‘A huge deal for Medicine Hat’: Disc golf course opens up at Riverview Golf Club

General manager Jaubron Widdis said the idea was proposed by a member of the local disc golf club a couple years back.

“We kind of shelved it for a little while, and then I got into disc golf myself last year, and realized how feasible of a opportunity it is to be running during the winter months,” Widdis said.

“We played a fair bit of rounds last year during the winter months, and then we discussed it with the board and decided we wanted to try doing a glow league in the shoulder season, and then open it up for winter play.”

Widdis said there are additional benefits for the course outside of giving people another place to play.

“(It’s) a way for us to get a little bit of revenue in the off-season, and then the other benefit to it is keeping the antelope and the deer off of our course, so they’re not grazing our fairways right down to nothing.”

Revenue generation for the club this year will be through tournaments they host.

Within the City of Medicine Hat there are three disc golf courses: Kiwanis Central Park, Leinweber Park and Gillwell Park.

There is excitement from the local disc golf community to play the new course.

Jeremy Knodel, president of the Medicine Hat Disc Golf Club established in 2022, said this will help increase participation in the area, as they look to make the city a disc golf destination.

“Having this at an actual golf course that has been adjusted to to be played as a disc golf course is a huge deal for Medicine Hat,” Knodel said.

“Not many players get to play in a tournament on an actual golf course. It’s more kind of a professional thing,” he added.

“The excitement of that is awesome.”

There are four different tee off locations on each hole, allowing for a variety of skill levels to play.

The course has already hosted a few tournaments and will have a night time experience available for disc golfers this Saturday, with tee off at 6 p.m.

“$45 a person. You get two glow discs. You’ll come out. We’ll have the whole course lit up,” Widdis said.

“We’ll have all the tee pads lit up with LED lights. We’ll have all the baskets lit up with LED lights, and you’ll come out and play a fun glow round with some great prizes.”

The sport of disc golf has been growing at a rapid rate, with it taking off as an available activity during the COVID-19 Pandemic.

Widdis said with the set up at Riverview Golf Club there is an opportunity to eventually bring in some higher level multi-day disc golf tournaments.

Which would provide a small boost to the local economy, with this unique way to keep the course busy in the off season.

by Jesse Gill

‘A huge deal for Medicine Hat’: Disc golf course opens up at Riverview Golf Club

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