OCHS grad helps get course at Amanda’s Field in Upper Township
PETERSBURG — “It’s like hiking in the woods and throwing a disc while doing it,” Chris Scott said of disc golf, a growing sport in the region and around the nation.
Upper Township installed a course last summer at Amanda’s Field, where Scott and others play casually or as part of an informal league that meets monthly. He called it a passive sport that is good for people of all ages and skill levels.
“That’s the beauty of disc golf — there’s no age limit or requirement,” Scott said, noting one of his friends brings his 5-year-old son along to throw discs when they play.
He also said one of the people who “helped get the ball rolling at Amanda’s Field,” Stephanie Marx, is in her 50s or 60s and plays regularly.
“It’s all about playing to your personal best, not as much about being competitive,” Scott said.
On President’s Day, Scott was with daughter Penelope, a week shy of turning 4 years old, as he practiced on the Upper Township course. Penelope, while holding her Elmo doll, did some practicing herself, albeit from about a foot away from the basket.
The game is played like standard golf in that players start at a tee and take turns until reaching their goal. In disc golf, it’s a basket beneath hanging chains that work to stop the disc instead of a 4.25-inch-wide hole in the ground.
Andrew Vesay of Upper Township was at the course as well Monday with his 9-year-old daughter Charley and her friend, Evelyn Melli, whom, Charley happily pointed out, shares her birthday and is in the same fourth-grade class at Upper Township Elementary School.
Vesay said they’ve been playing at the course since it opened. “We love it,” he said. “It lets you get outside and get some fresh air and exercise. It makes good use of the park.”
Asked what she liked about the sport, Charley agreed with her dad that it is fun to throw the discs and to run around with her friend.
“I just like the adventure of it,” Evelyn added as she and Charley giggled.
Although the little girls seemed to have just as much fun throwing the discs randomly as they walked toward the next hole, those who do it competitively take turns using one of four types of throwing disc — distance driver, fairway driver, midrange and putter.
Scott said a round can be played with as few as a single disc but noted he carries more.
“In my bag I have about 20 discs that I carry every day when I go out to play,” he said. “Each disc does something different.”
Scott said discs weigh between 130 and 180 grams and are shaped differently to alter flight distance. He said a driver would be more aerodynamic than a putter, which has a wider rim and slows down more quickly, and is generally lighter as well.
“Drivers have a low profile like a Corvette to cut through the air,” he said.
Athletic ability also factors into the equation.
“At the professional level, they can throw putters as far as I can throw a driver,” Scott said. “But typically distance drivers will fly farther than putters.”
Scott said a starter set of discs usually costs about $20 and includes three to five discs, while top-quality discs cost about that much each. More expensive discs are made of more durable materials and therefore do not getting dinged up as badly when they hit trees and other obstacles.
He said unlike traditional golf, there are no standards between courses for length but that most have 18 baskets. Amanda’s field has a mix of par 3 and par 4 baskets, while some courses have par 5 baskets.
Scott, a 2011 Ocean City High School graduate who was born and raised on the island, said he got interested in disc golf in summer 2020 after the initial restrictions from the COVID-19 pandemic began being lifted.
“When the world started opening up again after the shutdown for COVID, one of the first things mentioned at public parks open was disc golf,” he said. “We found out there was a course in Rio Grande and it was the first time we could get together again and do something.”
The 29-year-old described it as “hiking with a purpose,” and said courses can range from open to heavily wooded and everything in between.
Scott said he originally approached Upper Township Committee about creating a course and convinced the governing body to purchase and install the baskets, which were installed in August 2022.
Scott said before the Amanda’s Field course opened last summer, the closest courses were in Rio Grande, Manahawkin and Vineland.
“I had a vision, me and a couple like-minded people, to get one closer to home,” Scott said, noting that since he started playing, there now is a course at Stockton University as well.
“We are trying to get the growth of the sport happening locally,” he said.
Scott formed the nonprofit Discprint to help get the course off the ground. He said its mission is to spread awareness and promote the sport in communities through outreach programs, course design and development and hosting events. He said Discprint helped design Stockton’s course.
“The development of the disc golf course has been a bigger success than any of us imagined,” Deputy Mayor Kim Hayes said.
Hayes, who oversees recreation for the township, said the course is attracting people from across southern New Jersey to Amanda’s Field.
“That makes it a success for our business community, too,” she said. “Our local businesses give so much every year to the fundraising efforts of our recreation programs. One way recreation gives back to them is by increasing foot traffic through the township.”
Scott said he is in talks with other municipalities about installing courses, noting he would be meeting with officials in Egg Harbor Township this week. He said it’s relatively inexpensive compared to other sports, with the biggest hurdle for some communities being the land.
The nonprofit also runs monthly tag rounds from 8:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. the first Saturday of the month starting March 4. Each player who purchases a tag bag for $20 gets a number corresponding to their finish order for the round each month as an informal way of ranking players. All proceeds benefit course improvements.
The following week, a tournament is scheduled to raise funds to buy proper tee pads and signage for the course. The one-day, one-round tournament begins with player check-in from 7:30 to 8:30 a.m. Rounds start at 9 a.m. and the event should wrap up by 2 p.m.
The entry fee is $35. Scott said tee pad sponsorship is available. A disc golf vendor will be on site selling merchandise. Water will be available along the course
Registration is online at dgscene.com/discprintxc1. Amanda’s Field is located at 10 Sunset Drive off Route 50 in Petersburg.
By CRAIG D. SCHENCK/Sentinel staff
Sentinel staff member David Nahan contributed to this story.