Greeley West’s disc golf club is making waves this fall as students take the course with enthusiasm and skill. The club has grown and hopes to grow even more in popularity, attracting students from all grades who are eager to try their hand at this unique and engaging sport.
Every week the members of the club meet at a local disc golf course, most of the time at the 14 hole UNC course since fall sports take priority over their space, where they practice throws and learn new techniques. The club’s advisor, Mr Douglas Clark, a math teacher with a passion for disc golf has been instrumental in guiding the students and fostering a supportive and inclusive environment. “I played disc golf in my own spare time. I’ve played disc golf for about 30 years and my sons play; they are adults now but they play. My best friends play and Northern Colorado has a lot of nice courses,” said Clark.
The rules of the game are simple. It’s golf except without clubs and a ball; you are just using your arm to throw a frisbee. The frisbees go into a basket called a pin instead of a hole in the ground. Ruben Adme-Salomon, a member of the club mentioned, “There are three different types of frisbees. The driver, the mid range, and a putter. You have to get as low a score as possible. You want to have your score going into the negatives.”
The disc golf club meets every Wednesday after school. Clark is also a baseball coach and hopes to get some of his players out to play when baseball is done practicing for the fall. “The one thing that was funny for me is that I took my baseball players at the end of the summer to play, and halfway through and they were like, ‘woah this is really fun,’ and and I was like of course it’s fun I don’t do this because it’s boring,” Clark said. “I mean I come out and do it in my spare time because I enjoy it and I think a lot of people will.”
Clark also shares his future goals and aspirations for the club since they are not competing in any games or events. He stated, “I would love to start a Northern Colorado disc golf club where we could get our own team together and start playing against other schools in the fall.”
There are several benefits to the unique game of disc golf both physically and socially. “I mean it’s exercise because you’re walking the course. You’re throwing so you’re getting exercise with your shoulder, your arm and your core, trunk, waist, and hips. We are getting fresh air and doing something outside that’s not plugged in,” Clark said.
