's executive director, explained that county parks being featured in a "world-class tournament" is a good thing for both the park system and the local disc golf community.

"I think it's really impressive that this is the first Masters World Championship that the PDGA has done, and that they chose Grand Rapids," Meyer said.

The foundation is cooperating with Grand Rapids Disc Golfers Unite, a group Stacey helped form, on plans to make major improvements to the course at Johnson Park in anticipation of the PDGA event.

"It's one of the most challenging in the area and people love it," Meyer said. "We wanted it to be showcased at the championship. We're showing the world what resources we have."

The problem was the lesser-known course at Johnson suffered vandalism after hosting a tournament in 1997, Stacey said, and is now missing many of the amenities needed for a course featured in a major PDGA tournament.

A few years ago, Grand Rapids Disc Golfers United picked up where other groups had left off in a years-long effort to renovate Johnson's course. With more than $8,000 in funds raised for the project, the long-awaited updates are about to become a reality.

"It's been a long time coming," Meyer said. "The disc golf community has really come together, because they want to see this course brought back and revitalized to what it used to be."

Though a sponsorship by disc golf company Innova resulted in discounted prices on new equipment for Johnson, Riverside and Brewer parks, the project at Johnson is still expected to cost about $11,000. Meyer said the foundation has committed to making the project a reality.

"At this point, the Kent County Parks Foundation and the Parks Department are going to commit the additional support necessary to make it happen," she said. "This is going to happen."

The "hard deadline," Meyer said, is June 15, when a ribbon-cutting ceremony is planned at Johnson Park.

Stahl said the upcoming PDGA event is a key factor in the new equipment and other course improvements that will be enjoyed by local disc golfers for years to come.

"It's really going to bring a new fresh look to a lot of stuff in the area," he said. "If it wasn't for this event coming in, I don't think we would have the new baskets that are coming in or the course redesigns that are happening."

Though it's unlikely that the PDGA will host the competition in Grand Rapids every year, Stahl said it could mean a repeat visit or two in the years to come.

"I don't think this would be the place for this every year, but there would definitely be the opportunity for us to host this and other events in the future," he said. "It could be a semi-regular thing."

As an avid Grand Rapids disc golfer, Stacey said he is excited for what the 2017 event could mean.

"It's definitely going to help grow the support for disc golf in Grand Rapids more," he said. "We would maybe become a disc golf tourist area. We already have beer ... and disc golfers love beer."

Though Meyer acknowledged that securing the PDGA event has a lot to do with improvements to local courses, she also credits the years of hard work by many groups and individuals to maintain, improve and grow the sport.

"The people that are using the park and enjoying the courses, they're the ones who are really stepping up and making it happen," she said.