Many club sports are well-known throughout campus, such as soccer and basketball. Some more obscure clubs exist such as the disc golf club. This club sport survived through the COVID-19 pandemic and still has a strong, competing team that’s open to anyone with any level of skill.
“Disc golf is a sport that involves throwing plastic discs, similar to frisbees, at a target. The goal is to get the disc into the basket in the shortest throws possible,” treasurer Gaige Marien said. “It is a great sport to enjoy recreationally with friends and family or competitively through the Professional Disc Golf Association (PDGA).”
Marien’s first time playing the sport was in high school for a physical education class. There, he started to appreciate the sport and work to improve his skills.
“I joined because I wanted to see the competitive side of disc golf. But many people join in our weekly practices. If they do not have discs, we can lend them a few so they can try disc golf,” Marien said.
The club has many members who don’t join to play competitively, but they still have fun with the practices and the sport.
“Disc golf is a fun way to get outside and away from the stress of school,” president Colton Thielman said. “I joined the club because it was a sport that I was able to play with a back injury while still being able to push myself enough to get better without injuring myself more.”
His favorite aspect of the sport is seeing where the disc flies as well as seeing the scenery of the courses, whether that is a flat terrain or by a cliffside. Thielman said he feels at peace when he plays by himself, but still carries that calmness with a sense of excitement and fun when playing with the team or friends.
“I like most of the community surrounding the club sport,” Thielman said. “The community loves to talk with one another as well as wave hi.”
“I like disc golf because it is a very casual environment, and anyone is welcome,” Marien said. “I like the friendliness of everyone who comes to practice, and I like being able to have fun playing disc golf.”
The only things that both players dislike are not being able to play in the snow and not having the funding to have a tournament at UW-Whitewater. Both of the players’ favorite memories within the club are going on national trips while competing at a high level, and having fun with others while being able to land sixth place.
Disc golf is a fun club sport to do while not hurting the environment, you don’t have to have an athletic background, and it’s a great way to decompress after a long day of work or studying. The community within the club highly encourages new players to join because it can be a new activity to fall in love with and maybe pursue competitively.
The disc golf club will compete at an upcoming tournament, April 2-5, at the College Disc Golf Nationals in Rock Hill, South Carolina. The club members are preparing by continuing practice and focusing on games while mentally imagining the field that they will play.
