The 2nd Annual Pocono Raceway Disc Golf Experience Has Some Surprises In Store

We’ve all probably played disc golf in some unusual places - some of us might have had to create an object course when no baskets are in sight, while others could share some stories about rather odd locations they’ve competed at. But nothing takes the cake like playing disc golf at a racetrack, and DD team member Mike Solt first planted the seed for this idea over 10 years ago.

His hard work and creative mind gave birth to the Pocono Raceway Disc Golf Experience, and the inaugural event held in 2016 was a huge success. We chatted with Mike to find out a little more about his event and what people can expect next month at the track's second annual showing.

It’s Practically In His Blood

Mike grew up about 25 minutes from the Pocono Raceway in Long Pond, Pennsylvania. He’s attended races there as far back as he can remember and has long lasting friendships with many of the individuals who work at and manage the track. The idea had been brewing for a while to somehow integrate disc golf with the raceway, and once Dynamic Discs started their stadium experiences, Mike felt he had a platform to run with his concept.

Why the race track? Aside from utilizing an atmosphere that’s so close to his heart, Solt wanted to “give disc golfers the opportunity to have an ‘urban experience’ at a place that’s otherwise unavailable. It only makes sense to put that in the realm of imagining throwing a disc off the tower at Pocono - it’s just different. It’s still disc golf, but it’s a whole other atmosphere,” he shared excitedly.

A Snapshot Of Last Year

Mike had an amazing turnout at his first Raceway Experience, with over 300 disc golf lovers in attendance. People traveled from Ohio, New Jersey, Delaware, Maryland, and more to play 18 holes of golf that weaved in and around the triangle shaped track. Many of them were local tournament players, yet Solt estimates that about ⅓ of them were first-time event people.

When asked how Mike is improving upon last year, one clear point came to mind for him: “[Last year the] aesthetics were deficient,” he said. Although patrons had a great time, Mike said he noticed a lot of small issues that he’s planning on addressing for 2017’s event.

Excitement For This Year

Now that he’s had an entire 12 months to marinate on new ideas, Solt is thrilled to offer a few major changes for this year’s event. He’s doubled the number of holes for 2017, so players will now have 36 baskets to play on. He describes some of the course layout: “One course [will be] on the road using turn 3, [while the] other course starts by playing under the start/finish area. They will play holes through the grandstand, play across the top of the grandstands, and finish with the 18th hole teeing from the flag stand down to a basket in victory lane.”

The day prior to this year’s event, Mike will be hosting a flex C-tier as well, making the weekend of September 23rd and 24th one to be remembered. Depending on your budget, you could get the chance to play these unique 36 holes while taking home 2 discs, a custom polo, or even a custom Recruit basket. There’s still room to register, so head over to Disc Golf Scene before it’s full.

A big thank you goes out to Mike Solt and his team for putting together an incredible and exciting event - see you at Pocono!