Marcela Irribarren/ The Broadside

The Central Oregon Disc Golf Club and Bend Park & Recreation District both collaborated in creating a new disc golf course set in Bend’s west side at Skyline Sports Complex.

This 9-hole course opened on November 1st and will be available for use until February 28th, 2022.

Julie Brown, a spokesperson for Bend Park & Recreation, says the course will go through a “trial season” in order to evaluate whether or not the course will be set on a permanent basis.

“Skyline Sports Complex serves many uses and we want to ensure the experiences are complementary to each other,” says Brown.

Through fundraising, Central Oregon Disc Golf Club raised $4,000 to purchase baskets for the course.

The course is good for beginners to intermediate and the longest distance is 293 feet on Hole 3. Designed by Bend Park & Recreation, this technical course offers slight elevations, mature Ponderosa with natural foliage, and thick desert grass, making it a new challenge for players to enjoy.

As a beginner, this course offers more of a strategic thought process because of the inclines and forestry in comparison to the wide open spaces at Pine Nursery Park. The terrain is similar to Lost Disc Golf Course and Hyzer Pines Disc Golf Course in Sisters.

My husband and I brought our own discs and since the course was a relatively shorter range, we only used our driver, mid-range, and putter discs. My favorite hole was probably hole 4 because of the slight elevation you have to throw to reach the basket. As a beginner, the hole is more of a challenge for me, however, I personally like to play courses that involve a challenge.

The objective of disc golf is to get the disc in the basket. A player needs to complete each hole with the fewest amount of strokes possible. Disc golf is an all ages sport and is a great outdoor activity. It’s relatively inexpensive and anyone can do it.

Tips on keeping this “pilot project” successful:

• Be respectful to fellow players and park users
• Pick up after yourself
• Parking is available on the south side of the park. Please do not park on the street.
• Take care of the course and have fun!