Buffalo Pound Provincial Park now has glow-in-the-dark discs to complement its disc golf courses, making them the first provincial park in Saskatchewan to add the new sport variant to their list of activities.
As part of a recent drive to improve Saskatchewan provincial parks, Sask Parks has been announcing several new improvements this summer and that includes the increasingly popular sport.
Unveiled at the Park After Dark event on Aug. 26, visitors were able to learn about the game and once the sun sank beneath the horizon, a moonlit round of disc golf took place from 8 p.m. to around 10 p.m.
The course is located in the western end of the park near Maple Vale and is a par-three course with nine holes. “Overall, it’s a very popular program as it’s for all ages and abilities, and anybody can do it,” said park interpreter Justine Zarowny. She was instructing guests who were new to the sport on Aug. 26 along with her coworker Melissa Ellis.
“On average, these courses are always being used… we usually run out of discs (during our programming),” Ellis said.
Ellis said the course is a great place for someone with any level of skill to start out, as long as they don’t mind a potential bushwhacking expedition to find their disc.
Buffalo Pound also has a skilled disc golf course near Elmview, and this features 18 holes and more difficult obstacles. This champion’s course wasn’t utilized for the Park After Dark event however, as the park doesn’t have sufficient staff to perform sufficient maintenance for a nocturnal game there yet.
Disc golf isn’t new and has been a growing trend across the province recently.
“Disc golf is one of those things that really came up after the pandemic and is one of the great things that erupted from it really,” said Zarowny, noting that the park decided to add the sport recently based on growing interest from campers.
Initially, the sport was played in a simple format.
“We were talking to someone who said, ‘back in the day we just used a big can and some frisbees,’” Ellis said.
As time progressed, the sport took on a more technical aspect and today there are several types of discs and a formal set of rules. The interpreters noted that some of the more dedicated players now have large backpacks to carry their selection of discs, similar to a golf bag.
“Disc golf is similar to golf in the sense that, just as there are different clubs (in golf), this has different discs that you can use,” Zarowny explained. “For example, we teach people how to use a driver, midway, and a putter.”
“With this course being a par-three, that means you take three strokes to reach the hole and if you take more you score it the same as golf,” she added.
Disc golf has three primary discs based on range. “Usually when I explain (the discs) I’ll flip them over,” Zarowny said. “You’ll notice on these edges, they’re thin and they’ll really push and cut through the air.
“On the contrary, with the putter it’s meant go to short, go straight, and fall fast. It has deeper ridges and is meant to just drop.” The putter gives you more control, and the driver gives you more luck in terms of range.
To use the disc golf courses, guests are first required to purchase a park pass. Once you have a valid pass, disc packs are free to rent and can be picked up at either the main gate or the Visitor’s Centre. Each pack has two complete sets of discs, and you can rent two packs for a 24-hour period.
The new glow discs are currently available to rent only during guided programs. “We have programs usually put on every other weekend when we have our summer programs, featured in July and August from Thursday to Monday,” explained Zarowny. She noted that the park is looking to expand the scope of activities the new glow discs can be used for.
In future, the glow discs will be included in the free rental package open to the public, but no date has been announced for this upgrade yet.
For disc golf rentals and more information, you can stop by the park entry gate or the new Visitor’s Centre. To contact the park’s entry office, call 306-694-3320.
To purchase your park pass, visit TourismSaskatchewan.com.
“It’s fun, it’s free… come and try it out,” they concluded.
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