Disc golf has a lot to offer for participants of all ages: exercise, time together with friends, and a day out in nature. On Saturday, September 16, disc golfers can play to benefit the Ozanam Campus, which will take place at Thornfield Disc Golf Course.

The tournament will feature contests, prizes, raffles, and friendly wagering in what has historically been a late-summer good time.

Mark Twain called golf “a good walk, spoiled.” Maybe that’s because he never played disc golf. He also never met Susan Hathaway, whose unofficial title might be Organizer/Supporter for Aidan’s Aeros Advocates Disc Golf Team that will be playing in this year’s tournament.

Susan isn’t a disc golfer; she walks the course as her husband plays with a team of friends who are also into the sport. She enjoys getting out in nature and the camaraderie of the disc golf teams. Saturday looks like a perfect disc golf day with temperatures in the upper 70s, partly sunny, and a light wind.

“It’s a beautiful course, and the weather is nice,” she said. “We’re able to combine what people like to do on a sunny day on gorgeous grounds.”

Disc golf dates back to the 1960s. According to the Professional Disc Golf Association, Ed Headrick is known as the father of disc golf because of his work as part of the development team at Wham-O, the company that invented the Frisbee. Headrick also designed the disc golf pole hole in 1975. The rest of the history is blurry, with several recreational camp counselors saying they created a handmade version of disc golf with their campers sometime in the 1960s.

Aidan’s Aeros Advocates are drawn to the tournament for the fun, camaraderie, and time outdoors, but are motivated to participate to support the Ozanam Campus, the tournament’s beneficiary. For Susan, the Ozanam Campus was a difference maker for her now adult son, Aidan. In middle school, Aidan struggled with behavior issues related to his autism diagnosis. The support system for Aidan broke down and the family needed something better.

“It was tough on him and tough on us as a family. We felt like Ozanam might be our last chance,” Susan said. “Aidan really just flourished there, and Ozanam kind of saved us.”

The Hathaway family’s experience at Ozanam impacted them in other ways, too. They saw other youth and families in care at Ozanam who didn’t have the same support the Hathaways did. Susan remembers attending Aidan’s graduation; some of the other graduates only had their case worker there to support them.

“I don’t know how people survive without organizations like Ozanam,” Susan said.

Some of that support comes from the Disc Golf Tournament, which includes a “Vegas hole” for some unconventional fun. To win the round, disc golfers wager on making a hole in one. If they ace the hole, they earn double their bet, and losing bets support the Ozanam Campus. Susan said it’s customary in her group that whoever wins the bet donates that money to Ozanam as well.

“The tournament is a way to do something that a lot of my husband’s friends like to do for an organization that we’re happy to raise money for,” Susan said.