Nestled in the heart of America’s Finest City is one of San Diego’s best-kept secrets: a beautifully maintained 19-hole disc golf course.

Located off Pershing Drive and bordering the extreme eastern edge of Morley Field, the course is not a city-maintained property, as is widely believed. Instead, a private citizen is responsible for this jewel.

“I pretty much built the course and have maintained it all these years,” Snapper Pierson said.

Snapper, as he is known, leases the property from the city in 10-year intervals to continue to run the 25-acre facility.

Pierson is a legend in the disc world, with a career résumé that would be the envy of Tiger Woods. He has won more than a dozen world titles as both a singles and doubles player, and has won at least one tournament every year since 1979. That’s nearly 30 years of dominance, which explains why he’s been voted into the disc golf hall of fame.

The sport of disc golf is strikingly similar to golf played with a club. Disc golf players will “tee off” from designated spots on each “hole,” and throw their discs using the same strategy a club golfer might use to drive a tee shot. Players then pick up their discs wherever they land on the course and take their next shot from that spot. Players are penalized for errant throws (as golfers are), and they certainly have to account for wind.

Not like traditional golf, disc golfers don’t sink a putt into the ground to finish a hole. Rather, they toss their disc into a small chain-lined basket perched atop a mound of dirt. A player isn’t finished with a hole until the disc comes to rest inside the basket.

Each hole has a par, or a number assigned for how many throws it should take to complete. Players’ scores are determined by how many throws over or under par they are when they complete the course.

The player with the lowest number of throws needed to complete the course wins.

The price to play is, perhaps, the most noticeable difference between golf with a club and disc golf.

In club golf, players buy expensive equipment, like titanium drivers attached to graphite shafts, and shell out as much as a couple of hundred dollars for greens fees. In disc golf, the only equipment required is a plastic disc. The price of greens fees at Morley Field is decidedly less-expensive than, say, Torrey Pines: $3 for weekends and $2.50 for weekdays.

If you don’t have a disc, you can rent one for $1.25. Compare that to the price of rental clubs at your local golf course.

While there are many other similarities between the two brands of golf, don’t expect to come to Morley Field and drive around in a cart.

The disc course is hilly, and you can expect a good walk to be a part of the experience. While disc golfers run the gamut in age, you can drive by the course just about any hot summer day and get a good look at mostly young and nubile participants playing shirtless

Don’t mock – I live in the neighborhood and I’m forced to drive by when I opt to take the “scenic” route to the grocery store. Granted, passing by the disc course on my way to buy bread and milk does take me 11 blocks out of my way, but it’s worth the detour.

The disc golf course is open from sunrise to sunset. This time of year, that means roughly 7:30 a.m. until about 5:30 p.m. In addition to random play, there are tournaments held on alternate weekends accommodating all skill-levels, from novice to experienced.

For more information about disc golf, visit www.morleyfield.com. The Web site is full of information, links to rules, tournament information and maps of the course. There’s a clubhouse on the property where players are required to check in and pay fees.