Many of us know how to toss around a Frisbee, whether we learned it at home, played Ultimate in high school, or even tossed a disc for our dog. But have you heard of disc golf? 

Disc golf has been around for a while—since the 1970s, to be exact—but it’s a still a widely unknown sport. It’s a combination of Ultimate Frisbee and golf, and the goal is to throw the disc into a metal basket with the fewest strokes. 

I’d heard of disc golf, but I hadn’t given it a try until recently. I did some research on courses in southern Manitoba and found quite a few! The closest is in our own backyards, at Parc Cartier Park in Ste. Agathe. There’s also the Happyland Disc Golf Course, the Kilcona Lakes Course, and others at La Barriere Park, Portage’s Rotary Island Park, and Morden’s Stanley Park.

I set out for Ste. Agathe, which also happens to be one of the easier courses for beginners like me. It was a nine-hole course—or should I say, nine-basket? 

The day was a bit windy when I approached the first basket, a par four. I lined up towards the basket and let my disc fly… well, I failed miserably and had a good laugh. The wind was so strong that it caught the disc and carried it in the opposite direction! It landed about 50 feet behind me, behind the tee-off.

Boy was I teed off!

I found my disc and went back to the tee box, this time keeping the disc lower to the ground. I watched as it slid through the air. This time it landed in front of me at least. Success! I threw it again, getting closer to the basket. Then again and again and again.

Well, you get my point. It must have taken me seven or nine throws to get it in the basket, and in the last shot I was standing right beside it. 

I continued the course and finished all nine holes. I have to say, I had a great time despite the wind. Would I try disc golf again? Of course! It was a fun new activity that anyone can do, plus it’s free—and there’s no need to book a tee time.