After launching his disc from the first-hole tee pad at the Stable Run disc golf course, Calvin Song watched as it soared toward the basket — officially calling to order the ISU Disc Golf Club meeting.

Song, who is the club’s president, along with other members, don’t just get together to get in a relaxing round of 18 holes, though. They have been preparing for the National Collegiate Disc Golf Championship in South Augusta, S.C., on April 16 to 19.

“I have been practicing five days a week,” Song said. “A lot of us have been playing nonstop to get ready for nationals because we don’t want to get rusty or have our arms get tired or sore.”

The club qualified for nationals Oct. 5, 2013, when it placed first at the Heartland Collegiate Disc Golf Championship in Ottumwa, Iowa.  This will be the fourth time Iowa State has participated in the tournament since it started competing in 2011.

The Cyclones’ team will be made up of four club members—Song, Matt Drilling, Joey Lane and Jake Lauber — who will be vying for the top prize at the championship against 60 other teams. They will also compete for individual rankings.

All four of these golfers were on the club’s national team last season, so Drilling hopes the they will be able to draw on past experiences to help give them an edge.

“I think we will do a lot better this year,” Drilling said. “We have the exact same team going down as we did last year, so we have a lot more experience under our belt.”

Iowa State has struggled in the past during the team rounds, leading Song to believe teamwork will be a deciding factor.

“We’re going to have to play well as a team,” Song said. “Last year, we kind of fell apart in our team rounds, but we really hit it off in our single rounds. So I think if we play better as a team, that will make our scores a lot better.”

Tennessee Tech took home the championship last season while Iowa State placed twentieth. But Lane, who finished sixth overall individually at the same tournament, said the club is only paying attention to what it needs to do to improve.

“We are going have to go in and play our own game,” Lane said. “We’re not going to worry about what everyone else does.”

The club will also field a second team that will compete for the First Flight Championship at nationals.

Song thinks a strong showing in South Augusta could help build interest in the club, which will see some of its senior members departing in the near future.

“For us to put something in the record books for the Iowa State Disc Golf Club will mean a lot,” Song said. “Two of our players might be leaving next year and after that one another of our good players will be leaving, then I’ll be leaving. Our club might dissolve after that. So if we can leave a mark for our club now, it will be great.”