Mark Heydt has been playing disc golf for the past 15 years. He and his best friend purchased some discs at a local shop back in 2000, then played their first round.

Heydt was instantly hooked."It was love at first sight," said the Bowmanstown resident.Last year, Heydt began playing Professional Disc Golf Association sanctioned tournaments for the first time. He played 10 amateur events in 2014, finishing in the top 10 six times.After playing six local tournaments in 2014, Heydt and some friends decided to make a road trip to Rochester, New York, last summer to compete in the Rochester Flying Disc Open. He had such a great experience he decided he wanted to play in at least one major tournament every year. This year he chose the Dynamic Discs Glass Blown Open presented by Latitude 64 in Emporia, Kansas, today through Saturday, with over 900 players from amateur and professional ranks attending, making it the second biggest event in PDGA history.The trip has been in the making since Christmas, when Heydt's work shift changed. allowing him to make the journey."I am lucky to go," he said. "Once my shift changed, I checked online and noticed the event was filling fast so I signed up."Heydt is also using some vacation time from his job at Alpha Packaging in Bethlehem to make the trip. And of course, he had to get the OK from his wife, Michele."She wasn't happy about it, but she knows it's my passion. I couldn't do it without her."The 36-year-old father of two began the trek on Monday driving to West Virginia to meet up with his friend John. From there the two left Tuesday morning and drove 15 hours to Kansas. He will be playing three of the top courses Emporia has to offer."Hopefully I can get some practice rounds in before the tourney starts," Heydt said.This is a vacation for Heydt, but of course he's there to compete. Winning isn't everything, however."We all want to do well, but mainly I'm here to have fun. My goal is to be happy with my rounds, be satisfied," Heydt said.Aside from competing, he's also hoping to meet some top pros in the sport such as Paul McBeth and get some autographs to hang on the wall back home.The only downfall of the excursion is that Heydt will miss the 10th Annual Victory Park Open at Victory Park in Slatington on Saturday."I am a little sad that I won't be at the Victory Park Open," Heydt said. "I've been to all nine so far. This is the first one I'm missing, but it's worth it."