SHENANDOAH JUNCTION — For those unfamiliar with disc golf, eyebrows can be raised as they see what appears to be a net on a pole in the middle of a field or wooded area.

For those who have a love of the emerging activity, the course is a cherished place for enjoyment.

“Disc golf has been a part of Sam Michaels Park since 2018,” said Tommy Van Vliet, recreation coordinator for the Jefferson County park system. “While we started out slow, it has exploded in popularity over the past few years.”

The first organized meeting of the Eastern Panhandle Disc Golf Club was held in spring 2019, Van Vliet said, mentioning it attracted 14 attendees.

“Since then, each March through October, the club meets on Thursday evenings, in rain or shine, to play a round together,” he said, adding that most nights average between 15-20 players. “The league is free to play, and players of all skill levels join in.”

The open environment of the club has seen the membership grow significantly, with the numbers most recently rising to over 240 active members.

“Not only has disc golf grown rapidly in our area, but, largely due to the COVID-19 pandemic and a renewed desire to be outdoors, disc golf, as a sport, has grown in leaps and bounds across America,” Van Vliet said.

According to Van Vliet, the Professional Disc Golf Association, founded in 1976, now has a membership of more than 200,000.

Sam Michaels Park is currently the only public disc golf course in Jefferson County. The course offers a mix of open field holes, shots through trees and across ponds and utilizes the natural features of the park. The range of difficulty challenges more advanced players, while the less-challenging holes encourage novice players to try the sport.

“According to statistics provided by UDisc, the official scorekeeping and course directory app of the PDGA, Sam Michaels Park Disc Golf Course was played an estimated 6,500 times in 2021, by nearly 700 unique players,” Van Vliet said.

“You can find players of all ages out on the course throughout the day, playing through rain, wind and even snow,” he said, mentioning that Sam Michaels Park was also the site of the Eastern Panhandle Disc Golf Club’s first Glow-in-the-Dark Disc Golf League.

The players in that league spread play over six weeks in October and November on Thursday evenings, using lights to illuminate each basket, along with flashing LED lights or glow-in-the-dark tape stuck to their discs, to enjoy the course in a fun new way at night. Prizes were awarded to the top three finishers over the six-week series, in both recreational and advanced level divisions. The rest of the money collected, as part of the series, was the first step in fundraising for continued growth in disc golf at Sam Michaels Park.

According to Van Vliet, plans made by members of the Disc Golf Club were approved by Jefferson County Parks & Recreation management to make additions to the course in 2022. The current expansion plans will add a new, second tee location to each hole, allowing players the option on each hole to choose between a more challenging starting position and one that is slightly easier and/or closer to the basket.

Additionally, each hole will also have a dedicated “juniors” tee location, allowing younger players or those new to the game to experience the course by starting each hole roughly 100-225 feet from the basket, without any large trees or obstacles to navigate. A small number of baskets will also be slightly moved to increase player safety with higher numbers of players on the course simultaneously.

To raise the additional funds needed for the planned work on the course, the club has organized a GoFundMe page to accept donations.

“Our current goal is to collect $3,500, which will cover the cost of all the planned updates, as well as serve to assist Jefferson County Parks & Recreation maintenance staff with the upkeep and maintenance of the course throughout the year,” Van Vliet said.

Any additional funds raised with the GoFundMe campaign will be put towards future disc golf projects in Jefferson County. Club members hope to raise more to self-fund this project, rather than asking Jefferson County Parks & Recreation for any additional funding.

“We hope that, with increased use and future tournaments being held at the course, that Sam Michaels Park Disc Golf Course and any other properties containing disc golf courses can be revenue-generating features within our parks & recreation system,” Van Vliet said.

Van Vliet can be reached via Jefferson County parks and recreation at 304-728-3207 for more information on the disc golf club.