Shumate takes steps to expand disc golf in the area
Mar. 8—Ryan Shumate began playing disc golf 12 years ago at the suggestion of his brother. Since then he has played the growing sport in West Virginia and other states and even plays professionally.
"I don't see myself ever losing my enjoyment with disc golf as a sport, and that's why I'm so passionate about its growth," he said. "I believe it is a sport that is accessible to everyone."
Shumate estimates he has played disc golf at about 100 courses throughout the region. As an enthusiast of the sport, he would like to see an 18-hole course close to home.
He began taking steps to make that happen, and Saturday presented a major one.
Shumate came up with the idea of The Joust, a disc golf tournament at the Historic Black Knight Golf Course. It was held to help raise some of the remaining funds for the completion of a full course at Lake Stephens.
The tournament was limited to 72 entrants in advanced, recreational and ladies divisions. Competitors received a disc golf bag, custom towel, custom shirt and coupons to various area restaurants. Winners received extra disc golf merchandise.
To Shumate's surprise, every spot was taken.
"I expected around 40 players when I started planning the event and was shocked to see it fill up entirely," he said. "I met quite a few new players who were playing for the first time. There were also a lot of players from the surrounding area excited to play at a unique venue. We even had a couple come all the way from Charlotte. Everyone seemed like they had a great time even though it was a little cold and windy. It was very encouraging to see the event go so smoothly and I am very grateful that I got to be involved in making it happen."
Shumate said disc golf's popularity is soaring and not just in southern West Virginia. He said an app that tracks the number of rounds played and the number of disc golf courses built across the world estimates that 50 million rounds were played in 2020, and 70 percent of the 11,566 disc golf courses were built since 2011.
"Disc golf has been an anomaly over the past year in the sense that the sport greatly benefited from the global pandemic," Shumate said. "Individuals began to seek outdoor recreation as an escape from the challenges imposed by the quarantine."
Shumate added that another attractive aspect to disc golf is that it's inexpensive. A three-disc starter pack costs around $25 and most courses are free to play.
Feeding off the sport's popularity, it only made sense to build an 18-hole course in southern West Virginia.
"Southern West Virginia has always had a knack for supporting outdoor recreation, and disc golf is no exception. There are at least 10 public 18-hole disc golf courses in the counties bordering Raleigh, yet Lake Stephens is poised to be Raleigh's only at the time of opening, along with several nine-hole courses, including the one at Daniel Vineyards," Shumate said.
"We are expecting the disc golf course at Lake Stephens to be open within the year. With the recent redesignation of the New River Gorge National Park and Preserve, I am confident that outdoor recreation will continue to grow in our region, and disc golf will benefit from that."
Amazingly, Shumate has been able to work toward completion of the Lake Stephens course while continuing his pursuit of his college degree. The 2015 Independence graduate is a full-time student at Marshall, although the school's blend of in-person and online instruction has afforded him more opportunity to be at home.
"I've spent much more time in Beckley over the past year than I have on campus, and this has given me plenty of time to work on completing the disc golf course at Lake Stephens," he said. "I've been discussing with Molly Williams at Raleigh County Parks and Recreation Authority on ways that we could work to raise some of the remaining funds to finish the construction process on that course, and I felt that running The Joust would be a great way to do so."
Email: gfauber@register-herald.com and follow on Twitter @GaryFauber
