Utah State Disc Golf Club levels up with competition

For many, the Utah State University Disc Golf Club is an opportunity to get great exercise while having fun and meeting people. The club has been around for three years, with an earlier iteration dating back to 2019-20. However, it wasn’t deemed part of the official disc golf association. 

With five members on the presidency and 20 teammates total, the club has five teams of four players. Philip Romney, club event coordinator, has been playing the sport for most of his life and started doing tournaments in 2014.  

“When I came to Utah State and found out there was a club, I thought it was a great way to keep up my competitive disc golf,” Romney said.  

The club has recreational teams as well as competitive, meeting twice a week and practicing for one to two hours with a focus on specific skill. They practice anywhere they can run and catch a disc.  

“We’ll go to a local course, a local park,” Romney said. “Sometimes we’ll go to one of our backyards and just practice disc golf.” 

Nathan Rencher, historian and service coordinator of the club, has been playing for a couple years. When he found out that USU had a disc golf team, he said he wasn’t interested in winning but “playing for opportunities and having fun.”  

The club doesn’t only play major universities in Utah — they also play teams from universities in Colorado and Idaho, including Boise State and Colorado University.   

Previously, the club didn’t have a tryout process, but this year, there was one. It was all-inclusive, meaning anyone could try out, and it wasn’t for the purpose of cutting people but rather to give the team members a ranking.  

“You didn’t even have to do it. It’s just if you wanted to get a ranking and see where you would fall on the competitive side of the club,” Romney said.  

In their home tournament a couple weeks ago, the club had a great turn out.  

“We came in second place. We had a lot of people show up, so it was a great event,” Rencher said.  

Romney describes disc golf as a year-round sport more enjoyable during the spring and summer seasons, with tournaments happening through the seasons.  

“We’re sending our ‘A’ team to — our men’s ‘A’ team and our women’s ‘A’ team — to the regional qualifiers for the national championships next year, which will be in Colorado,” Romney said. “Each university is going to host their own home tournament over the course of the next four or five months.”  

According to Romney, disc golf is a great way to get involved in an activity at USU while also getting to know people.  

“Disc Golf Club has people who have played for two weeks and people have played for almost two decades,” Romney said. “So, if you want to play disc golf and come enjoy being outside and throwing discs in the park with a really good group of people, then come join the Disc Golf Club.”