Getting ready for a trip to Zambia, Africa, Fountain Hills resident David Taylor, Jr. packed items that wouldn’t appear in most folks’ suitcase: His disc golf discs.

That’s because Taylor was gearing up to join a crew from Eagles Wings Disc Golf, a Christian ministry that spreads both the sport and the word of God around the world.

The youth minister at First Baptist Church of Fountain Hills for the past 12 years, Taylor has been involved with the sport of disc for much of his life.

“I’ve been a PDGA (Professional Disc Golf Association) member since 2004 or 2003 and have been playing in tournaments since then,” Taylor said. “When I moved to Fountain Hills, five of us were the founding members of the Fountain Hills Disc Golf Club.”

Taylor served as president of the local club for five years, moving to a less intensive role when he became the Arizona state coordinator of the PDGA. Within the local club, Taylor and his fellow members have hosted clinics, fundraisers and tournaments and worked to make several improvements to the course circling Fountain Park. That course will serve as one of the host sites for this weekend’s Memorial Championship, a PDGA event drawing professional players from across the county.

As a side project, Taylor also helped establish a smaller course that circles the local Baptist Church.

As if all of that hasn’t kept Taylor busy enough, he and his wife, Rikki, have their hands full with nine youngsters.

“Rikki is my high school sweetheart,” Taylor said. “We have two biological children, two we adopted through foster care and I currently have five placed in my home through the foster care system. We’ve had 30 come through our home in the past 10 years, helping transfer them to a forever home, family, that sort of thing.”

Love of the game

“Disc golf is a very relational sport,” Taylor said. “It’s a sport that I consider to be a lifelong sport. I just really enjoy it. It’s something that gets me outside and it’s free.”

A game that allows you to spend a lot of time chatting with your fellow players, Taylor said he learned disc golf from his own youth pastor and enjoys the opportunity to utilize it in outreach of his own.

“[Disc golf] builds bridges and allows you to meet people you might not otherwise get the opportunity to meet,” Taylor said.

That idea was taken to the extreme recently, as the bridge being built connected Taylor and folks from across North America with Zambia, a country in south-central Africa.

Taylor met members of Eagles Wings during a vendor event at a past Memorial Championship, a relationship that led to him getting involved with the group.

Back in 2016, Eagles Wings established a nine-hole disc golf course in Zambia, helping introduce the sport to the country. This year’s trip, which took place in January, was to expand the course to a full and more challenging 18 holes, host clinics and run tournaments.

“The trip was intended to provide expertise, training, logistical support and manpower to build the course so the local ministry can continue to use disc golf as a relational ministry tool,” Taylor said. “And yes, [the course] is absolutely more challenging now.”

The bush

“I call it jungle, but the locals call it ‘the bush,’” Taylor said, describing the location of the course he helped construct. “The team and hired Zambians cut through thick bush to create these tight, narrow fairways. The only thing comparable in Arizona would be the courses in Flagstaff.”

Looking back over his trip, Taylor said the long hours of travel were rough, including several lengthy flights and extended car rides.

“The trip was literally half the circumference of the Earth,” Taylor said. “Plus, the time difference means you’re jetlagged…I’d say most of the team got sick as well.”

Top all of that off with six straight days of heavy manual labor and event hosting, Taylor said the whole ordeal made for a tiring, but rewarding trip.

“The highlight was getting to know the local people,” he added. “Being a Christian most of my life, it’s a huge encouragement to me that there are people across the world who share my faith and that are strong in their faith.”

Taylor said that shared faith allowed him to instantly connect with people he had never met before.

“Playing those tournaments, everyone was just so happy,” Taylor said. “I got to help bring them joy and a new opportunity, which is pretty great.

“Zambia is now an officially recognized country by the PDGA. Never before has an African national been to our World Championships, and the PDGA has been around since 1976. I am fully confident that there are going to be Africans at this year’s Worlds.”

For more information about the local disc golf scene, visit the Fountain Hills Disc Golf Club’s website at discgolf.club. The course at the Baptist Church also has a set of loaner discs available at the first tee box for folks who want to give the sport a try.