Town & Country

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New disc golf courses have been estab- lished in both Winkler and Morden in recent years in response to the sport's bur- geoning popularity. Disc golf? Instead of clubs and a ball, you use a frisbee or disc, then play the holes and mark the score the same way you would in regular golf. Holes are marked with yardage and par scores at the tee boxes or matts. To putt, you throw the disc into a "pole hole" or basket that's bolted into the ground. "I think it's an easy sport to get into and it's not very expensive, either," says Win- kler's Andrew Vanden Berg, who helped establish the Pembina Valley Community Disc Golf Club. "It's like ball golf, too, just being outside. It's like a walk in a park and throwing a disc around." To twist a Mark Twain witticism, it's a good walk enhanced. "It's nice and quick," says Eric Gies- brecht, who has taken over club duties from Vanden Berg. "You can play nine holes by yourself in 25-30 minutes and 18 holes in about 90 minutes. But it will take a little longer if you're playing with some- one else." The official disc costs $15 and there are no green fees. The club asks $20-$30 to join and it sets up weekly league play. Gies- brecht says the club has 25-30 members who play regularly, and tournaments draw many more players. But since nobody is collecting green fees or monitoring the courses, there's no way to know how many people have been trying it on their own. Winkler's nine-hole Parkland Park Disc Golf Course is set up within a city park and is a perfect place for beginners to try the sport. The 18-hole Stanley Centennial Park course is a more challenging layout, located in the park a few kilometres south of Morden. In 2016, a sanctioned tournament in Stanley Park drew a record 56 players, a mark that wasn't broken until two years later at the provincial championship in La Barriere Park, just outside of Winnipeg. Giesbrecht is hoping to improve upon the Stanley Park course to attract even big- ger tournaments. "We're going to meet with the RM (of Stanley) to see where we want the course to go from here," he says. Tournaments are sanctioned by the Professional Disc Golf Association. Yes, people are tossing these discs for money all over the world. In fact, the association has memberships in 47 countries, includ- ing Africa and Australia, with more than 100,000 players worldwide. "Pros can make as much as $10,000 in one tournament," Vanden Berg says. "A re- cent one in the States had a total purse of $500,000." Giesbrecht says the sport is expected to continue growing by leaps and bounds. "In the next 10-15 years, people tell me that there will be more disc golf courses in the United States than there will be ball golf courses, which is pretty crazy." The club has held workshops for middle- and high-school students, as well as busi- nesses, to introduce them to a sport that people of all ages can play. And, hey Mani- tobans, it can also be played in the snow. Disc golf courses have been sprouting up all over Winnipeg lately, and Gies- brecht wants to attract more pros to play in the Pembina Valley. Winnipeg's Bryan Freese is one pro who played in that record-setting tourney in 2016. "He's the top pro in Manitoba," Gies- brecht says. "He won rookie of the year for the entire world in 2016. He's the guy ev- eryone looks up to around here." The season-opening tournament is scheduled for May 11. For more in- formation, check out the Pembina Valley Community Disc Golf page on Facebook. Member Terrell Wiebe got the club's first-ever ace (hole- in-one) at Stanley Park in 2018. Photos courtesy of Pembina Valley Community Disc Golf DISC GOLF? Instead of clubs and a ball, you use a frisbee or disc, then play the holes and mark the score the same way you would in regular golf.

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