Disc golfers on the South Shore have a new place to rattle the chains.
The disc golf course at the MARC has been renovated and expanded from a basic nine-hole layout into a full 18-hole course.
Project manager Jody Wagstaff says the MARC had one of the older disc golf courses in Nova Scotia, but it had gone more than a decade without major upgrades.
He says the previous course had no proper teepads, limited signage and baskets placed mostly in open fields.
“It was a lot of fun. Don’t get me wrong,” Wagstaff said. “But the course was outdated and had a lot of potential.”
Wagstaff worked with the South Shore Disc Golf Club and the Municipality of the District of Lunenburg to move the project forward.
MODL approved $20,000 in funding, with volunteers helping complete the work.
The course was finished in July, shortly before it hosted a stop on the Nova Scotia Lighthouse Disc Golf Tour.
Wagstaff says the project turned the MARC from a basic nine-hole course into an 18-hole layout with proper turf teepads.
The upgraded course also includes new basket locations and multiple layouts for different skill levels.
He says it still keeps a park-style feel, so beginners can try the sport without being overwhelmed.
Growing the sport
Wagstaff says the goal is to make the MARC a course that brings people back and draws players from outside the region.
He says the South Shore Disc Golf Club is also trying to introduce more people to the sport through community groups, demonstrations and beginner-friendly events.
Discs are available at the MARC for people who want to try the course.
The club also runs a Wednesday night league for beginners and advanced players.
Wagstaff says part of the appeal is that disc golf is inexpensive and easy to get into.
“It’s like going for a walk in the woods with a purpose,” Wagstaff said. “It’s mindful meditation with every throw.”
He says the course was designed to work with the existing landscape, rather than clear-cutting areas to build fairways.
Wagstaff says the goal was to keep the feeling of walking through the forest while still creating a proper course.
Free to play
The course is free to play because it is located at a municipal park.
A beginner layout can take about 40 minutes, while the full 18-hole layouts usually take about an hour and 20 minutes to an hour and a half.
Wagstaff says the sport can be played by a wide range of ages.
“It’s a sport that a grandfather, their daughter and their grandson can all play together,” he said.
The upgraded MARC course has already hosted the Salty Chains Open, drawing about 60 competitors from Nova Scotia, P.E.I., Ontario and Quebec.
Wagstaff says another tournament is planned near the end of September, and the club hopes to keep growing events at the course.
