Though it’s still new, the Disc Golf Club has grown steadily during this semester.
What began as a pastime for Jackson Kennedy on a random Friday afternoon a year ago quickly turned into a passion and developed into an opportunity to lead the Disc Golf Club at Southern Miss.
Kennedy, a graduate assistant in USM’s International Student and Scholar Services, hadn’t played disc golf before coming to college. He played for the first time with some friends during his final semester in undergrad and instantly felt a desire to learn more about it. For Kennedy, the freedom of disc golf’s structure and the ability to play as he wanted led him to pursue his passion further.
“What I enjoy most is how disc golf can be what you want it to be. Do you want to be incredibly competitive and technical? There’s ways to do that. Do you want to play difficult courses and prove yourself among fellow players? There’s plenty of tournaments and courses to challenge yourself,” Kennedy said. “Every time you step up to a tee pad, you can determine exactly what you want it to be.”
For those who are unfamiliar with the sport of disc golf, it plays very closely to standard golf. Just like golf has different clubs for different parts of the course, disc golf has three disc types: drivers, midranges and putters. Instead of shooting a golf ball in a hole, players aim to toss the discs into a basket of chains, but they still must track the number of throws it takes them to make it into the basket as they try to reach or come under par for each hole.
By the time Kennedy entered graduate school at USM in August 2024, the Disc Golf Club was only in its early stages of formation, and he had merely an outside interest in joining it, should it become an official club. But, when the founder became unable to maintain his duties, Kennedy was asked if he’d like to step up in their place—an offer he happily accepted.
“Currently, my main responsibilities as president lie in helping establish the club. Being a new club, and one that really has just gotten our feet under us, establishing weekly times to play rounds, and sending out information on when we play,” Kennedy said. “As the club grows, I see the role of president expanding, but for now, it’s mainly just helping the club stay consistent and grow.”
This semester in particular has seen significant progress for the club. The club held its first practices in September, and what was once a small group of members trying to start the club has turned into a solid group of veteran players and beginners. Kennedy primarily markets the club through EagleHub or by members spreading the word around campus.
“We are a very new club, and there are some exciting directions we can go in,” Kennedy said. “The opportunity of learning a new sport, meeting new people and forming a new student organization is really exciting, and everyone’s voice helps build the club into something better.”
Currently, the club’s activities mainly consist of regular tee times, as they’re still in the stage of growing their player base. Typically, these are on Thursdays at 4 p.m. However, the club plans to host more events in the spring that will prioritize gauging interest in tournaments. Kennedy wants to lay the foundation for the future of the club, even if he won’t be around to see it through. His vision for the club is one where they can host multiple tee times a week and become competitive enough to enter tournaments.
“When a group of members in the club gain the experience and confidence to compete, seeing Southern Miss Disc Golf compete in intercollegiate tournaments and host tournaments of our own would be really exciting,” Kennedy said. “I know by this time next school year we could start to see some of this growth happen, so helping build this as I round out my graduate career would be really fulfilling to see come to fruition.”
For students interested in joining the Disc Golf Club, the easiest way to get involved is through EagleHub. The club sends out a newsletter when they have a tee time, and students of all experience levels are welcome to show up, regardless of whether they have discs.
