0.2°C Light Snow 
Frisbees flew freely and far at the inaugural Par None Disc Golf Tournament for local players, which drew about 30 competitors to the Whistler course on Saturday (Aug. 29).
Organized by Craig McConnell of the Whistler Disc Golf Club with Andy Fenwick and Russel Long, the new event for the crowd of locals who play the fast-growing sport proved a hit, McConnell said Sunday (Aug. 30).
“It was really fun. I think everybody had a good time,” McConnell said.
Bruce Rowles shot an impressive score of 12 under par to top the tournament’s open division, while Colin Richardson won the amateur division by delivering a super score of 15 under par.
“Those are good scores,” McConnell said. He added that he thinks the record for the 27-hole course above Spruce Grove is 18 under par, so Rowles’ tally was about what organizers expected for the winner.
Rowles took home a top prize purse of $125 for his efforts. John Mittlestead won $80 for finishing second in the open division, while Paul Jamieson earned $40 for finishing third and Mike Douglas $25 for his fourth-place finish.
Richardson’s victory earned him an Outdoor Adventures Hummer tour, while amateur division runner-up Jason Wright won an Outdoor Adventures ATV tour. Randy White, who captured third place in the amateur division by winning a playoff tiebreaker over David Pordham, won a half-day flyfishing trip from the Whistler Flyfishing Shop.
Richardson also claimed the $100 hole-in-one jackpot on Hole 22, which was sponsored by Midnight Finishing. Katmandu, the Beet Root Café, Comor and 49th Parallel were the other sponsors of the inaugural event.
The organizers aimed to keep the event fun and geared toward locals, McConnell said, though they weren’t sure how many players would come out to throw their Frisbees into the ring. But all the participants seemed to have a great time, McConnell added, with the day featuring some good playing, low entry fees and support from sponsors.
“We’re going to plan on doing another one next year,” McConnell said. “Everyone was really supportive.”
McConnell founded the Whistler Disc Golf Club last summer, seeking to gather people who wanted to play together, organize some course maintenance and promote the sport. Last year, the club had 10 to 15 members, McConnell estimates, and its numbers were up around 21 members before Saturday’s tournament brought in about 10 new additions.
“It’s a really fast-growing sport,” McConnell said. Having played on the Whistler course for four years, he said it seems like there are more people out there every year.
Some professional players are now able to make a living from disc golf, he added, and the Vibram Open — the final stop in this season’s Professional Disc Golf Association national tour, held last month — reportedly carried a total payout of nearly $50,000.
The Disc Golf Branch of the B.C. Disc Sports Society organizes a Duck Golf Winter Series of events, with about one tournament per month between October and May.
The series is so called “because you play in the rain,” joked McConnell, who is a member of the executive for the society’s disc golf branch. A Whistler stop last fall drew between 50 and 60 players. McConnell expects Whistler to host another Duck Golf event in early October.
Players like the Whistler venue because of the layout and challenges of the course, which is tucked into the northern part of the Lost Lake area, beyond Spruce Grove.
“A lot of people really like the course,” McConnell said. “It’s a different course than you’d find in Vancouver or the Island… It’s a bit rougher terrain than people are used to.”
Whistler club members and course users handle most of the maintenance, McConnell said, with the support of the Resort Municipality of Whistler (RMOW). An upcoming project to be funded by the RMOW is to upgrade the tee pads, with club members planning to fill the existing pads with new gravel, McConnell said.
They would also like to upgrade the baskets used for holes, he added, but that will be a future project requiring fundraising and further work.
The club also hosts doubles play on Wednesday nights, but McConnell said that’s winding down as summer hours fade and may switch to a different day of the week. For more information about the club’s activities, write to info@whistlerdiscgolf.com.
If you’re looking for further information on disc golf in B.C., visit www.bcdss.bc.ca/ssi/index.shtml.
