Disc Golf Club Brings the Sport Back to the School
Seniors Evan Gittings, Jenna Amos, Ava Tomayko, Noah Bolton, Alex Clark, Tristan Blennerhassett (top to bottom, left to right) play at Mast Park.
October 28, 2022
UC High’s Disc Golf Club meets in room 213 on Thursdays during lunch to get students interested in the sport by organizing games and teaching students how to play.
According to the Professional Disc Golf Association (PDGA), disc golf is a sport in which the player, or a group of players, tries to get a plastic disc (a special kind of frisbee) into a basket with the fewest throws. Similar to regular golf, this sport takes place on a large course with set fairways to play in (pdga. com).
Despite its obscurity, there is a massive community around disc golf. According to the PDGA, their membership between 2020 and 2021 surpassed one hundred thousand which is a more than 50 percent increase. These, for clarification, are the statistics on their number of paid members, not the total number of players worldwide (pdga.com).
“At our club, we will mostly focus on planning disc golf outings and helping people with what discs to get and how they can improve,” said the UC High Senior who acts as Club Leader.
According to them, “The best way to get into discgolf is to throw a putter! Disc golf putters are great for beginners as it will show you exactly how you are throwing the disc.” A putter is a disk that is easier to throw.
The origin of disc golf is impossible to pinpoint. However, it could be said that 1974 was a pivotal year, as this was when the first national tournament for the sport was held. PDGA said, “They called the event the American Flying Disc Open (AFDO), and to attract the attention of the Frisbee community, they put up a brand new 1974 Datsun B210 [a popular car] to be awarded to the winner” (pdga.com).
“We are willing to put in the effort [required to maintain the club],” said Club Secretary Senior Alex “Unts” Clark, “Because the people in the club care about it. We have a passion for it, and we want to share that passion with everyone else.”
“As the secretary, my duties are to organize club meetings and reach out to collaborators for opportunities and events,” said Clark. He added,“I am planning activities such as going disc golfing, getting custom discs, doing fundraisers, and possibly joining tournaments.”
According to the PDGA, “One of the great features disc golf shares with golf is that they are both played in beautiful settings.” They also added that “The need for more courses is constant as the sport continues to grow in popularity” (pdga.com).
“If you wish to join the club, no experience is necessary! All you need is an interest in disc golf,” said the club leader.
