By this year, The Winthrop Disc Golf club will be celebrating the 25th anniversary of the sport this semester and looking into expanding its membership. With a world famous course on campus ground, Winthrop’s club will be out encouraging students to visit during tournaments and participate in the club.
Disc golf is a form of golf that uses a flying disc from a tee position to the target goal, with the score calculated from the amount of throws toward the target. Winthrop University hosts a disc golf course located at Winthrop Lake near the recreational fields and Winthrop Coliseum.
Winthrop Disc Golf Club President Derek Faile said, “The disc golf club team is pretty small right now, but our main focus this year will be on getting more people interested.”
Disc golf was started by the Professional Disc Golf Association (PDGA) in 1976, with the organization reaching its 100 thousandth member recently amongst its growing numbers and coverage of tournaments.
“The 25th anniversary tells me that the sport of disc golf is growing, which is absolutely amazing. This also tells me that the potential to have a great disc golf club at Winthrop is very prevalent,” said Winthrop Disc Golf Club member William Easterday.
Faile was introduced to disc golf when his parents gave him a starter kit for Christmas in middle school. He played with his father before finding out about the club when he came to Winthrop.
“I found the Rock Hill Disc Golf Club and joined in 2014. Met some guys who were on the Winthrop team at the time then I came to Winthrop” Faile said.
According to Winthrop’s website, the Disc Golf course on campus, called Winthrop Gold, attracts players from around the world and hosts tournaments such as the United States Disc Golf Championship (USDGC).
“The Winthrop Disc Golf Course might be the most well-known course in the disc golf community because the biggest tournament of the year for the community is held there. The United States Disc Golf Championship is held annually at the Winthrop course in early October and is known for being an extremely challenging course.” Easterday said.
Another tournament that occurs on Winthrop Gold is the Dean’s Cup, which attracts the National Champions of the USDGC. During this event Winthrop’s club won a third place tie against some of the top teams in the nation.
“The teams coming in to play this tournament are the best in collegiate disc golf and it was both an honor and a pleasure to battle it out against them,” Faile said.
With the new semester approaching and the anniversary of the sport, Faile is hoping to broaden the club’s membership and publicize events across campus.
“The team has been to several tournaments these past years. We went to Clemson’s tournament, South Carolina’s tournament, and even hosted one ourselves. We will be hosting a tournament this year as well,” Faile said.
Joining a club or sport organization on campus is a great way to add to your college experience at Winthrop University.
“Playing disc golf has introduced me to so many people at different universities and I’ve made many friends through this sport,” Easterday said.