Faculty members get the chance to play a friendly match while students compete

By Casey White
Special to The Johnsonian

A group of Winthrop students playing a round of disc golf on the course at Winthrop Lake. The course is open to anyone and admission is free. It is also the hosting course for the annual United States Disc Golf Championship. Photo by Sarah Auvil • Special to The JohnsonianA disc golf tournament was held at the disc golf course at Winthrop Lake that was open to both students and faculty. While the students competed for the top spot with the lowest score, three Winthrop faculty members decided to play a friendly match with each other just for kicks. 

Neil Ostlund, program director for
intramural and club sports, Laura Johnson, assistant director of the
west center for operations, and Geoff Morrow, director of the outdoor education center, decided to enjoy a game of disc golf rather than head home for the day. 

The three said they wouldn’t keep score, but they decided after playing the first hole that they would keep score but still maintain the fun and noncompetitive environment. 

 “We’re all here for the fun,” Ostlund said. The three staff members were all smiles throughout the 16 holes they played during the afternoon. 

There was not an ounce of competitiveness during their match as they cheered each other on and gave each other encouragement. 

Encouragement wasn’t the only thing Marrow had to offer the other two players. Marrow teaches the disc games class at Winthrop, so he was able to give Johnson and Ostlund advice and tips on the best methods to throw the disc, the best discs to use in different situations and a number of other disc related topics. 

While the game was all about fun and not the competition, that didn’t stop the three from taking a few friendly jabs at one another.

After the fifth hole, Marrow accidentally said he scored a three when he actually scored a four. 

“It was at hole five that we found out that Marrow cheats,” Johnson said.

When Johnson was taking a shot near the lake Marrow stood at the bottom of the hill to make sure she didn’t throw her disc in the water. Johnson exclaimed that she was offended that he thought she was bad enough to throw a disc in the lake. 

The event provided them with a great opportunity to catch up and share stories. 

Marrow told stories about the different tournaments he has attended and watched professional disc golf players compete in. He shared stories about great shots he has seen some of the pros make as well as stories about some simple shots they surprisingly missed. 

At one point Marrow even asked a question about golf and called it “ball golf” which lead him to jokingly question why disc golf wasn’t just called golf and why golf can’t be called ball golf by everyone. 

The weather was a bit cooler than it has been as of late which provided the group with perfect weather to spend the day walking from hole to hole. 

On the last hole they played, Johnson concluded her day by scoring par for the first time and proclaiming “I am the best.” 

The Winthrop staff members were able to have a relaxed day of playing disc golf and students were able to play in a competitive environment. Out of the students, Matthew Norton scored the lowest with a 52 and was followed by Briley Whiton and Nicholas Frega who tied with 59.

The event was meant to build up excitement for the United States Disc Golf Championship that will take place at the Winthrop Lake Disc Golf course on Oct. 5th through 8th, featuring professionals and amateurs from all over the world.