Deb Abraham Spalding

You may have wondered what the chain link “cages” are in Emmitsburg Community Park. They’re actually the “holes” that you “shoot” for in a game of golf—disc golf, that is!

Like the game of golf that is played with clubs and balls, this version plays with discs like Frisbees®. Tally the number of throws it takes to get the disc in the cage, and you’ve created a competitive game of strategy. The winner is the player whose disc lands in the target cages with the fewest throws.

This is a leisurely game that gives the player plenty of exercise, walking from hole to hole. Emmitsburg’s 18-cage course is a little over one-mile long. A set of discs of different weights can increase the strategic complexity of the game. The heavier discs travel further; lighter ones, not so far.

I was introduced to the game of disc golf in the late 1980s in my college days in Baltimore. At the time, I met some disc-golf enthusiasts who provided a glimpse into the little-known-to-me sport. That experience inspired the disc golf course in Middletown District Park when I worked at Frederick County Parks and Rec. I was pleased to see the addition of this feature in Emmitsburg and applaud the Emmitsburg’s Parks and Rec Commission for this use of park space. In addition to Emmitsburg Community Park, disc golf courses may be found in Middletown Park in Middletown, Heritage Farm Park in Walkersville, and Woodsboro Regional Park in Woodsboro.

On October 24, 2020, a grand opening of Emmitsburg’s disc golf course was hosted by the Town of Emmitsburg in cooperation with Fredrock Disc Golf. Amateurs and seasoned players took part in play. Congratulations to all the winners of the disc golf tournament. First place winners were: MPO—Jay Gobrecht; MA1—Nathan Ellgren; MA3—Billy Bob Vigil; FA3—Diana Heaney.

More information about disc golf leagues and meetups may be found at www.discgolfscene.com.

Photo by Grace Eyler

Community members gathered behind a disc golf cage to celebrate the official opening of Emmitsburg’s disc golf course in the Emmitsburg Community Park.