Disc golf has become so popular in Calgary that the Alberta metropolis boasts the fifth busiest course in the world, according to disc golf enthusiast app Udisc.
More than 35,000 rounds of disc golf were played at Baker Park in northwest Calgary in 2021.
The demand is exponential. It’s incredible. I’ve never been part of such a phenomenonenthused the president of the Calgary Disc Golf Club, James Koizumi.
The sport has been around for several decades, but the pandemic has helped popularize it.
Disc golf was already one of the sports with very strong growth, then COVID-19 arrived and the practice exploded. It is a safe outdoor activityobserves city councilor and disc-golf enthusiast Gian-Carlo Carra.
He also notes that the sport is very affordable since a disc costs on average about twenty dollars and access to the courses is generally free.
You see families, couples on a date. It’s really gone from being a niche sport to something that everyone participates in, regardless of age.
The increase in amateurs also makes it possible to professionalize the sport, according to one of the volunteers of the Club Josh Meijndert. Player skills have been multiplied by 10. […] There are so many more tournaments, training camps, leagues. This helps the quality and experience of playershe observes.
He himself is one of twelve members of the Canadian team participating in the World Amateur Disc Golf Championship this year.
And the business opportunities are multiplying
At least fourteen golf courses now exist in Calgary.
This popularity has caught up with sports stores. To Lifesportthe walls are covered with discs of all colors.
People come to buy a beginner’s kit with three discs. Then they come back for a fourth to throw further or more accuratelyexplains the sales manager of Lifesport George Smith. We see many more young people and families.
Before the pandemic, the trade ordered records from four brands to meet demand. Today, there records from 18 brands.
The more the activity becomes popular, the more the supply of discs and accessories diversifies, adds George Smith. The professionals affix their signatures and the design of the discs becomes clearer.
I was just a beginner and now I’m a collector toohe admits.
A necessary municipal strategy
City councilor Gian-Carlo Carra believes, however, that we must reflect on this influx of disc golfers.
I would like to use this fifth busiest course nomination to implement a world-class municipal strategyhe explains.
He wants to identify the number of courses needed to accommodate the growth of the sport and mitigate the impacts on the parks. If you have too little course, the grass disappears [ce qui nuit aux arbres]. Trees must be given time to regeneratehe said.
With information from James Young
Source: Radio-Canada
