​Mercer County Disc Golf Club                      est. 2013

History of Mercer County Disc Golf

 

PAST - In early 2010, ground was broken for the construction of a 9 hole course at Mercer County Park in West Windsor, NJ as part of Joseph Palladino's eagle scout project.  By mid-2010, the course was playable, with two sets of gravel box tee pads, making for 9 long tees and 9 short tees for a playable 18 hole layout.  The course was immediately used by local disc golf enthusiasts, and was aimed at a beginner-friendly player base.

 

Over the next few years, local disc golfers who frequently played the course began realizing the huge potential it had.  Regularly creating "safari" holes by teeing off from temporarily marked natural tee pads, they felt that the course was due for an upgrade.

 

After gathering a sizeable interest group, in fall 2013 Kevin Bancroft approached the Director of Parks & Recreation at Mercer County Park.  The sole purpose was to voluntarily maintain the course and provide suitable changes that would still cater to beginners but also challenge more advanced players.  After the agreement, Mercer County Disc Golf Club was born.

 

PRESENT - A little over a year after its inception, the MCDGC is still providing some incredible changes to the course, while trying not to upset the flow and playability of the holes.  The majority of the course has been cleared of invasive Russian olive bushes that plagued the fairways and deterred players from returning for fear of losing their discs.  A few baskets have moved, new fairways were opened and teepads are being revamped by concrete pavers - providing longer and safer tee areas.  Club tags were and are being sold to fundraise for future events and club supplies.  Overall, the improvements by MCDGC have been extremely well received by frequenters of the course.  Presently, Kevin Bancroft serves as President, Nick Tallone as Vice President and Rob Girard as Treasurer.  The integral maintenance team includes the above referenced as well as core board members Sean Howard, Ryan Vacha and Eric Tucker.  The Mercer County Park official contacts include James Haggerty, Director of Parks & Recreation and Robert Doherty, Park Foreman.  There are currently over 100 members of the club.

 

FUTURE - Mercer County Park has green lighted the effort for expansion of the existing 9 hole course to a full 18 holes.  MCDGC will be surveying the land adjacent to the course to carefully plan the next 9 holes by utilizing the best areas available.  More tournaments will be held in 2015 and regular tag events will be scheduled.