The birds are singing.

The sun is out.

Approaching the start of the first tee, you feel the wind blowing gently on your face. It’s a beautiful day.

As you prepare for your tee shot, you shift your target and aim a little bit more to the left, hoping to get around that tree in a tricky spot ahead of you.

Your body coils and tenses. This is it!

You swing your arm around and release the disc, watching it narrowly avoid the tree and promptly land in a bush.

Wait a minute. Release the disc? Aren’t we talking about golf?

Sure.

It’s disc golf, also known as Frisbee golf. Like its better-known ancestor, disc golf is played over a series of holes, with a similar goal: trying to get to your target with the fewest number of shots. However, fans of disc golf (and this now includes my son and I) claim several key differences. It’s cheaper; you’ll spend less money on the equipment needed, and most courses on public parkland are free to play.

Disc golf courses tend to have less of a negative environmental impact; courses are designed to respect the landscape instead of replacing it. Instead of balls and clubs, disc golfers use special discs with thinner rims (the design helps the disc cut through the air better) than the Frisbees we’re used to.

Instead of holes, disc golfers aim at above-ground targets such as baskets (chains mounted above a steel basket on a post) or tonals (usually a brightly-painted tube or a post mounted in the ground which sounds a tone when struck). If you’ve seen either of those on a walk through the woods somewhere, chances are you’ve stumbled upon a disc golf course!

Of the 33 in British Columbia listed in the Professional Disc Golf Association’s directory, the Comox Valley and Campbell River are home to five. My son and I have played two of them and will soon be trying out two more, planning ahead for a late-Summer run at the Mount Washington course.

The courses don’t take too long to play – we are usually done in about an hour or so – and we reap the benefits of fresh air and exercise at the same time!

Here’s a quick guide to the courses, with thanks to Craig Dieno of the Comox Valley Disc Golf Club. Unless rental availability is noted, you will need to bring your own discs.

The Campbell River Cooper’s Hawk disc golf course is located beside the Sportsplex in Willow Point Park. There are 18 unique holes (baskets) with two sets of tee boxes. Opened nearly five years ago, there are no fees to play the course if you have your own discs. If not, you can rent discs from the Sportsplex for $2 + deposit ($8 of your $10 deposit for each disc will be refunded when you return the disc). Scorecards and pencils are available there, too. We’ve played this one the most. Most of the holes are less than 300 feet in length. There can be mucky areas after it rains, so wear appropriate footwear if the weather hasn’t been dry.

In between Campbell River and Courtenay along the old Island Highway, Black Creek Community Association’s disc golf course can be found at the Black Creek Community Centre, 2001 Black Creek Road. From the parking lot, walk east around the swinging parking gate and check out the course map on the glass-covered sign board. It will probably help if you bring your own printed copy of the course map available HERE . It’s a short 18-hole (tonals) course that Craig recommends for kids at least eight years old. You’ll be playing directly through the bush close to the nature trail.

Comox is home to two different courses of varying difficulty. Village Park is the easier of the two; it’s a 9-hole (baskets) course directly across from Comox Community Centre on Noel Avenue. You can play it as an 18-hole course by playing the holes in reverse.

We decided to take a break midway through our game and chased each other around the adjacent playground. There are maps available at the community centre. The SandPines course is located on an old farm-now-wildlife-area near the Lazo Marsh at the end of Sand Pines Drive. To get there, take Lazo Road and turn away from the ocean to keep following Sand Pines Drive to the left until you reach the end of the cul-de-sac and the first tee. It’s a longer 18-hole (tonals) course with a lake to avoid, some tall grassy areas in the Summer and extremely wet conditions (read: bring gumboots!) in the Winter. You’ll need to print off the map and bring it along with you to help navigate the course. Tee boxes are marked with blue tape.

And, if you’re planning a trip up the mountain, Mt. Washington also has a 9-hole (baskets) disc golf course. As with Comox’s Village Park course, you can play 18 holes by playing the course in reverse. It is usually open from July to October, but check their website for precise dates. Craig mentioned that a course redesign last year has made it easier to find your discs now that the holes are located on the ski runs (hence why it’s only open during the Summer). The course is more rugged so kids or adults who tire easily might want to pass on this one. Charges are $5.75 per person, which includes disc rental. There is a package rate involving unlimited access to this and other activities if you’re planning on making a day of it up there.

Enjoy your time out there!

My son and I have now purchased our own discs (they’re available at local sports stores) but there’s no law against using your old beach Frisbees.

They won’t fly as far, but if you’re not keeping score, who cares?

Photo courtesy of Derek Kwan