How do you define perfect? Sometimes I feel like it is trying to taste colour or hear shapes. It is impossible to describe but somehow you know it when you feel it. This weekend disc golf on the mountain was my definition of perfection.
Before we understand what we saw, let's set the stage on what it took just to get here. Since 2007 disc golf has been growing in Atlantic Canada. Courses were sporadic at first, but slowly they took root. Some were privately funded, a few were public. Starting around 2015 a couple of municipalities took interest, then a school here or there would put in some baskets. Nothing much was formal about it. Someone would stumble upon the game, get inspired, and build. Honestly it was all pretty heady times for those of us paying attention. A little secret that was like a gift for those of us who knew about it. We always wanted to share it though, share it with anyone that would listen. The game is so beautiful, accessible, and fun. We just knew it would take off eventually but there was so much work to be done to get it there. If I had actually known how much work it was I don’t think I would have ever done it, but that is the beauty of ignorance; you don’t know what you don’t know.
For me personally I wore a lot of hats during the last 20 years. I was a player first, then a builder, then a teacher. I have always been an advocate. I ran my first event in 2007. A snow storm cut it short. I tried again in the spring and ran my first full event in 2008. There might have been a dozen people there. It was an outrageously fun day. I have run close to 100 since then, each one of them I would consider fun days.
Slowly, over time the game caught on. It is always the same story. It is a 1 to 1 conversion rate. You fall in love with the game, you tell a friend, they fall in love, they tell someone… and on and on. The pandemic gave us a big boost but then we came back to regular growth. Slowly, but with intent.
So last year when I signed an agreement to build the courses on the Wentworth mountain this wasn’t just a flash-in-the-pan idea. It had been simmering in my mind for over 20 years. I had already built 60 courses by then. This would be my gift to the disc golf world. A perfect course. But I didn’t build just one, I built 3. The first course (The Climber) just got you up the hill, the other two courses were what I would perfect; The Mountain, and the Summit.
The entire time I was playing I knew I wanted to make this game real so I started teaching it in schools. Like everything else I did with the game it was slow. My high school first said yes. They came to my private course. They loved it. I started reaching out to other schools, teachers I knew, some said yes, most said ‘nah’. By 2020 I had taught over 10,000 students, I did at least 10 schools a year. Then the pandemic hit. The same thing that grew the game by forcing everyone outside stopped the schools from bringing me it. We couldn’t share discs, we couldn’t high five, we were back to on our own. Back to slow growth.
This year because of many of the global circumstances I found myself planning a trip to Europe. It was another one of those points in your journey where your life is segmented in distinct stages; before and after. I saw the game in this beautiful light. I experienced the most ambitious courses I have ever played. The forests were magic, the people sincere. I came home inspired. I had 3 key meetings lined up with Europeans who were titans in their own right. I asked them as many questions as I possibly could. They were generous with their time and knowledge. I asked them all one very specific thing; if you could waive a magic wand and change anything about our game what would it be? Miraculously they all answered in the same way. They would focus on the junior division and make it more formal and more inviting. I thought to myself, ‘I can do that’ so I put a plan in motion.
On Friday of last week that plan came to fruition. A total of 27 teachers came to our Mountain to formally learn how to play the game. We hired a great friend of mine, Zoe Andyke, the co-owner of Uplay Disc Golf, the person who literally wrote the book on teaching the game. We taught the teachers. It was the first time in my life I have ever been at a conference or a professional development day where 100% of the participants were into it. All the way into it. They listened, they asked questions, they gave feedback, then they played the game. We debriefed, they completed the survey, and they left happy. It is far too early to know what impact that day will lead to but in my wildest dreams that single day of teaching exceeded every possible expectation that I could have had. My guess is that an entire generation of high school disc golfers will be born just because of those 27 teachers who cared. That is a legacy project that I am so proud of.
Then it came time to play. Alongside Zoe, we brought in two other professional players to test out our course, Casey White and Ella Hanson. Both of these players were coming off exceptional seasons on the pro tour. They played the Mountain course, and although they won their divisions they were not able to impose their will against the course. The Mountain held its own. The Summit was the course for the majority of the amateur divisions. It played perfectly. All the players experienced the ups and downs (literally). We had 2 days of incredible weather, a banquet together, and a sunny Sunday where we lingered together and basked in everything that makes our part of the world so incredible. We had 3 perfect days and I have no way of describing it other than to try and tell you this story.
So before I sign off for 2026 let me say thank you. Thank you to the Wilson family for giving me the space to create something so perfect. Thank you to the Wentowrth staff who let me indulge in my own crazy ideas. Thank you to each player who made the trek up the mountain and back down again. Thank you to every professional who has offered their insight and given their time. Thank you to those who are reading about this story.
Our baskets will stay up for maybe 2 more weeks before we take them down to get ready for the ski season. If you can’t play them this year make it a point to play them next year. This facility is a gift and it is only going to get better. So until next time, shoot a little and have a lot of fun.