After finding out his summer Spanish class doesn’t start until later in the quarter, Western junior Dennis Terrell was faced with the question of what to do with a sunny afternoon. The answer was simple — disc golf.
Western senior Grant Driver throws his disc from the bushes at the hole during a game of disc golf with his friends at Cornwall Park on July 10. The wooded terrain of the disc golf course adds to the challenge of the game. Photo by Kathryn Bachen
Terrell played 18 holes at Cornwall Park with Lacey, his 5-year-old fluffy, white Coton dog, traipsing after him.
After an errant disc bounced hard off of one of the many large Douglas firs in the course, Terrell and Lacey disappeared into the bushes to go find the disc.
"I’m sorry," Terrell said to the group coming up behind him. "I had a bad throw. I’m taking my free mulligan."
Terrell said he has been playing disc golf for five years and tries to make it out to a course at least once a week.
The game is similar to traditional golf in that players start at a tee and play through the holes on the course. But instead of using a club and a golf ball, players use their hands and a disc. The goal is to get the disc into the hole in as few throws as possible.
Each attempt counts toward the player’s score with players trying for the lowest score possible. Wherever the disc lands is where the player must then play from.
Not all players care about the score. Some play just for fun. Paula Leach, a junior at Washington State University, played her first game of disc golf with her friend Jon Gurado.
"If you’re playing with a person who keeps score, then you’re playing with the wrong person," Gurado said. "I don’t keep count of my throws. I keep count of the beers I’ve had. I can do six beers in 18 holes."
Leach said her first time went well and that it helped having a friend who knew more about the game to tell her where to throw the disc. She said her main goal for the day was to spend some time with an old friend and she achieved it.
Traditional golfers keep different clubs for all the different possible strokes. Disc golfers are no different. They even use the same terminology. A driver, a mid-range driver and a putter are all essential if you want to play well, Terrell said.
Terrell keeps eight discs in his bag. He said he needs different drivers for different holes. Depending on the layout of the hole, he said he favors different discs. Some discs go long and straight while others take a big curve to get to the hole.
The nine-hole course at Cornwall Park was built in 1997 by the Bellingham Parks and Recreation Department and a local group of disc golfers, said Paul Leuthold, director of the parks and recreation department.
Leuthold said he had not anticipated the rapid rise in popularity of the sport in the area. At any time of the day, players seem to be on the course, he said.
"I was out at Cornwall at 7 a.m., and two guys were playing," Leuthold said. "I went up to them and asked them what they
Photo by Kathryn Bachen
were doing there at 7 a.m. They worked all night and came out to play a round before going home and going to bed."
Leuthold said the parks and recreation department is looking for a new location for an 18-hole course due to the damage being done to some of the trees at Cornwall.
With the unexpected popularity of the sport came repeated strikes to the trees. Leuthold said some of the drivers can reach high velocities that can do damage to the bark.
After a couple independent assessments of the trees around the course, Leuthold said he is looking to take out the middle holes where the most damage is being done and turn the course at Cornwall Park into a five-hole practice area after the new 18-hole course is completed.
Terrell said the possibility of a new course in Bellingham excited him.
An 18-hole course was recently built in Sudden Valley, but it takes a while to get out there and play, he said.
No matter what happens with the new course, Terrell said he looks forward to continuing to improve his game.
"Now that I’m finally getting better, it’s much more enjoyable," Terrell said. "It does actually take skill. Once you get it, it’s really fun. I don’t lose discs anymore."
The Associated Students Disc Golf Club started spring quarter 2007.
Western junior Will Dole said he played with the club a couple times over the past year and looks forward to playing with it again next year.
Dole started playing disc golf four years ago while in high school. His friends started playing occasionally at a local course in his hometown.
Since he came up to attend Western, Dole now plays every other weekend, unless it rains.
"I’m a fair-weather player," Dole said.
The course at Cornwall Park is open 6 a.m. to 10 p.m. daily.
The new course in Sudden Valley if located off of Lake Louise Road on private property, but the public is welcome during daytime hours.
