A man who was the top Yorkton competitor at a recent disc golf tournament in that city, was pleased with the Kamsack Disc Golf Course when he played it last week.
Ryan Seitz of Yorkton, who most often plays at the disc golf courses at Patrick Park in Yorkton or at Good Spirit Provincial Park, placed fourth overall at a recent tournament in Yorkton, but the competitors in first, second and third places were all from communities other than Yorkton.
The layout is good, Seitz said of the Kamsack course, which is located at the Kamsack Sportsgrounds.
The plan is to add more trees to help shield from the wind, he said as he dug into his bag of discs in order to select the correct one for his next throw.
They’re all different, he said of the discs, comparing them to the clubs one would use when playing golf.
This disc is like a putter, this one a driver and this is for mid-range, he said, selecting a fairway hybrid driver and pointing to a distance driver.
Different discs do different things, he said, explaining that he was in Kamsack because he had come to purchase discs from Sas-Kam Sportsman and decided to try out the course.
Disc golf is similar to golf, but using discs rather than clubs, he said. “It’s a fun sport that keeps you active and outside, plus it’s inexpensive to get into.”
Having played “ultimate Frisbee” in the past, Seitz said that discs for disc golf, although similar, are not like a Frisbee in that they are much smaller and more substantial and are made of different plastics.
He encourages persons interested in the sport to check out the many videos on the sport that are online.
Kamsack’s nine-hole course was ready for use in mid-July, created by public works staff with funds from Kev Sumner’s recreation budget.
“Public works did a great job,” Sumner said, explaining that currently the course is a temporary facility which uses painted metal tanks as the “hole” at the end of each leg.
Plans are to obtain the correct “hole” which is a device which resembles an inverted Christmas tree, he said.
“It’s fun, free and a great excuse for getting off the couch,” Sumner said, encouraging residents to tryout the course.
“We’re looking for groups and businesses which may want to sponsor holes by placing something which would identify a hole with the business’s own brand,” he said.
In a list of instructions accompanying a map which is available at the course’s first hole, it says that, like golf, the objective of disc golf is to traverse the course in the fewest number of throws. The course includes two mandatory posts on hole number two and hole number eight. On hole number two, players must throw to the left of the white 10-foot pole to avail users of the Kamsack Swimming Pool, while on hole number eight, they must throw to the right of the white pole to avoid potential disc golfers on hole number 9.
The start of the course is indicated by a yellow marker at the swimming pool car park and all tees are marked with white and yellow posts. All holes are painted red and are located on white posts. Out-of-bounds sections of the course include the baseball diamonds, pool and concessions area.
Each throw is made from the resting point of the previous throw, the information said. The score is determined by counting the number of throws made on each hole, plus penalty strokes.
Players are provided with a teeing area from which to begin each hole and a target to complete the hole, it says. Natural obstacles are very much a part of the game and must not be altered in any way.
A disc coming to rest completely out of bounds, or more than two metres above the ground, will result in a one-stroke penalty. The next throw will be made from the last inbound location.
