Held on a beautiful September Saturday, Cadillac Christian Reformed Church’s inaugural disc golf tournament was a soaring success. Around 30 participants enjoyed a friendly competition dubbed “Discing Eden” on the Northern Michigan church’s new course.
The day was marked by strong fraternity and warm-hearted connections among the disc golfers, only a few of whom were fellow church members, said Cadillac CRC member and disc-golf aficionado Rich Westmaas.
The opportunity for hosting the tournament “fell into our laps,” said Westmaas. Planned by Abby Deierlein for her senior project at Central Michigan University, the event turned out to be a good way to introduce the new course to the community. “It worked out just great,” he said.
The 9-hole course was established by the church’s Creation Care Committee, which in less than three years’ time also started a thriving community garden and created a prayer walk and an outdoor chapel in the woods.
The disc golf course was an additional opportunity to put some of the church’s long-ignored wooded space to good use, offering the community an affordable, healthy activity with intergenerational appeal.
The idea generated considerable interest in the congregation, which has a number of disc golfers, including Kyle Williams, ranked among the top 1,000 players in the Professional Disc Golf Association.
Building the course was a team effort by many volunteers from the church. Westmaas’s grandson Jacob Westmaas, a college student and an avid disc golfer, designed the course.
No plans for another tournament are in the works, but the disc-golf course will continue to see a lot of use from church members and community members alike.
The growing sport is “a wonderful relationship builder,” said Westmaas, who meets weekly with middle school boys from the church for Frisbee Fridays. “It’s a great way to get outdoors and enjoy the world that God has made.”
About the Author
Susan Vandenberg is a freelance writer.
