Disc golf tourney benefits charity
CRANBERRY TWP — Jonathan Cohen was moved when representatives of the Sleep in Heavenly Peace organization came to speak at a Rotary Club gathering in Cranberry Township.
Sleep in Heavenly Peace provides beds for children in need of them in the Mars area.
“I got to thinking about what we could do to help them,” Cohen said.
He decided to call upon the area’s ever-growing disc golf community — and the first Cranberry Sunset Rotary Disc Golf Doubles Tournament was born, with Sleep in Heavenly Peace as its prime beneficiary.
The tournament took place Sept. 24 at the North Boundary Park disc golf course. There were 60 players registered.
“It took about seven months to get this thing organized and numerous businesses came on board as sponsors,” Cohen said. “The community really got behind this. We’re going to make it an annual event.
“We have about 30 door prizes on display out here, so everyone has a good chance of winning something.”
As it was, all players received a disc golf package and lunch after the morning event as part of their registration. Cohen estimated the tournament raised $12,000 for the charity.
He said that “married couples, teenagers and people in their late 50’s” were on the course.
“The only advertising we used was social media and the word got out,” said Cohen, a disc golfer himself. “It’s amazing the way this sport has taken off. During the height of COVID, when nobody was allowed to do much, you could get out and do this. It’s walking, it’s social distancing, it’s fresh air and it’s fun.
“COVID-19 got a lot of people started in disc golf and those people have stayed with it.”
Ron and Lynn Ruhlman from Youngstown (Ohio) played in the tournament. They’ve been disc golfers for two years.
“We learned about it through Disc Golf Scene (website),” Ron Ruhlman said. “We’re happy to contribute to a good cause and it’s a lot of fun.”
Ian Crain, also from Youngstown, described the growth of disc golf over the past couple of years as “unreal,” adding that “COVID really impacted this sport and introduced a lot of people to the game.”
His doubles partner, Ryan Crump, said he enjoys “the walk through nature” at North Boundary Park, along with the challenging shots the course provides.
“We play a lot in Pennsylvania and Northeast Ohio,” Crump said. “This course is as good as it gets in the area.”
Dan Zugell and Brian Bunovsky of Cranberry Township were happy to participate in a tournament so close to home.
“It’s long, hilly and challenging,” Zugell said in describing the course.
“It’s quite a hike just walking it,” Bunofsky said.
Baden resident Regis Stump has been playing disc golf for eight years. He called the tournament a win-win.
“I love competition and this course, plus I’m always willing to get behind a good cause,” he said. “I support this event 100 percent.”
Cohen expects the event to grow with each year as disc golf continues to grow.
Disc Golf Scene listed 157 tournaments that took place across the country on that Saturday alone. It also indicated there are 8,786 leagues, 49,568 tournaments and 10,645 disc golf courses in the United States in 2022.
“I enjoy regular golf, too,” Cohen said. “But there’s nothing better than throwing a frisbee. It was a matter of time before this (disc golf) really caught on.”
