One of the beautiful things about disc golf is the community, especially in Vermont." Chris Young, Founder and Executive Director, Disc Golf Vermont
Introduction
If you walk through the Randolph Rec Fields on a Monday evening from April through September, you will see a group of 30-40 colorfully dressed people scattered through the woods at one of the 18 disc golf holes on either side of the river. This is league night for the Randolph disc golf group, also known as the “Gnomes,” called as such for the small figurines that appear throughout the course. It’s only been within the past 3-4 years that this many people have joined league night - occasionally bringing out upwards of 60 players. Prior to that, the course was somewhat of an open secret - you may know it's there but not what it is. Or, if you’re not a regular to the rec fields, that it’s even there at all.
What is Disc Golf?
Similar to its better-known cousin ball golf, disc golf is played on a course with 18 baskets, or “holes”, with the goal of getting the disc (a smaller version of the backyard frisbee) from the tee pad into the basket with as few shots as possible. The sport has been around for decades and formalized in the 1970s with the creation of the Professional Disc Golf Association (PGDA) and first permanent course. Courses can be located entirely in the woods, in a field, or really anywhere at all, which varies the challenge and makes trying out new courses a goal for dedicated players. It’s also one of the most accessible sports, easily played by people of all ages and abilities. All you need to start is 1-2 discs, a pair of shoes, and a slow walk outdoors.
My first introduction to the sport was as a cross-country runner at Schenley Park in Pittsburgh in the late 90s, where we’d run our course hearing the clang of chains on the baskets and duck flying discs, seemingly aimed at our heads. I didn’t even know what it was called until I met and married my husband, Todd. His one attempt to get me to play during a visit to Vermont, at the Johnson State College course, utterly failed upon my discovery of a friendly course cat, a much more interesting way to spend an afternoon, in my opinion, than hunting through the ferns for errant discs. Fast forward several years when we were planning our permanent move to Randolph from Baltimore and Todd was thrilled to find the White River Disc Golf Course on Google Maps. That move took place in early 2020, a time when interest in the sport globally was about to explode.
Randolph Course - Beginnings
The Randolph course - known formally as the White River Disc Golf Course (WRDGC) or colloquially as “Gnomes” - was built in 2003 by Ric Timmons and begins behind the swimming pool, meandering through the woods on both sides of the river. Timmons got grant funding for the first baskets and negotiated with the Town of Randolph to install the course. Maintaining WRDGC has always been a volunteer effort. In addition to Timmons, it was maintained by a small group of people for its first 10 years including Peter Flaherty and Marcos Miller. Flaherty recalls running into Timmons planting trees around the course during its inception and started lending a hand. He subsequently took on the majority of the maintenance after Timmons became ill and later passed away in 2014. From then until 2019, when he moved out of Randolph, Flaherty performed the majority of course maintenance. Not only did he promote disc golf down at the course, but he installed baskets at Brookfield Elementary during his teaching tenure to get kids excited about the sport. He used to stop by the course daily: “It was my sanctuary. The one time of day that I didn’t have kids vying for my attention.”
Gradually, the course began to get noticed, and was included in the Green Mountain Point Series tournament in the late 2000s, which brought in people from across the state. Tropical Storm Irene in 2011 was the first major impediment for the course, ripping up baskets and trees and changing the trajectory of the White River. It took all winter to repair the course, and when the tournament came to Randolph the following spring the bridge was still out of commission. With the only other option for play being driving from one side of the course to the other, Flaherty brought his canoe down and ferried people across the river. Learning from history, when the floods of 2023 and 2024 came, the group was able to move the baskets to avoid loss during the floods and ultimately relocated several of the holes after the river eroded many of the banks.
One of the most unique aspects of the course is the river hole. Playing the course involves not only crossing the river (today via bridge, once again) but throwing across the river. Through ongoing storms, the width of the river has increased and today is near the maximum width feasible for the hole. If you don’t want to risk your disc landing in the river, you can opt to add a stroke and skip the watery toss. Fortunately, if you do land in the river, not all may be lost. Every winter and late spring, Miller will don his insulated waders and take a walk down the river, searching for discs. Each year he pulls out somewhere between 75-125 discs. If the water and gravel hasn’t washed it away, he calls or texts the phone numbers written on the backs to try and reunite the discs with their owners. Some have been in there for years, covered by gravel until a large storm event washes them out. “It’s always fun when I find one and recognize the name,” he says. “It’s a hobby I’ve embraced. I love walking down the river and seeing nature from a different perspective.” On some walks, he’s made it all the way past the golf course.
The gnome theme developed organically - while playing one day, Flaherty saw a tree that looked like a gnome face and started placing gnome figures around the course. Eventually, the gnomes became so popular that Peter started making instead of buying them, creating hundreds every year. Kids and adults alike love searching for the gnomes, and you can even see gnome pictures at various Randolph businesses and civic buildings.
