DOVER — Dennis Grzywacz thought he invented disc golf in 1996 when he and a college buddy were tossing around a Frisbee on the Boise State University campus in Idaho. Before he even found out it was a real sport, he was hooked.



Although he did not invent the game, Grzywacz, a Dover resident, did design the course at Bellamy Park Disc Golf (BPDG) in 2001, the first disc golf course in New Hampshire. He continues to work on the course today and is looking toward designing and opening more courses around the area.



Disc golf is growing in popularity with courses continuing to pop up around New England. According to the Disc Golf Course Review, there are about 20 courses in the state and almost 60 in Maine.



The game is scored the same way as traditional ball-golf with birdies, pars, bogeys, and so on. Players toss the discs, which range in type depending on the situation — long distance, mid-range, short distance or “putts” — into metal baskets with chains that catch, and sometimes deflect, the incoming disc.

Sounds simple, but don’t be fooled; a bad toss can happen just as easily as a bad swing.



Grzywacz’s passion for the disc stems from his college days playing Ultimate Frisbee at the University of Maine at Farmington. While on exchange at BSU, he started throwing the disc at targets around campus: statues, light poles, trash cans — whatever he could find.



“Making pars,” he said with a laugh.



Grzywacz brought the little game back to New Hampshire and showed it to his old friends, some of whom were returning from college in Colorado where the sport was already growing.



Grzywacz wanted to build a course in Dover, so he approached the Parks and Recreation Department seeking any vacant parks in the city. He was directed to Bellamy Park off Knox Marsh Road and with just a pad of paper and a pencil, Grzywacz began to draw the lines for the first few holes.



Bellamy Park was once used as a summer campground and the small river that swims through it continues to be a popular destination on a hot summer day. As Grzywacz developed the course, it was important to him to allow only minimal stress on the forest.

“I tried to find the path of least resistance and kept the environment in mind,” he said. “I wanted to utilize what was already there. ...I love the low impact on the environment. The culture of the game holds true to a lot of my values. We’re out here in the woods and I love being outside. I don’t want to cut these trees down, but we have to cut some down for the better of others.”



Once a few baskets were purchased, the course started to attract more players. There was, and remains to be, no charge to play on the course. After enjoying a round, players would offer a helping hand in improving the condition of the course, from moving downed trees to clearing brush. Such a community remains today at BPDG, where every player feels they have a responsibility to maintain the course.



Since the early 2000s, courses continue to appear around the region. In 2013, a course was put up in Gonic at Squamanagonic Park. Another nine-hole course is set to go up at the new Smuttynose Brewery in Hampton, which Grzywacz is also working on. He added that yet another course is set to open in Manchester this fall.

Spend an afternoon at BPDG and it is not so hard to understand the appeal of the game. The distance from the tee-pad to the pole-hole can be anywhere from 200 to 500 feet with plenty of trees to challenge the player’s accuracy and approach strategy.



“It’s just so addicting,” said BPDG club member and Dover native Mike Talon, 63, who played ball-golf for several years but hasn’t touched the clubs since picking up the disc four years ago. “It’s something I can do that is a challenge, but it is not so much of a challenge that I can’t be good at it.”



It is hard to look past the strong sense of community and camaraderie at BPDG. Walking through the course, it seems like everybody has known each other for years, like relatives returning for a family reunion.



“I really enjoy the kids that I play with down here,” said Talon, who has played and coached community sports for much of his life. “I’ve had such a great experience with them. I haven’t met any jerks; they’ve all been great people.”



Ryan Keefe, 30, is a special educator at Oyster River High School in Durham who also plays regularly at BPDG. Keefe was an avid player of ultimate Frisbee until he was introduced to disc golf about eight years ago. He has held professional status for three years, but the big tournaments are far from his favorite aspect of the game.

“I was all about going big until I had my two daughters,” said Keefe, whose oldest daughter is about 2 years old. “Now, I’m just going to enjoy being out here with my buddies. It’s like a family out here; I would do anything for most of these guys.”



Sometimes, Keefe will bring his students out for a round.



“The kids love it out here,” he said. “That’s the beauty of this. You can bring anybody out here anytime and they are bound to have a good time.”



The course is open to the public and players can walk right on. Disc rentals are available at Walter’s Disc Golf Emporium in the pro shop located in the center of the course.



BPDG held its Ace Race tournament on Saturday, an event that was sold out a week ahead and was sponsored by disc manufacturer Discraft. The BPDG club, located above Walter’s Golf Emporium, also hosts a tag league for players interested in competing. Tournaments are held throughout the year and are open to the public. For tournament and other information, visit Facebook.com/BellamyParkDiscGolfCourse.

Grzywacz may have initiated the effort to bring disc golf to Dover, but he stresses that the credit does not belong solely to him.



“I may have started this, but there’s a ton of guys that have come out and brought it to where it is now,” he said. “It wouldn’t be at the level it is now if it wasn’t for the community that exists out here.”



Seventeen years after Grzywacz was introduced to the sport, disc golf has become a significant part of his life. He would like to work as a course designer full time and is working toward that goal one course at a time.



And for Grzywacz, it may not even be the sport itself that he loves, but how it has brought together a strong community.



“I’m not very competitive,” Grzywacz said. “I just like the walk in the woods and hanging out with my friends.”