Nik Rajkovic / news@whmi.com

Kensington Metropark in Milford is hosting the Professional Disc Golf World Championships this week -- just days after hosting Discraft’s 44th annual Great Lakes Open.

Both events have brought tens of thousands of participants, spectators and staff to the region in August.

“We’re going to have 20,000 spectators from almost every state, and probably 12 to 14 countries. We’re going to have competitors from 33 countries. So, these people are going to be staying here, the players, for two weeks,” PDGA event director Nate Heinold told WHMI News.

“We have 118 staff members for the event. I have staff members staying in hotels for five weeks. This event will be millions of dollars of economic impact for the local region.”

The World Championships officially kick off Wednesday, and run through Sunday, with events all over Kensington Metropark, which has been preparing for the two events for months.

“This is the largest event we will have ever hosted at Kensington. We’re accustomed to hosting the Great Lakes Open on an annual basis, and some amateur tournaments, but the World Championships is quite the endeavor,” said Metroparks Superintendent Jim O’Brien.

“We’re just making sure the whole park is in tip-top condition in preparations for being highlighted throughout the region, the nation and the world.”

As part of the preparation, officials have expanded Kensington’s existing disc golf courses, and will utilize areas known only to longtime players.

“We’re going to have two of the longest courses in the world this year for the World Championships, and they are intense, and will challenge the best players in the world,” Heinold added.

“Ironically, we’re using some land at Kensington, which was the original Kensington course, the beach course, many, many years ago. That course shut down a couple decades ago, and we’re bringing that area back for the World Championships.”

Details on this week’s Disc Golf World Championships is linked below.

Photos courtesty of Ledgestone Disc Golf Facebook page.