Students bring disc golf to Winfield

WINFIELD — Thanks one Spring Term class at Winfield-Mt. Union School with a common interest, the Winfield community will enjoy a brand-new nine-hole Disc Golf Course located near the school’s track and baseball practice fields.

A group of students ventured throughout the Southeast Iowa area to explore various disc golf courses and learning more about the game.

“It was a time to spend outside and connect with friends,” WMU Student Tayson Samuels said.

Favorite disc golf courses for the group included Washington’s and Fairfield’s courses.

According to sophomore Kai Ball, the group of students went into Spring Term with the understanding that they could pursue bringing a disc golf course to Winfield after their exploration.

Samuels said he was interested in bringing a course to Winfield as soon as he found out he could.

Exploring these courses served as more than just a fun activity to learn for learning and playing disc golf. As the students went from course to course, they took notes of their likes and dislikes which they later used to make choices for their own disc golf course in Winfield.

According to WMU student Jaxton Jones, the information gathered while exploring these courses went into their first phase of bringing the idea to fruition in their community as the students used it to create designs.

In addition to creating multiple designs, which the class later used to choose their course, they also worked out finances and placement of the course.

“We had maps of where we were thinking about putting it and all of us drew course ideas,” Ball explained. “So, we drew baskets and which baskets to go to next. Then we tried to see how cost efficient we could get it.”

After much research, the group found they could build the course for $3,600 and they set to work calling community members, family, and friends asking them to sponsor holes for the course.

They fundraising efforts brought in nearly $2,000 to fund the course and the rest was funded through an Enhance Henry County grant.

With the supervision and support of school staff like Seirra Wyse, Trevor Kongable, and Tyler Stevens, the WMU Spring Term disc golf class got to work building their disc golf course.

While the cold weather put a halt to their progress, they hope to finish the course this spring and welcome the community to enjoy their hard work.

Comments: AnnaMarie.Ward@southeastiowaunion.com