New disc golf course at Memorial Park

Lindsay recently got its first disc golf course at Memorial Park. The nine hole course is beginner friendly but also provides a challenge for more advanced players.

Much like regular golf, players start on a tee pad and try to get a disc into a target basket in the least number of shots. Disc golf can be played by almost anyone, from young children to octogenarians and beyond.

Disc golf is one of the fastest growing sports around, excepted to surpass ball golf courses in number in North America in the next decade. The game requires less of a time commitment, most people can get through nine holes at the Lindsay course in 30 minutes and most courses are free to play, including the one at Memorial Park. Disc golf can also be played year round. There is no off season.

All one requires to get started are a few discs. A set including a putting disc, a mid-range and a driver will run you about $40 online. More advanced players will carry more discs (15-25) and they act much like golf clubs, each doing a slightly different thing, but compared to ball golf, costs are minimal.

The environmental impacts are much reduced as well, as manicured lawns are not required, and trees are kept in place as they provide obstacles to shoot around. Health wise, it gets people out walking and tossing discs on a regular basis.

Funding for the course was provided primarily by the City of Kawartha Lakes ($7,485) and the Optimist Club ($6,300). The Professional Disc Golf Association also donated $1,000, as well as in-kind donations and volunteers.

The process for getting a course built started two years ago, when avid disc golfer Taras Pater read about a planning meeting put on by the parks department in Lindsay, looking for input from the public about park redesign. He contacted a number of fellow local disc golfers enthusiasts and together they attended the meeting on a cold winter’s night and an idea was born.

Shortly after, a course made it into the cities official architectural drawings. In the time since, funding was pursued and Darrell Bankes from the Peterborough Disc Golf Club, another passionate disc golfer and landscape designer donated his time and skill in designing the course and getting it constructed He is responsible for many new courses around Ontario, including recent nearby courses in Nestleton and Ennismore.

The concrete tee pads and targets are in the ground, and the course can be played today. All that is missing is the signage, which the recently formed Kawartha Lakes Disc Golf Club hopes to have up soon. They are currently seeking a few hundred dollars more in donations to cover the costs.

There will be a large sign near the first tee pad showing the course layout as well as other relevant information, and smaller signs at each hole, listing the  hole number, par, distance to the target, as well as a graphic of the hole and obstacles.

Volunteers are also hoping to host a grand opening tournament in the near future, perhaps next spring. Area disc golfers also been offering to teach new players, bring in school groups and start up a league.

If you are looking to get physically active, enjoy a walk in nature, and camaraderie with others, disc golf might just be for you.