Black Mouse Facts

The Black Mouse Disc Golf Course was designed by Disc Golf Hall of Fame member Tom Schot in 2001.

The project was proposed to the SLV Unified School District by Carter Milhouse, founder and teacher of the on-campus Nature Academy charter middle school. Much of the clearing and installation work was done by Nature Academy students and parents, who also solicited financial support from local businesses and community members.

Disc Golf Association of Watsonville, CA allowed the Nature Academy to repay the cost of the equipment over time, which the program did. Its CEO Ed Headrick – known as the Father of Disc Golf for his invention of the disc golf basket and other important contributions to the sport – attended the grand opening less than a year before his death in 2002. Black Mouse is the last course “Steady’ Ed personally helped open.

The existence of Black Mouse on a school campus is a major reason Santa Cruz County launched the world’s first high school disc golf league, the Santa Cruz County Interscholastic Disc Golf League. SLV High School won the league title – and the handsome Nate Doss Cup trophy – three of the first four years. Aptos High School would later build a course on its grounds as well.

The Nature Academy as well as SLV Middle School have integrated disc golf into their PE curricula. Numerous SLV alums now enjoy disc golf with their friends and families as adults thanks to their introduction to the sport on the SLV campus.