This Spring Disc Golf flying into Fletcher Park

(Left to Right): Nathan Catron, Andrew Zoba, Daniel Fowler, Rece Dunlap

When COVID-19 began to spread across the world, there was a greater need for a sense of community outdoors. The sport of disc golf, which has a scoring system similar to golf but replaces the ball and clubs with frisbee-like discs of various weights and the cup with an above ground basket, gained tremendous popularity during the pandemic. It is easy for players to maintain social distancing while playing and more than 50 million rounds of disc golf were played in 2020, according to Udisc 2020 Growth Report.

It also caught the attention of former golf player, Nathan Catron who serves as chaplain for the team. Catron played before the pandemic, but really had not developed a love for it until quarantine. When he came to campus in the fall, he found he was not the only one that had a fast growing love for the sport. Catron soon found a brotherhood with his hall mates in Medlin Hall when he entered ‘The Crib’, club president Caleb Oakley’s room, and saw disc golf discs.

“By a fluke, we all happened to play disc golf,” Catron said.

Photo: Nathan Catron throwing on the lawn of the Forum.

The group decided they wanted to improve their skills together by starting a club on campus, and were finally approved to be an official club at Lee by fall of 2022. They reached out to Prodigy Discs, which is a disc golf company based out of Dalton, Georgia. Prodigy sponsors the team, providing uniforms and wholesale prices for equipment. The team also began to hold clinics for beginners to learn and players to refine their skills.

“I knew people loved it (disc golf) around campus, and they just needed a community for it,” Oakley remarked in regards to beginning the club.

Photo: Caleb Oakley throwing on the lawn of the Forum.

Edwards Park in Dalton, Georgia has served as the club’s primary practice spot. The team met twice a week in Dalton to play on a two hour course, but practice was starting to become tedious and time consuming.

However, the club was not the only group longing for a course in Cleveland. Justin Spears, the founder of Cleveland Disc Golf, came to know disc golf during quarantine as well and it became a passion of his quickly.

“It’s an addicting thing, disc golf is,” Spears emphasized. It was Spears’ passion that carried into his goal of bringing disc golf to the Cleveland community. He contacted Will Schusterick, a three time U.S. champion and designer of the course at Edwards Park, and started to formulate a plan for an 18-hole course at Fletcher Park. He then found Lee’s disc golf club on and reached out to them for help.

The groups worked together and put on a demonstration in Fletcher Park for the Cleveland City Council. The council approved of the idea immediately and are set to approved the plan in mid February. Once the plan is approved, installation will begin immediately in the park. The estimated time for installation will not be long so the course is set to be open by the end of the spring.

Will Schusterick (left) Justin Spears (Right) standing next to Fletcher Park entrance.

The course will begin near the gazebo on the right hand side of the park and circle throughout the park. At each hole, there will be two baskets and two teepads, the place where the player throws the disc. One basket and teepad will be for beginners and the other basket and teepad will be for intermediate to professional players. These two varying levels will not only provide space for players of all skill types to play, but also provide combinations of ways to play. Spears said that the course was made to “get people into the heart of Fletcher,” all while doing little to no renovations to the park itself.

The course also provides an outlet for students like Oakley and Catron to refine their skills and achieve their goals.

Catron’s goal is to take Lee’s disc golf team to a national tournament within the next year because the team has already racked up multiple wins in individual tournaments. Catron tallied a state tournament title in his hometown, Morristown, as well as a formal invitation to an amateur national tournament in Texas last year. With the addition of the course in Fletcher, Catron believes that Lee and Cleveland Disc Golf will be “put on the map” by hosting tournaments of a high caliber in Cleveland.

“Putting Cleveland and Lee’s disc golf together is going to be something really special,” Oakley highlighted.

For Oakley, he wants to utilize his major in Exercise Science and learn how to help teach others how to play disc golf better. Oakley really enjoyed showing all of the mechanics of putting with the City Council and wants to share his skills with others.

“There are going to be so many opportunities to help people be the best they can be,” said Oakley who is excited.

Spears emphasized the many opportunities to get involved and refine skills in disc golf by hosting a putting course at the ‘Bunker Games’ in Bradley Square Mall. As well as hosting kids camps and Saturday clinics that are open to all ages.

To connect with Lee’s Disc Golf Club, follow their instagram @leeudiscgolf or email Nathan Catron at ncatro00@leeu.edu. To watch some tips and tricks, follow Caleb Oakley’s personal disc golf page @oakleydiscgolf.

To get involved with the Cleveland Disc Golf Club, check out their website https://www.clevelanddiscgolf.com or follow their Facebook @clevelanddiscgolf.