First disc golf tournament at NOTL community centre huge success

The first-ever disc golf tournament on the grounds of the Niagara-on-the-Lake Community Centre was a soaring success this weekend. And the course itself is earning rave reviews from the disc golf community. 

A total of 58 golfers competed in the Holiday Buster Bonanza between 11 a.m. and 4 p.m. Saturday at the NOTL Rotary Club nine-hole course. Based on pre-registration, organizer Andrea Michaud expected to have about 46 competitors divided into amateur and professional categories in the open tournament. 

When the day started, however, Michaud was surprised to meet a dozen more interested golfers who walked up to the tent erected at the edge of the community centre parking lot, each hoping to enter the tournament at the last minute. In typical disc golf fashion, no one was turned away. 

“We had a bigger turnout than we could ever imagine,” co-organizer Joe McCormick of Port Colborne told The Local. “It was so great to have everybody together. After the snowstorm before Christmas we were worried we wouldn’t get too many people out if it was still snowing. With this weather the turnout was great.”

“Everybody loves the course,” he added, the sound of cheers behind him as one participant almost aced one of the holes. “For most people here today this is the first time seeing the course, the first time playing it. They love everything about it. It’s really beginner-friendly, too.”

The open nature of the NOTL layout is what entices newcomers to the sport, according to McCormick. He also cited the fact that it’s one of the shorter disc golf tracts that he’s seen in his years playing. 

Beginner and experienced competitors alike came from near and far to vie for more than $400 in cash prizes as well as other awards, including one for closest to the basket on the scenic eighth hole. That’s the longest hole, the one situated between the lawn bowling green and the vineyards just beyond the parking lot. 

Sean Galbraith was part of a group who came to NOTL from Toronto to play the course. Galbraith is a year-round disc golfer who plays two or three times a week. It was his first time on the NOTL course and he loved it. 

Competitors also visited from Hamilton, while Shelley Kingma-Kitchen hailed from Paris. She’s sponsored by the Lindsay, Ont. disc golf store called Discy Chicks, who had a booth set up at the tournament. 

David Dankowski, a registered pro through the Professional Disc Golf Association (PDGA), explained some of the strategy when taking on the more challenging holes. He demonstrated a number of different launches to The Local, including the tomahawk, scooter, thumber, flex shot, hyzer and anhyzer. Each varies in grip, stance, windup and release. 

Jeff Marchese of Chippawa usually plays at Fireman’s Park in Niagara Falls. That course was spoken of fondly by many of Sunday’s competitors, including some from outside the region. 

The second-year amateur player explained the array of different discs that every disc golfer carries in his or her bag. 

“There’s a driver, a control or fairway driver, a midrange disc and a putter,” said Marchese, who normally doesn’t play in the fall or winter. “Each disc has numbers on it, signifying the disc’s rating for speed, glide, turn and fade. The higher the speed number is, the harder you have to throw it.”

“Anybody can play,” added Marchese, who also plays in the GHL co-ed hockey league in Virgil. “The disc golf community is so welcoming to everybody. The better players encourage you to play, they give you tips. It’s a really fun sport.”

When it was all over, St. Catharines native Dankowski edged fellow PDGA pro Steve Soucy of St. Thomas by just a single shot to win the top prize in the pro division, $180. Soucy, by the way, has been playing disc golf since the 1990s.

Ten-year-old Alasdair Robertson of Toronto captured the amateur title Sunday, worth $225 for his efforts. He beat his father Dan by five points, said Michaud, as she announced the youngster’s victory. 

Both Dankowski and Robertson also took home beautiful charcuterie boards as their trophies for their efforts. 

“There’s nothing better than eating meat and cheese off of your trophy,” joked Michaud as she presented the prizes at the end of the day.

Michaud, who works in Niagara Falls but lives in St. Catharines, was happy with the way the day turned out, though competitors did have to fight through some drizzle and even a few flurries at one point. 

She lauded town staff, especially supervisor of recreation Dan Maksenuk, for their support. She was also very impressed with the support of the local business community, who chipped in prizes for the closest to the hole winners. 

She and McCormick are working together to build up the sport in the Niagara area. They have been in talks with Maksenuk about the installation of concrete launching pads at each of the Rotary Club nine holes. These pads improve the year-round playability and are popular at other disc golf layouts. The pair are also aiming to help McCormick’s hometown of Port Colborne establish a disc golf tract there. 

“We are hoping to present a Canadian Women’s Championship right here in Niagara,” added Michaud. “We’ve got lots more events to come. Today’s tournament was really a test in a way. We hope to be back on this course in the spring with another tournament.”