CRANBERRY TWP — The pros are coming — and will probably be coming back.

The Butler County Disc Golf Classic, the final stop in the Silver Series portion of the Disc Golf Pro Tour — will take place Friday through Sunday at the North Boundary Park course in Cranberry Township. There were 144 pros — 108 men and 36 women — registered to play as of Monday.

This event marks the biggest disc golf tourney held in the region since the Pro Disc Golf World Championship was held at Slippery Rock University and other local courses in 2015.

“We’re excited to get this event and hope more will follow it,” Amy Pack of the Butler County Tourism Bureau said of the Butler County Disc Golf Classic. “This is great for the county. Events like this are what Cranberry had in mind when they structured this course.”

The Butler County Tourism Bureau is among the main sponsors for the tournament.

The North Boundary course, which Wexford resident and Professional Disc Golf Association member J. Gary Dropcho helped design, opened in 2018. This will be the first pro tour event the course has hosted.

And it will be challenging.

“I’ve played 200 courses across the world, including eight different countries,” said Cody Winget, 37, of Butler, who is registered to play in the event. “In terms of difficulty, this course is among the top five in the world.”

Another local pro, Jeremiah Libby, 42, of Cranberry Township, agreed.

“It takes a while for a course to fully grow in,” Libby said. “This North Boundary course is definitely one of the top 10 in the world. It’s built on a hill, with tough lines and fairways.

“It’s going to be challenging. But the caliber of disc players in this event will be up for that challenge.”

Players are coming in from all over the country, along with some from Sweden, Finland and other countries. The course is a par 71 for men, playing a total of 10,314 feet. It will be par 72 for women and play 8,453 feet.

At stake are points disc golfers can earn toward playing in the Tour Championship, along with a berth in the World Disc Golf Championship, slated for October in South Carolina.

Dropcho said the unique layout of the course — on a steep hill with tight windows to throw in — adds to the intrigue of the event.

“This course is rugged, it’s uphill, a strenuous walk,” he said. “These players are going to be tested. It’s a course designed for this specific purpose, to challenge the top pros in the world.

“Where some courses may have distance, another may have obstacles, another may be technical with tight lines through a plethora of trees, North Boundary combines all of those aspects into a singular course ... and adds the element of endurance and mental fortitude.

“Some will love it, others may not enjoy it, but they will all respect the challenge it brings,” Dropcho added.

Pittsburgh Penguins goaltender Casey DeSmith, an avid disc golf player, is among the competitors in the Butler County Disc Golf Classic field. Prize purse for the event exceeds $25,000.

The 90 VIP spectator tickets are sold out for the event. Tickets remain available to the public for $10 per day, or $25 for all three days combined.

“People will have excellent viewing angles, 10 meters from the baskets, 10 meters from the tee boxes,” Dropcho said. Tickets are available at dgpt.com or discgolfscene.com.

A hospitality pavilion at the Hole No.’s 2 and 6 baskets, No.’s 3 and 7 tee boxes will be set up for spectators’ convenience, offering food and beverages.

Dropcho added that a Disc Golf Clinic will be held from 6 to 8 p.m. Sept. 7 at North Boundary’s six-hole practice facility. Fans, casual disc golfers and rookies to the sport will be able to get a lesson from touring pros Lori Merriman, Jordan Castro, Dan Brooks Wells and Dylan Horst.

Those interested must pre-register at discgolfscene.com. Tickets are $25 for adults, $15 for children. A Flymart will be open at the same site and times with disc golf materials for sale. There is no charge to attend the FlyMart.

“Putting, approach, drives ... pointers and instruction will be offered on all phases of disc golf,” Dropcho said.

Winget, a disc golfer for 12 years, said he was introduced to the sport in an odd way.

“I broke my wife’s family frisbee and felt badly about it,” he said. “We were out at North Country Brewing one night and I saw a bunch of frisbess on the wall. I asked if any were for sale and was asked if I wanted a frisbee or golf disc.

“I said. ‘what the heck is a golf disc?’ They told me, I’m a sports enthuasist and I gave it a try. I’ve been at it ever since.”

Libby has been playing for 22 years and has been a pro since 2007.

“I play three or four times a week,” he said. “I carry 16 discs with me on the course. It’s going to be fun going up against the best in the world on a course right here at home.”

Disc golfers will play 18 holes each of the three days. Tee times run from 8 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. each day.