Wednesday, April 1, 2026
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Vol. 55, No. 40
Milford (574) 658-4111 • Warsaw (574) 269-2932 • Syracuse (574) 457-3666
Disc golfing on par for Kosciusko County
By ABBY OLIVER Staff Writer Year-round, for all ages and welcoming all levels of dedication, disc golf is becoming a wildly popular sport . With a variety of courses across the county, disc golf has been steadily growing . UDisc, a digital platform that helps players track scores, navigate courses and collect statistics, reports more than 17,000 courses worldwide . Its 2026 growth report states the “number of courses worldwide has almost tripled since 2015 .” The rules are similar to golf: play is usually over nine or eighteen holes, and the lowest total score wins . Unlike traditional golf, each hole features a metal basket with chains designed to catch the disc . What makes disc golf especially popular is its accessibility . It is open to all ages and skill levels and is often free to play, with community courses throughout the area . Lucerne Park is one such location, offering a nine-hole course residents play year-round . Larry Plummer, superintendent of parks with the Parks and Recreation Department of Warsaw, said people use the course “365 days a year” and “play in the snow,” sometimes in shorts . Plummer said that, depending on funding, an additional ninehole course could be added in the Lucerne wetlands . Another popular location is the nine-hole course at Grace College, which is open to the public . Matt Metzger, chief of marketing at Grace College, said the community uses it just as much, if not more, than students . Metzger said “student-led and independent groups” often host tournaments on the course, and it is “quite a community draw,” bringing players from as far as 50 to 100 miles away . The Lodge, a church-based organization in Syracuse, offers an eighteen-hole course . Lodge Director Shaila Swartz said there is “such a great interest in the community” and that many people regularly come to play . Swartz said groups such as Kosciusko Disc Golf - which has 580 members on Facebook - often visit in groups of four to six . Other local courses include one at North Webster Elementary
School, where physical education teacher Mercedes Pratt incorporates disc golf into her classes . She teaches a unit each year, recognizing it as a “lifelong” activity . Pratt said the sport is growing locally and nationally, recalling a traveler who stopped to play the school’s course . “That was really neat to see someone find our tiny little ninehole course and play,” Pratt said . Disc golf has become a large enough market in the county that Alaister McFarren, part-owner of Circle Disc Golf in Warsaw, sees a new face in-store “every week .” He explained that while the sport can be played casually, it is more complicated than people realize . “People think every Frisbee flies the same,” McFarren said . He explained how there are flight ratings to consider when selecting a disc: speed, glide, turn and fade . As a disc golf player himself, it has become his job and his “primary hobby .” McFarren enjoys giving free lessons and “can identify beginner, mid-level mistakes .” Disc golf offers a casual way to play, but for some, it becomes more than a pastime . Winona Lake resident Hannah Lengel, a former basketball player, said she missed the “competitive atmosphere” after graduating . After being reintroduced to disc golf by a friend, she quickly realized she had a talent for it . Her progression from amateur to professional included extensive practice . After winning a tournament in Illinois against 20 to 30 other women - a rarity in the sport - she went on to win the 2023 Professional Disc Golf Association Amateur Disc Golf World Championships, Women’s Amateur 1 division, competing against 100 players . Lengel advises new and intermediate players to “find the right disc,” noting that many “want to use pro discs, but they’re not made for an intermediate player .” She is currently focused on improving her putting and backhand throw, which she said is “more sustainable” for long-term physical health . “Locally, I have enjoyed meeting new people and growing friendships with people that I would have never encountered outside of disc golf,” Lengel said . “The competition drew me in, but the relationships make the traveling and expenses worth it .”
114 W. Market, Warsaw, Indiana 46580
GONNA FLY NOW — Local disc golf player George Blessing, Warsaw, prepares to execute a backhand throw down the hill towards the hole 12 basket at the North Webster disc golf course. Photo provided by Alaister McFarren.
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HE SHOOTS, HE SCORES — Winona Lake resident Ron Scantlen lands a disc into one of the baskets at Lucerne Park as fellow disc golf player Matt Fawcett observes. Photo by Abby Oliver.