From MuskokaUnlimited.com: For the Fun of It
From MuskokaUnlimited.com:
Smiling faces, friendly banter, and a good mix of novice to expert players can be found on any given day negotiating the community disc golf course in Huntsville.
Having really hit its stride throughout Muskoka during the pandemic, the sport is seeing continued growth in stature and popularity as it provides social, mental and even physical stimulation.
Though, as Huntsville Disc Golf Club president Peter Ewald notes, it’s not a very physically strenuous sport.
“The best thing about disc golf in my opinion is it’s a sport you can play your entire life,” says Ewald. “The world championships have a grandmasters division for players aged 70 to 80-plus. It’s a very low impact sport that’s not strenuous but is still very healthy for you because it includes lots of walking outdoors.”
The local club was only “officially” formed (complete with a constitution and board of directors) during the pandemic. However, they have been a de facto club since the course at McCulley-Robertson Sports Complex opened in 2008.
Creating an official club meant they were able to start working with the Town of Huntsville on signage for the 18-hole course and ensure the sport would continue to see new members year-after-year.
“The growth of the sport exploded during the pandemic because it’s an outdoor, social, family friendly, cheap cost of entry sport,” recalls Ewald. “So, we started to see the course get used and the one thing it was lacking was signage because it was difficult to navigate. People would come out here and get lost. So, the board formed, and we took on the project of signage for the course.”
Having proper signage, much like a traditional golf course, that shows pertinent hole-by-hole direction and information is key to taking the next steps as a club. Not only does it increase the awareness of disc golf in the community, but it allows the Huntsville Disc Golf Club to level-up their events.
“Now we can run tournaments here,” explains Ewald. “The club’s plan is to start organizing tournaments starting in 2024 and the signage allows us to do that.”
Read more about this sport, see more photos and check out the video at: https://muskokaunlimited.com/2023/08/17/discgolf/
