Math teacher takes a different course in disc golf arena

Not many disc golf course designers can say they’ve been grounded by an eagle, but Wes Black can. And on his first course, too.

Disc golf courses have sprouted like mushrooms throughout the Illinois Valley, beckoning serious golfers and amateurs alike to Oglesby, LaSalle, LaMoille, Streator, Peru, Princeton, or Ottawa. Black has had a hand in designing most of them in the last 15 years, and his name has become synonymous with the sport.

Black teaches math at Illinois Valley Community College, where he and faculty colleague Ryen Nagle and Nagle’s dad, Dan, conceived the idea for a nine-hole IVCC course which opened in 2010. Ryen had just introduced Black to the game, but the novice’s passion quickly matched his tutor’s.

The original design “took hours and hours of thought. And I don’t know how many times I walked that site and thought about the flow,” Black said. Variety is the spice in disc golf, he added. Holes should demand long throws and short ones, breaks to the left and to the right, and be spaced so “you don’t have to walk a long way to the next tee pad or to the basket or be throwing toward the next green.”

But then one exceptional obstacle flew in. A bald eagle, which is also IVCC’s beloved mascot, came home to roost in a nest just above Hole 1’s basket. Soon after opening, the course shut down so the eagle – still an endangered species at the time – wouldn't be disturbed.

Actually, the raptor had done them a favor – sort of. The pause gave designers time to re-envision the course, to what Black concedes is a better layout. Hole 1 was relocated just inside the entrance gate, tee pads were poured concrete and expanded, and Hole 5 became more challenging by setting the basket on a manmade hill.

Land availability, support and funding spurred the growth of disc golf courses in the Illinois Valley. Courses need about an acre per hole, and land must be cleared and prepared. Baskets can cost about $400 each, tee pads as much as $1,000. Public contributions and volunteers are pivotal to progress and completion.

The courses are free to play and there are no added fees like in ball golf. The unique settings and challenges appeal to players in the area and beyond seeking that low score or gravity-defying hole-in-one.

“People will drive well over an hour to play a course,” says Black, who had recently spent two days playing over seven courses in the Quad Cities. “That’s what people do, to see what this course or that course has that’s different.”

Black estimates he’s played more than 70 courses in a dozen different states – including Hawaii, where the vacationing Black found himself fending off banana plants and pineapple plants unlike any Midwest vegetation. There’s even a tournament held inside a prison.

Anyone of any ability and age can play, which may help explain disc golf’s popularity. On average, a new course opens every day somewhere in the United States, Black says. The sport has a pro circuit, dedicated media channels, and phone apps to share scores and observations.

Black has further ignited local interest through clinics he organizes for youth and adults. And the playing field keeps growing; Black is helping establish two more courses in Mendota and Princeton.

Many local courses offer 18 holes of play. Some -- like Streator’s Marilla Park, which opened in 2012 -- feature giant tree obstacles, while others -- like LaSalle’s Rotary Park (2024) or Peru’s Baker Lake (2018) -- present water hazards to delight and challenge a golfer. Several holes present golfers with two different tees to drive from.

Wind is a disc golfer’s biggest headache. “You think you’re throwing well and the wind takes it away. You throw into the wind and it just goes out like crazy and if you throw with the wind, it just pushes it to the ground,” Black said. Golf discs are specially designed to battle the elements. Black carries as many as 20 discs and puts them in play as he needs to drive, to putt or to approach.

You’ll likely find him at a course near you, facing down the challenges he created – when he’s not enjoying his other hobbies, such as ice climbing, running, kayaking and adventure racing. “I’m an outdoorsy guy,” he says.