Michael Natera, member of the Mizzou Disc Golf Club, cleans off his disc at the new course.
June 16, 2021
Thanks to a collaboration between the University of Missouri Disc Golf Club and MU’s A.L. Gustin Golf Course, Tigers and community members can now play disc golf closer to campus.
Columbia already has three disc golf courses, but these are not as convenient for MU students, said Mizzou Disc Golf president and graduate student Jared Brabant.
“We have a lot of freshmen who need rides to visit [Columbia’s other courses],” Brabant said. “But it’s nice to have something a little more centralized.”
The new course will also serve the broader community.
“There’s actually a big demand for more space to play because the courses that we have are getting kind of crowded,” said Joe Douglass, president of Columbia Disc Golf. “The more courses in town, the better.”
Mizzou Disc Golf began raising funds for the course in 2019 at the Mid America Open disc golf tournament in partnership with Educational Disc Golf Experience, a nonprofit corporation formed to provide disc golf educational services for youth.
“The project’s success is due in big part to the local disc golf community,” Brabant said. “The Columbia club and its members really have a passion for the sport, and their Mizzou colors run deep, so bringing those two together was something that everyone was more than willing to get behind.”
