Return of the IDGC
Return of the IDGC
Courses and Major competition set to return to the home of the PDGA
The wait is over.
The International Disc Golf Center (IDGC) is set to end its operational hiatus following years of closure following two detrimental acts of nature. The entire facility, including the PDGA headquarters building and a brand-new course, is set to open this fall and the PDGA Champions Cup is set to return home in 2028.
The Background
In September 2023, operational personnel and stakeholders for Wildwood Park, host site for the IDGC, began clearing hundreds of acres of trees throughout the park due to a pine beetle infestation. While cleanup of the pine beetle infestation was wrapping up, Hurricane Helene tore through the southeast U.S., piling up additional damages to the entire region and the IDGC.
IDGC and Champions Cup Update 2023 >>
As clearing the debris from the beetles and hurricane nears completion, a new path forward is being laid. PDGA Executive Director, Doug Bjerkaas, is excited to see years of planning, collaboration, and labor come to fruition.
“Simply put, the PDGA needs a home," Bjerkaas said. "From a functional and administrative perspective – a place to receive mail, house records, safely preserve some of the sport’s artifacts – to a spiritual anchor for the sport – a place all disc golfers can call a collective ‘home.'"
IDGC and Champions Cup Update 2025 >>
PDGA Executive Director, Doug Bjerkaas discusses the state of the IDGC in February 2025.
The Progress
In recent months, the PDGA and IDGC staff have undergone several assessments of the PDGA headquarters facility, including the feasibility of closing and/or relocating the IDGC. After a careful analysis, it was determined that the IDGC should be reopened and continue to be the host for the PDGA’s headquarter facilities.
While the course designs that formerly made up the W.R. Jackson, Jim Warner, and "Steady" Ed Headrick Memorial Courses to the IDGC property were ultimately deemed to be unsalvageable, the land and property have tremendous potential.
Following the assessments of the headquarters facility and former courses, the PDGA discussed the design opportunity with Paul McBeth. The PDGA and McBeth discussed his willingness to work on the design for a championship-level course on the IDGC grounds. During the discussion, McBeth generously volunteered to provide his design services and play a crucial role in re-establishing the IDGC as a premier competitive arena.
“The IDGC is the epicenter of disc golf. From amateurs to professionals, the IDGC has hosted some of the biggest and brightest names in disc golf,” McBeth said. “It was a privilege to design the top professional layout at the IDGC which is designed to challenge the very best in the world for the future PDGA Champions Cup and perhaps future Majors to come.”
Though a seasoned professional with regard to both playing on and designing elite disc golf courses, McBeth sought design support.
“I also reached out to one of the biggest names when it comes to throwing with the ‘wrong hand,’ Brian Earhart, to help create a course that challenges all competitors fairly, no matter what angle, side, or distance you throw," McBeth added. "Again, I’m honored to be a part of such a historic project and thankful for those I get to work along side with for this course.”
The gravity of the IDGC facility is echoed by personal testimony from Earhart.
“I’m still honestly a bit speechless. It feels very full circle for me,” Earhart said. “Back in 2012, I was at a very low point with my mental health. I was a student with no direction and was considering dropping out of school. On a whim I emailed the PDGA asking about summer internships and to my surprise they hired me. The summer I interned at the IDGC legitimately changed my life and it’s one of the main reasons I’m still doing what I do today in the sport.”
Regarding the history of the IDGC and design of the upcoming championship course, Earhart continued: "I’ve spent so many hours walking the fairways of all three courses out there and when I heard about the destruction caused by the pine beetle and Hurricane Helene, I was truly heartbroken. To be asked by someone I deeply respect to help revitalize a place that means so much to me is something I can’t put into words. As much as Paul is the boss at the end of the day, I will do all I can to help give the community something to be proud to come back to.”
The IDGC facility and its courses hold special meaning to the disc golf community, especially for elite players that have etched their name in history on these tracks.
“For me, it holds a truly special place in my memory,” said Kristin Latt, winner of the 2023 PDGA Champions Cup, the last iteration of the event held at the IDGC. “The first time I played the course, I immediately fell in love with it. It perfectly represents everything I love about disc golf - a wooded layout with fair, well-shaped fairways and minimal OBs and mandatories. Coming so close to winning there, but ultimately finishing second, was a defining moment. It gave me the motivation to come back stronger. To return to a course I genuinely love and then actually win there. That feeling is hard to put into words.
"I’m forever grateful for those memories and experiences. And I truly hope that disc golfers will have the chance to return to that property and play world-class disc golf there again. To create their own special moments that will stay with them, just like these have stayed with me.”
In addition to his work with the Paul McBeth Foundation, McBeth has also designed other premier-level courses, including New London Tech Disc Golf Course, site of 2024 PDGA Pro Worlds and the 2026 PDGA Champions Cup.
The Forecast
As part of the IDGC Restoration Project, which began in September 2023 following the pine beetle infestation, the IDGC staff began charting a new course to replace the famed W.R. Jackson Memorial Course, as well as the Jim Warner Memorial Course and "Steady" Ed Headrick Memorial Course. The ultimate goal was to restore the home of the first two iterations of the PDGA Champions Cup and bring the PDGA Major back to the IDGC. Part of their work included appealing to the Wildwood Park stakeholders to acquire additional land for the new course.
This early due diligence gave the current design team an impressive 90-acre canvas upon which to design a brand-new championship-level course. This new McBeth-designed course will eventually host the PDGA Champions Cup, with the event set to return to the IDGC in 2028.
Leading the way for the IDGC course restoration has been the IDGC staff, Sid Olcott, IDGC Manager, and Nathaniel Samsel, IDGC Facilities Manager.
“It’s been a long journey getting the IDGC to where it is now,” Olcott said. “And no one has put in more effort on these grounds than Nathaniel. Everything from planning preliminary course design to putting in the blood and sweat to actually rebuild this facility; he’s truly been a champion for the IDGC’s future.”
More Details
- The championship course will be accompanied by two additional courses. One will be an intermediate course and the other will be a short, beginner-friendly course.
- The PDGA will serve as the Local Organizing Committee for the 2028 PDGA Champions Cup.
- The 2027 PDGA Champions Cup is currently slated to be hosted in Lynchburg and Bedford County, VA, USA, which is hosting the 2026 event April 9-12.
- Reopening of the IDGC building, which houses the PDGA headquarters, World Disc Golf Hall of Fame, and the Ed Headrick Memorial Museum is also slated for this fall.
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- For media inquiries, email [email protected]
This story was originally published March 2026
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