LAC LA BICHE - Can’t decide between a round of golf or tossing the frisbee? Why not do both. That’s the idea behind the Rotary Club’s disc golf course at Lac La Biche’s Alexander Hamilton Park. Opened for the last two summer seasons, this year the nine-hole disc golf course even has a league of players taking aim at the hybrid outdoor sport.
Prudence Mikhail started the local community disc golf league as a way of getting more people out to play this fun game. On Tuesday evenings, a group of dedicated players can be found at course.
“We have about eight active players and play every Tuesday at 7 p.m. right now but many will play at other times,” Mikhail told Lakeland This Week, adding that the club posts on their social media page to notify people whey members are heading out to the park for a game.
The game, as Mikhail explains, is played almost the same as traditional golf. Each hole must be completed in the least number of throws. Throwing, she continued, can be done any way a player likes until the disc rests within 10 metres from the basket target. At that point, the disc has to land inside the basket target.
A player can carry several discs, weighted and sized for different length throws or targets. For beginners, a simple frisbee can work too, she said, adding that it’s been good to see more players and more opportunities for disc golf grow in the community.
In addition to the Rotary course at the Alexander Hamilton park, there are six disc targets at the Aurora Middle School playing field. Other disc targets are expected to be re-installed at McArthur Park once a renovation project is completed at the Lac La Biche Recreation Grounds.
In addition to being a fun outdoor pursuit, Mikhail said, disc golf is fun for all ages and all skill levels. The game can be played all year ... and in some cases, all night. Mikhail said local league members have put together a couple of nighttime disc events using glow-in-the-dark discs, which she says is a great time.
Winter games have a similar flair, with players adding coloured ribbon to the bottom of their discs to find the throws in the snow.
“I play all year round... winter included,” she said.
Disc golf-in comparison to other sports-is also quite affordable.
Mikhail explained that a single disc is all a player to get started. Discs cost as little as $10 or can go as high as $35. People of all ages and abilities, she continued, can throw a disc to some ability and can finish a hole even if it’s their first time out.
The sport is relaxing too, she said.
“Seeing a disc get to its full flight is an amazing sight.... it's like watching a bird fly through the air.”
The Lac La Biche disc golf club will be hosting a beginner friendly singles disc golf tournament at the course in Alexander Hamilton Park on July 13th called ‘The Creature from Lac La Biche.’ This tournament, which will be over two rounds, will offer a low-cost entry to the sport, with people paying $20 for a premium disc and entry to the event.
