“It’s a hidden gem,” said Director of Study Abroad and International Student Advisor Daniel Diaz. “It is a very special thing for the campus.”
Guilford College has had a “hidden gem” on campus, one open to the entire campus community, for many years now. That gem is the disc golf course located between the Guilford Woods and the Guilford Farm on campus.
The course is unique to Guilford because not only is it one of the few courses in Greensboro, but it is also both pastoral and woodsy, creating a welcoming environment within which to enjoy the game.
“During the summer, the course can become a bit overgrown at times,” said Diaz. “But when it is maintained or when it is spring time, it is a perfect time to go out and enjoy the course.”
The course is open to all students and is only a short walk from anywhere on campus.
“Honestly, I wish more people took advantage of the course,” said Daniel McFaddin ‘15. “It was very well-designed, and I give my applause to Tim Leisman (‘13) and Nate Makepeace (‘15) for the design.”
This course, however, is not a typical “wide open” course and disc golfers will constantly find themselves behind trees or with an awkward lie to shoot from.
“I like the challenges that come with Guilford’s course,” said Diaz. “It plays to the short game. It challenges you to take short shots and not take a long-distance approach.”
So while playing this course, any player should expect to focus on short throws to avoid ending up in a tree or a creek.
“It is a challenging course for long-distance players,” said Diaz. “It is much more of a finesse and accuracy course. The focus is on short shots and tricky putts.”
So how do the experienced disc golfers view the Guilford course?
“The diversity between long, short, technical and easy holes makes it a worthy adversary,” said local Greensboro native Nate Gann.
The course is not necessarily a walk in the park. Though scenic and tranquil, if a player begins to lose discs in the trees and woods, they may become irate.
Guilford’s disc golf team is responsible for keeping the course clean, but also leaving enough hazards to create a challenge for disc golfers.
“I would also like to commend the disc golf team,” said McFaddin. “They are the ones who usually mow and pick up garbage out on the course.”
The upkeep of the course is in the hands of the team, but the overall usage of the course is totally up to the Guilford community.
“I think many students don’t know that we have a disc golf course, but I think that it would be interesting for students to get involved with it,” said Diaz. “As for the greater community, well, I think that we should keep this strictly Guilford.”
The course is completely free of charge and available for use at any time.
“I would recommend that anyone who has not played disc golf make a trip to Play It Again Sports and purchase a used disc,” said McFaddin. “Go out and play a round during your downtime.”
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