Leagues Take Off
After years of efforts, several residents finally got a loose group of players committing to regular league nights in 2019. However, shortly thereafter, COVID put a damper on those efforts and participation fizzled. In early 2021, Gabby and Marques Pozzani began hosting meetings to determine how to finally get a dedicated league. Individual interest had been growing out of the pandemic, as disc golf was an easy sport to play outside and away from others. Nationally, the sport was exploding and locally those who had, until now, casually played alone, began to multiply and join forces. Miller again took a lead role, along with Tyler LaPerle, and Monday league nights were born. The sudden interest in support, the advent of UDisc (a website and app to help people find and rate courses), and WRDGC’s location just off the interstate, along with Tyler and Miller’s dedication and active Facebook group chat, all coalesced at just the right time. Over the past year, the Gnomes have formalized even more, looking into becoming a 501c3 organization and creating a memorandum of understanding with the Town regarding maintenance, responsibilities, and limitations. Leagues ask $5 to play, which gets paid out to players each night, with an optional $2 towards the “Ace Pot” - the reward one gets for hitting an “Ace” or hole in one. The Gnomes Challenge is one of the early stops on the Disc Golf Vermont Tour, occurring over Mother’s Day weekend each spring.
Gabby Pozzani, Justin “Pep” Leonard, and Todd Lewis are among the executive members of the developing organization and have been meeting with the Randolph Recreation Department and brainstorming how to attract more residents to disc golf. “[The Gnomes] feel like they are an extension of our department,” says Morgan Easton, Randolph Recreation Coordinator. “[Their effort] fits really well with what we want to do.” While the relationship between the two entities has been positive, they are starting to formalize it to maintain checks and balances and clarify who is responsible for various aspects of the course. Easton noted that people come from all over to play here, but many town residents don’t know much, or anything, about it. “We are the intro to disc golf for a lot of people,” Pep told me. The Gnomes worked with the Kimball Library last summer to provide entry-level disc golf kits that anyone can check out to start learning to play. Kits include three discs, a putter, a driver, and a mid-range, all of which were donated by league members. They’ve also met with The Gear House to increase the diversity and supply of discs available for purchase and had a float in the Fourth of July Parade. This year’s goals are to consistently post on their Facebook Page to help more people know what’s going on, formalize a course maintenance schedule, and look into getting a sign with a course map placed at the Rec Fields.
Statewide and Beyond
Chris Young is the founder and executive director of Disc Golf Vermont, an organization that promotes the sport throughout Vermont, hosts both sanctioned and unsanctioned events, and helps introduce the sport to kids through schools and camps. When he moved back to Vermont nearly 20 years ago, Gnomes was one of the only established courses and he helped the group as it began to formalize around 2019. “One of the beautiful things about disc golf is the community, especially in Vermont” he noted, and leagues are one of the best ways to get involved. Young is dedicated to introducing young people to disc golf and $2 from every tournament entry goes towards getting disc golf into schools. There are currently over 40 courses in Vermont, and more are designed and installed each year, ranging from easy to expert. Despite playing and designing courses around the country, Randolph is still one of Young’s favorite places to come back to.
Professionally, while pro tours existed since 2003, it was in 2021 when the Disc Golf Pro Tour and the PDGA National Tour combined to form the Official Pro Tour of the PDGA and exponentially expanded the reach and growth of the highest level of professional disc golf. Vermont’s own Smuggler’s Notch houses two internationally renowned courses, Brewster’s Ridge and Fox Run Meadows, regularly ranked in the top ten courses in the world. It has twice hosted the Disc Golf World Championships, including most recently in 2023, and the Green Mountain Championship in late summer is a yearly stop on the Disc Golf Pro Tour, bringing in the top pros from around the country and the world. Tickets are available to the public for all four days of the event. The Gnomes often use this opportunity to host touring pros for clinics in Randolph. To put it in parallel terms, The Championship is the disc golf equivalent of a PGA Tour FedExCup Playoff. Disc golf is also gaining traction at the collegiate level, with over programs at nearly 300 schools.
Why Disc Golf?
As the partner of a disc golfer, one would expect I, too, play the sport. This is not (yet) so, despite Todd’s best efforts. Since I can’t speak to why one should play, I asked everyone I interviewed what makes disc golf, and the Gnomes more specifically, special.
Marcos Miller: “Playing disc golf with other people has made me into a much more confident person, including at my job with public speaking and better self confidence. When you’re in front of others and they are watching you throw, you either accept what happens or run away from it.”
Peter Flaherty: “At every course you’re going to find good, friendly people. Most of my experience is [at Gnomes] and they are always good people.”
Gabby Pozzani: “It is an incredibly diverse yet accepting and uplifting community in general; you hear a lot of people genuinely say ‘disc golf saved my life.’”
Justin “Pep” Leonard: “To quote one of the founders of disc golf, Steady Ed Headrick: ‘Whoever has the most fun wins.’”
Todd Lewis: “In addition to being out in nature, you get to meet some of the most accepting and amazing people. It doesn’t matter what your background or skill level is, you’re accepted because of the common bond of disc golf.”
How to Play
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Leagues for Gnomes start around mid-April and you can keep an eye on their Facebook page, or drop by the shelter at the Randolph Rec Fields at 5pm on Mondays. Alternately, stop by the course any time and ask to join whoever is playing! Hole 1 is behind the swimming pool and signs direct you to each of the next holes.
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Rent a kit of discs at the Kimball Library.
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Pick up new discs at The Gear House.
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Follow Disc Golf Vermont via their newsletter, Facebook, or Instagram
(from the left: Sam Schonberg, 2nd place, Jerry Jackman, 1st place, Micah Munro, 4th place, in the Mixed Amateur 1 Division at the 2025 Gnomes Challenge)