YORKTON – There is a veritable boat load of companies manufacturing golf discs in countries around the world all hoping to capture a piece of the growing market as the sport of disc golf continues to grow. 

A decade ago the sport in Saskatchewan, for example was confined to only a handful of courses, and today there are dozens of courses in communities right across the province. 

The reasons for the rather rapid growth are many, but to start with the relatively low cost to a municipal government to install a course to provide a recreational opportunity to residents. 

So we see courses pop up from Saskatoon to Springside with communities of all sizes in between creating courses. 

Of course you won’t see the course busy overnight, but with some effort to promote the course, hold how-to-play clinics and hosting beginner nights, players will come. 

As disc golf pro Nikko Locastro noted in the Sports This Week column in this week’s Yorkton This Week the sport is a low cost one for people to get into, and once you toss a few discs you tend to be hooked. 

“Once you start playing, people rarely stop and give it up,” he said, adding for most it’s “disc golf for life.” 

And therein lies another reason for its growth, the low cost to players with discs still around $30 each, so a starter set will be generally less than $100. 

Which brings me back to all the companies creating discs, which are the best for a beginner? 

That really comes down to a lot of factors, in particular arm strength, and how much you will play. The more you play, the more you will learn what works best. 

So, most players will end up with at least a few discs searching for the driver which gives you a few extra feet off the tee, or the putter that you never miss with – a hint – that disc is a unicorn. It does not exist. 

But, like ball golf, putting is a huge part of the sport, and players will often find a putter they like, then one day you will throw it and miss every basket you see, and suddenly you are looking for another option. 

The Judge from Dynamic Discs, the Beaver or Polar Bear from Canadian manufacturer Daredevil, or the Berg from Kastaplast all have had play time out of my bag – when one goes cold I grab a different one. 

The Popcorn from Clash Discs is a new putter that left a good…