Coopers Rock hosts first sanctioned disc golf tournament on new course

Coopers Rock State Forest took a major step onto the competitive disc golf map on Saturday, May 30, as the inaugural Warrior of the Woods Tournament became the first sanctioned event ever held on the forest’s newly completed championship course. The PDGA C-tier drew 22 registered players from a 72-player cap, with rounds, awards, and payouts set around a layout that was designed to feel every bit as serious as the sanctioning tag suggested.

The course itself is the story as much as the tournament. Built across 71 acres, the 18-hole layout winds through wooded, rocky, and heavily sloped terrain that demands clean lines and controlled distance rather than power alone. Artificial-turf tee pads and DISCatcher targets give the venue a polished tournament-ready feel, while the course’s difficult topography makes it clear this is not a casual park track. That combination, championship design in a rugged state forest setting, is exactly what turns a debut event into a proving ground.

The turnout reflected that ambition. Players traveled in from Maryland, Pennsylvania, West Virginia, and Ohio, giving the first sanctioned event an immediate regional footprint. For Coopers Rock, that matters: sanctioning changes what players expect from the venue, from tee-pad consistency and target quality to course flow and competitive organization. It also changes how the course is seen beyond Monongalia County. A layout that can pull players across state lines in its first sanctioned outing has a better chance of becoming a regular stop on the calendar.

The course was several years in the making, built through cooperation among local organizations, state agencies, and volunteers. The Coopers Rock Foundation, a nonprofit founded in 1989, said it first obtained permission in 2018 to build a new 18-hole course near the Day Use Parking Lot. The foundation’s mission centers on preservation and recreation in Coopers Rock State Forest and nearby Snake Hill Wildlife Management Area, and the disc golf project fits that dual mandate by adding a destination sport without abandoning the forest’s natural character.

Nick Buysse is listed by the PDGA as the course designer, and the course directory describes a permanent 18-hole layout established in 2020 with a goal of reaching championship level. That goal now has its first sanctioned benchmark. With a full-length, physically demanding course and a tournament that already attracted out-of-state players, Coopers Rock has moved from concept to contender, and the next test is whether this debut becomes the first of many.