P.E.I. getting ready to host first ever Canadian leg of the Disc Golf Pro Tour

A wall with the regulation discs used in disc golf. (CTV/Jack Morse)

The first ever Disc Golf Pro Tour event is coming to Canada this year, with stops close to home.

Disc golf plays a lot like regular golf, or ball golf as the disc golfers call it, but using discs instead of clubs and balls.

There are 17 disc golf courses on P.E.I., five are 18-hole courses suitable for championship level play.

One of those is Rose Valley Disc Golf in Rose Valley, P.E.I., which will host the tour stop.

Some of the course was damaged by Fiona, but the owners are doing cleanup and testing.

They say it’ll be better than before, with upgrades by event organizer Ben Smith, before the first pro disc golfers tee off.

“Ben Smith with Flickline has done an amazing job to elevate the sport in our region, not just in PEI but in the Maritimes as a whole,” said Patrick O’Hanley, Rose Valley Disc Golf co-owner. “Super excited to have the pros come up and play.”

For disc golfers, it’s as if the PGA was coming to the Maritimes for the first time.

Jacob Smith has been disc golfing since 2019, and quickly decided to open his own shop. He has thousands of discs in stock, with their own various specializations, with terms lifted from golf like driver and putter.

He said it's a huge chance to grow the sport in our region.

“We have some amazing courses here, and people want to come play them,” said Jacob Smith with the Island Disc Golf Company. “To have the pro players come and play our courses, that’s top notch. That’s the next level.”

He said close to 300 disc golf athletes will be on the island. 117 pros have registered so far, 65 of them are in the global top 100.

Smith said there have been pro tournaments on P.E.I. before, but because this counts in pro tour standings, which determine who goes to the pro championship at the end of the year, this is the highest the stakes have ever been for disc golf here.

The Discmania Open comes to P.E.I. on Sept. 8.

For more Prince Edward Island news visit our dedicated provincial page.