Every day is Disc Golf Day in Crossville.
So says Crossville Mayor RJ Crawford, who made the declaration in a proclamation presented during the Crossville City Council meeting in October.
“Disc golf is a kick ass global sport,” the mayor said in the proclamation presented to a trio of Crossville disc golfers who took the sport from obscurity in the city to the development of a course at Meadow Park Lake and a club membership of more than 1,200 in the past four years.
The trio included Ethan Hadley, Crossville-Cumberland County Chamber of Commerce president and CEO, who brought his love of the sport with him to the Plateau upon accepting his present position.
Not content to pursue that love of sport elsewhere, Hadley established the Crossville Disc Golf Club in July 2020.
“Hadley launched the club Facebook page, raised money to establish a course and engaged Johann Bauer, the most sought-after course designer in the world, to envision the layout and complexities of one of the finest courses on the planet,” Crawford said in the proclamation.
That was followed by the City Council granting permission for the disc golf course to be built at Meadow Park Lake. The Crossville Disc Golf Club led volunteer efforts in developing the course.
It also led to recruiting Ethan Medley, Justin Gibson, James Parker, Noah Davis and Tyler Bennet to form the inaugural Crossville Disc Golf Club board of directors.
Medley, the city’s leisure services director, and Gibson completed the trio who accepted the proclamation from Crawford. They continue to lead the Club that’s grown exponentially over the last four years.
“The Meadow Park Lake Disc Golf Course and Crossville Leisure Services have garnered international praise for landscaping and grooming,” Crawford said in the proclamation. “Meadow Park Lake has attracted players from all 50 states and numerous countries, including Lithuania.”
Medley told City Council members in an August retreat that the 18-hole course attracts tourists to the city, who look forward to playing what is essentially two courses in one.
UDisc, an app disc golf enthusiasts use to find courses and track their scores and rounds, rates the Meadow Park course at 4.5 on a 5.0 scale.