In the early 1990’s, North Carolina native, Mike Floyd, bought a farm in Willis with dreams of building a log cabin. At the time, Mike was still maintaining a career in healthcare administration, and so remained based in North Carolina. Still, to keep the farm active in the weeks he was away, he began growing Christmas trees, but discontinued the tree business around 2000.
Though Mike’s home and career were in North Carolina, he began spending more and more time in Willis, falling in love with the area and surrounding communities. He also liked the hard work of maintaining the land.
It was during one of his stays that Mike met Nancy Galli, from Meadows of Dan. In 1987, Nancy had started Nancy’s Candy Factory, which makes, packages, and distributes candies all across the United States! (left: Nancy Galli and Mike Floyd)
Mike and Nancy began spending more time together, discovering a mutual love of the outdoors, being active, and travelling.
In 2011, Mike retired and was able to spend even more time at his farm in Willis where he was able to become invested in the community, full time. Meanwhile, Nancy continued running the candy business until she sold it in 2014. Still, however, she is involved with operations.
With both retired, Mike and Nancy married in 2016. Though they maintain a home base in Charlotte, they spend most of their time in Willis and the surrounding area. Their second favorite place to be is at their beach properties. The couple love to travel, and they love staying active outdoors. They tried several outdoor sports but were not satisfied with most of them. That is, until about two years ago when they saw a small disc in a sporting goods store.
It looked like fun, so they bought the disc and a basket and started playing. After practicing for a while, Mike and Nancy found disc golf to be so much fun that they bought nine more baskets and set up a course on the farm property. They invited the kids and the grandkids to play, and everyone loved it! It wasn’t long till Mike and Nancy decided to let other people enjoy what they had discovered.
They hired course designer, Scott Snow from Bailey, Colorado, and began creating Buffalo Mountain Disc Golf Course. The first item on the agenda was to use the topography to the best advantage of the course. Once the design was laid out, the hard work began. Mike, Nancy, and other family members did much of the work, thinning and trimming trees, moving rocks and boulders, erecting baskets, mowing, laying mulch and gravel, and building bridges and fairways. Under the direction of Scott Snow, it took about a year to convert the original, nine-basket family fun area into a professional, thirty-six basket disc-golf course!
“The course really was well thought out,” says Mike, regarding Scott’s design. “The woods, streams, pond, elevation, and mountain views make the course at Buffalo Mountain Disc Golf a challenge and a pleasure to play!”
For a total of approximately three miles, it is an invigorating, Blue Ridge Mountain walk. The front nine baskets traverse the woods and streams, making the holes challenging through the beautiful trees and babbling creeks.
The back nine baskets are more open, with rolling hills and a pond. Because the course has two tee boxes and two baskets, four different layouts can be played. This allows recreational, amateurs, and professionals to play at their skill level.
In June of 2022, Buffalo Mountain Disc Golf launched with a Grand Opening Tournament, held June 11 and June 12. One-hundred and twenty-four players signed up. While twenty professionals played for a monetary purse, the amateurs played for prizes and bragging rights. Players not only came from the surrounding community, but also from Virginia, Tennessee, Indiana, Michigan, Florida, South Carolina, and Maryland! The course received many accolades from the players, and the tournament was professionally filmed by ACE Run Productions. Footage can be viewed at Buffalo Mountain Disc Golf, or from Ace Run Productions.
Support from the Floyd and Patrick County communities made the Grand Opening successful! Local businesses sponsored holes. They also donated money and gift certificates, making the purse and prizes more than the players expected! Citizens Cooperative broadcast the tournament on a local TV station while volunteers organized and directed parking, shuttled spectators, and provided much needed hole spotting. Wanting to do something extra special for the players and volunteers, Mike and Nancy gave everyone player-packs filled with a disc, a hat, a towel, and lots of candy and snacks. Players said they were the best player-packs ever!
Wanting to make Buffalo Mountain Disc Golf a destination, they also started adding rental cabins to the property while building the course. As a separate business called Cabins off the Parkway, five cabins are currently available, each featuring stunning views of the mountains and property where guests can watch all the wildlife, as well as some really amazing sunsets!
In addition to the beautiful one-bedroom, two-bedroom, and three-bedroom cabins, Mike and Nancy have also acquired a vintage street trolley from Gatlinburg that will be converted into a ‘unique stay’, ready for rental in Summer of 2023.
Disc Golf has been around for a long time, but has gained more attention, as well as enthusiasts, over the past fifteen years. The basics of disc golf are like traditional golf, but with a disc instead of balls and clubs. One throw is counted each time a disc is thrown. The disc is thrown from a tee box into a standing basket, and the goal is to play each hole with the fewest throws possible.
Not only does Floyd County have a new disc golf course, but is a course sanctioned by the Professional Disc Golf Association (PDGA). Wanting to encourage the sport of Disc Golf, Mike and Nancy have an ambitious schedule for 2023, which includes several professional tournaments with players coming from all over the country.
The Jubilee Tournament will take place June 3 – 4, and the Blue Ridge Heritage Tournament will take place September 23 – 24. On August 12, however, there will be a special tournament, for women only, open to players of all levels. Buffalo Mountain Disc Golf will host ‘Throw Pink’ in support of breast cancer awareness and research.
Buffalo Mountain Disc Golf is a 5013c nonprofit. In addition to holding special events to raise money for specific causes, all money made through the course tournaments goes to support the community.
With Mike being a lifelong athlete, and Nancy having an entrepreneurial background, the couple knew they could use their experience to create something special in Floyd County, Virginia. They really enjoy meeting and hosting all the players. Watching their talent and passion for the sport made all the hard work building BMDG worthwhile.
Mike and Nancy want the course used and enjoyed by the community. Going forward, they are hoping to bring disc golf to the surrounding school systems. They also encourage more organizations and nonprofits to consider holding events at Buffalo Mountain Disc Golf for worthy causes.
Buffalo Mountain Disc Golf • 704-807-1886
Cabins Off The Parkway • Mike Floyd & Nancy Galli
579 Halls Store Road, Willis, Virginia
www.BuffaloMountainDiscGolf.com
www.CabinsOffTheParkway.com