Disc golf players from around the United States gathered at the 2026 Bowling Green Amateur Championships on May 1-3.
Seventy-seven players signed up for the three-day event, split up into 11 divisions by age and skill level across three courses. Each winner of a division received a trophy, but every contestant could pick up a disc following the event.
Evan Boucher finished with the highest score of any division, going 17 under par. Boucher is a pro disc golfer, ranked 222nd in the disc golf Global Master’s Series.
Logan Moore, Rowan Conley and Michael Smith each went 16 under par on the weekend. Moore, Conley, and Smith are all disc golf pros, with Smith playing in tournaments since 2009.
Several food trucks and vendors were at the event, headlined by White Squirrel Brewery. White Squirrel hosted the postgame event with food and free items for players and guests.
The annual event was created in 1978 by a crew led by Howard Clark to expand disc golf’s reach in the Bowling Green area.
“At the time it was called the April Fools tournament,” Clark said. “There was always a spring tournament in Bowling Green.”
Ownership of the event has been passed to current tournament director Tim Barnett and Jenna Hardenberg, the assistant tournament director, to ensure the tournament continues to provide an outlet for the disc golf community in the Bowling Green area. Hardenberg started volunteering for the tournament in 2008 when Clark was running the event.
“That’s how I met my husband,” Hardenberg said. “That’s how a lot of us met.”
The tournament director role has changed, but the event is in good hands with the current owners in its first rebranded season. The event was titled the Bowling Green Open last season, focusing on competition for pro players.
“It’s changed hands a few times, but it’s been a long-standing event in Bowling Green,” Hardenberg said. “Our goal is to honor the memories and history of the event while continuing to rebuild and grow it, ensuring its place in Bowling Green’s future.”
The Amateur Championships became the new title of the event, with the goal of a more welcoming environment for new players while allowing pro players opportunities to compete. Further down the line, the crew wants to create a separate pro league.
“We’re ready for a new era, trying to continue a long legacy,” Barnett said. “Bowling Green is just a great place to come for disc golf.”
Disc golf is a sport that has yet to reach the heights of other up-and-coming sports in the United States, but in Hardenberg’s eyes, the event is a chance to grow the sport and extend the reach of a disc golf community.
“It’s a niche sport, if you’re involved, then you know. Others don’t know,” Hardenberg said. “The sport has grown, the number of courses has grown exponentially, and the number of players has grown so there’s just much more tournaments.”
The sport has grown nearly 86% from 2020, with nearly 17,000 courses worldwide and 21.2 million rounds played in 2025, according to the 2026 annual report from UDisc.
The event is just one step toward continuing to grow disc golf into not only a Bowling Green staple, but a worldwide phenomenon.
“It’s just a really, really special sport; if you’re in it, it really is like you’re family,” Hardenberg said.
Although the tournament is in a good place, Hardenberg sees an opportunity to keep the momentum rolling with help from outside organizations.
“We would love to get the recreation department involved,” Hardenberg said. “We’d like to get more involvement with WKU, that’s a big, big goal.”
The J.M. Smucker Company is the title sponsor for the event, along with Warren County and Bowling Green Parks and Recreation. White Squirrel Brewery also hosts the event sign-up.
John Bal has made himself a staple as a competitor in the event, returning for yet another year. This year, Bal finished second in the Men’s intermediate (MA2) section of the tournament.
“This was my tenth year playing in the BG Amateur Championships,” Bal said. “It was a great time, the courses looked better than they have in years, and there were other associated events to attend with it being held during derby weekend.”
With another year under her belt involved in disc golf, Hardenberg and Barnett see disc golf growth as the only path forward.
“There’s only room to grow,” Hardenberg said. “We just want people to get involved to where they are aware of the event. It is a small niche thing.”
For anyone interested in ways to get involved in disc golf, whether you’re a beginner or a pro, contact Jenna Hardenberg.
