Disc golf tournament at Lincoln Park was a success

A recent disc golf tournament in Blaine attracted 60 players, who competed in different divisions for prizes including cash, portable disc golf baskets and trophies.

The second annual Battle by the Border tournament took place on June 8 at Lincoln Park in Blaine. It was organized by the Whatcom Disc Golf Club, which started the tournament last year shortly after the Lincoln Park disc golf course officially opened to the public in May 2018. Last year’s event attracted 86 players.

This year, most of the 60 participants came from around Whatcom County. A handful came from Snohomish and King counties, and one came all the way from Whistler, B.C.

Players competed in five different divisions: Open Pro, Open Master 40+, Advance Amateur, Intermediate Amateur and Amateur Women. The “open” divisions were for more advanced players, who competed for cash prizes of up to $300. Meanwhile, the “amateur” divisions were for less advanced players who competed for a portable disc golf basket valued at $200 as well as a wood-carved trophy and golf discs valued at $15 each.

The tournament started at 8 a.m. and ended at 5 p.m. During that window, players played a total of 27 holes – a first round of 18 holes followed by a final nine holes. The course at Lincoln Park has a total of 18 holes.

Akin to ball golf, disc golf players count strokes each time a disc is thrown from a tee pad. The goal is to throw one’s disc into a basket, representing the hole, in as few strokes as possible. Players take turns until they finish the hole or basket, and the player with the least throws wins the game.

The cost of entry was $35 for amateurs and $50 for open pros. These entry fees, together with sponsorship from 18 local businesses, helped pay for the prizes that were awarded to tournament winners. The winners were Tyler Kunkel of Lake Stevens (Open Pro), Brandon Essy of Bellingham (Open Master 40+), Lucas Latta of Oak Harbor (Advance Amateur), Nathan Piwonski of Fircrest (Intermediate Amateur) and Laurin Poe of Bellingham (Amateur Women).

“This event is going to happen every year,” said tournament director Randy Newton, who helped organize the Battle by the Border tournament along with assistant tournament director Andy Salkield of Bellingham. “We hope to have the tournament grow and get bigger and find more sponsors. Our goal is to attract high-caliber players. We hope to bring in some of the best players in the state in the future.”

The Whatcom Disc Golf Club hosts three or four different tournaments each year, and their next tournament will be the 23rd annual Cornwall Classic in Bellingham. Expected to attract 100 players, it is the biggest event that the club hosts every year.

Newton, who also serves as vice president of the non-profit Whatcom Disc Golf Club, helped design Blaine’s disc golf course. The course came to life after city staff approached the club with the idea several years ago. Around Thanksgiving of 2016, volunteers including Newton helped remove large amounts of invasive ivy from Lincoln Park. “We spent about five months clearing out ivy, underbrush, blackberry bushes and stinging nettle, clearing way for fairways for an 18-hole course,” said Newton. Aside from readying park grounds, members of the club also helped develop the course map.

Since its opening, the disc golf course has been a success, according to Newton. The course was designed to not impact primary and perimeter walking trails as well as the north and south trail. In a recent study session, however, city staff noted that some marks are being left on trees from golf discs, and that this could potentially be damaging to the trees. City councilmembers directed city staff to study the issue further, possibly by retaining an arborist to help identify the extent and severity of the issue.