What started out as a small group of people playing a round of disc golf in Perham has changed over the years, but Justin Aldrich says the love of the game and camaraderie among players hasn’t.

“The best thing for me is that you are outside getting fresh air and exercise,” says Aldrich, KLN Family Brands mail supervisor. “I normally can find a good group of people to go out with.”

Aldrich has been playing the sport for close to a decade at the Perham Disc Golf Course, located in Arvig Park.

He has seen a few changes.

First, the small group he started with turned into a Tuesday-night spring and fall league in which more than 30 people may participate during a given event.

Second, Aldrich and his cohorts have revamped the course, putting in new baskets and lanes and turning what was a par-57 course when it opened in 2010 into a par-54.

Some courses feature hills and waterways to help gum up a score, but this course, while full of pine trees, is flat and without water hazards.

But it’s still challenging.

“It’s shorter and a strategic course,” Aldrich says. “It’s not just a throw-it-as-far-as-you-can type of course.”

Over the years, equipment has changed. Aldrich and his Tuesday night league peers are not players who travel the country to compete, but they are serious enough where they head to the park carrying 15-20 discs either in a backpack or a cart.

“It’s pretty crazy — there are all different kinds of molds,” Aldrich says. “It’s like regular golf. You have a putter all the way up to a high-speed driver. You have to have the right disc to make it do the right thing.”

Aldrich says another positive to disc golf is that it’s not necessarily expensive.

“Some places do have a fee, but it’s not much, just for the upkeep and maintenance of the course,” he says. “It’s not like the cost of playing real golf.”

Depending on how many are in a group, 18-hole rounds can last from 90 minutes to two hours. The Perham course has a steady stream of golfers throughout the day.