Muncie Area Disc Golf Club Aims to Grow and Celebrate the Sport
Writer / Renée Larr
Photography Provided
The 2023 Delaware County Open brings together over 140-disc golfers for tournament play on July 8 at McCullough Park in Muncie and Carl Scott Memorial Disc Golf Course in Yorktown. The event is divided into two rounds, one at each course. The Muncie Area Disc Golf Club is hosting the event, with the Professional Disc Golf Association sanctioning it in order for players to receive ratings.
The history of disc golf can be traced back to the early 1900s, but modern-day disc golf began in the late ’60s, with many fans of the sport crediting “Steady” Ed Headrick with legitimizing the sport. He formed the Disc Golf Association in 1976 to promote installing and using disc golf courses worldwide. Headrick coined the term disc golf after inventing the disc pole hole. The sport has grown exponentially, with fans worldwide ever since.
“The Muncie Area Disc Golf Club received our 501c3 status last year,” Chris Carroll says, a board member of the club. “We’re in charge of managing the Muncie and Yorktown courses. Our goal is to create a strong and growing disc golf community in Delaware County. Our mission is to facilitate a strong and growing community structured by creativity and collaboration, which produces a better player and individual.”
The tournament brings together disc golfer players and fans of the sport each year. Friends, fans and spectators are encouraged to attend. Carroll says they will have food trucks for lunch between rounds and a mobile disc golf store at each course.
“Last year, Sight and Sound donated a guitar for anyone who could hit a hole-in-one during the tournament,” Carroll says. “A couple of people got really close. Last year Baked, a Cookie Company also helped sponsor, and our title sponsor was Prodigy, a major disc golf company. We’re working to have more sponsors like that this year. Those sponsorships go over very well.”
Delaware County also offers another course for players to utilize—Frank Merry Park in Selma. It’s a private park, but memberships are available, and players can play along with the Muncie Area Disc Golf Club or any Frank Merry member as a guest. Carroll suggests players download the UDisc to learn about other courses, local events and resources for players.
“The app is great because it shows you all the disc golf courses in the country ranging from people’s private backyard courses to 72-hole courses at giant properties,” Carroll says. “You can even use it to score your rounds.”
Carroll says they are still accepting sponsor applications from businesses for the event. Sponsors can reach out via munciediscgolfclub@gmail.com. For more information about Muncie Area Disc Golf Club, visit
munciediscgolf.wordpress.com/home.
