Steve Bowman has turned a passion for disc golf into a profession.
He first picked up the emerging sport in the late 1980s as a child in California, but the discs went into storage when he moved to Lynchburg in 1987 with his mom, Judy Bowman, who came to take a marketing job at Liberty University.
When a disc golf course opened at Peaks View Park in the early 1990s, Bowman dusted off the discs and got back into the game. Since then he’s developed courses in and around Lynchburg and currently serves as the coach for Liberty University’s disc golf team.
“I’m a rare breed,” Bowman joked, noting that he is one of few collegiate disc golf coaches.
Once a fringe sport, disc golf has since caught on. Borrowing some rules from standard golf, players compete for the lowest score, throwing modified Frisbees into baskets that serve as holes.
Dozens of universities — like Liberty — have club sport disc golf teams. In all, 36 college teams, including LU, will compete during the National Collegiate Disc Golf Championships from April 11-14 in North Augusta, South Carolina.
Professional competition also has grown, with players competing for thousands of dollars in prize money. As of 2017, the Professional Disc Golf Association claimed 41,067 active members.
The growing popularity of disc golf has created a demand for more places to play. Bowman is working on the supply side, designing courses, most recently at Sandusky Park in Lynchburg.
The Sandusky course opened in December. Bowman also oversaw the redesign of a disc golf course at Peaks View Park in 2016 and has planned out the two courses on LU’s campus.
On a sunny afternoon at Sandusky, Bowman laid out his design strategy over a round of disc.
“When you design a course, your first and last hole are your important holes,” Bowman said.
The first hole, he said, presents the whole course. The last hole should be challenging. When designing a course, Bowman said he’s hoping to create an experience that brings people back again.
According to the website for Prodigy Course Design, which has recognized Bowman for partnering with the company, he has developed seven courses in the Lynchburg region and one in Kentucky.
Though he’s used to overseeing a team of 20 competitive college students — 12 male and eight female players — he emphasized it’s a game anyone can get into regardless of their ability.
“It doesn’t matter what age, you can go out and all have fun,” Bowman said.
When coaching students, he advises them to play for par, not to get wrapped up in other players’ performances, and to minimize mistakes.
“That’s the simplicity of the game,” Bowman said.
Andrew Reeder, park services manager for Lynchburg Parks and Recreation, said disc golf is wildly popular in the city, so much so that the course at Peaks View Park was being overused. He said the course at Sandusky offers players another option and reduces wear and tear at Peaks View.
With the popularity of disc golf in Lynchburg, Reeder said there is a need for more courses.
“We have some ideas for another course, if not a couple other courses,” Reeder said.
Before he began designing disc golf courses, Bowman created mountain bike trails in city parks. He said that’s how he learned to read the land, understand slopes and angles and how to use them.
Biking is another passion of Bowman’s, and one he also has turned into a professional pursuit.
Along with his mother, Bowman runs WHEEL POWER Christian Cyclists, which its website describes as “an evangelistic Church on Wheels ministry” spreading the gospel across the country.
“She started the ministry in 1993 and we’ve been going ever since,” Bowman said.
Through WHEEL POWER, the Bowmans share their Christian faith by pedaling across the country and witnessing to those they meet and often speaking at churches. Since he is “family bound” with a wife and two teenage sons, Bowman said that he primarily handles office duties while his mother hits the road with a team of adults on a variety of short weeklong trips and others lasting 60-plus days.
“We take teams of adults, we teach them how to share their faith, and we put them in environments to do that,” Bowman said.
In addition to its cycling ministry, the WHEEL POWER website shows motorcycle trips and outreach efforts through disc golf and pickleball, a recreational paddle sport similar to badminton.
Working daily with his mother, Bowman also draws inspiration from her.
“She found a unique way to share her faith and what she believes,” he said.
Bowman credits God for opening the door to turn his passions into professional pursuits. He also encourages his collegiate players to use their time on the disc golf course to share their faith.