WASHINGTON: Midnight on the Mont du Lac ski hill, three young men stood on a peak overlooking a deep, grassy bowl. At the bottom, lit up by the ski hill lights, was a metal disc-golf basket. One by one, from their stationing on the peak, the men flung their discs the 300-foot downward drive into the center. “C’mon!” one said, as his disc floated past the basket into the long, wet grass. They all landed in the grass.
Down in the bowl, after several minutes of searching, the group retrieved their discs and took turns putting. All but one made the basket on their first toss — Laramie Carlson, of Duluth, sunk his by the second. “Good job,” said group mate Danny Kemper, giving Laramie a fist bump as his disc rang the chains of the basket.
The three golfers — along with about 40 other disc golfers from Minnesota, Wisconsin and Michigan — played through the mist and midnight hours as part of Mont du Lac’s Mayhem on the Mountain disc golf tournament May 27-28. The second day of the tournament was played during daylight hours. Disc golf is like traditional golf in that it’s a game of targets played on an outdoor course. The scoring system is the same. But instead of hitting balls into holes in the ground, disc golfers throw plastic discs into human-sized metal baskets. Along with Mayhem on the Mountain, Mont du Lac offers a variety of other events and leagues geared toward disc golfers who are up for the steep hike.
“This place is probably the best (course) in the area, for sure,” said Mayhem golfer Tyler Masseta of Duluth. “There’s a good variety of holes and a lot going on here.” Mont du Lac’s beginner-friendly summer and winter night leagues all start at 6 p.m. The White Cedar league plays Wednesdays, and the Eagle’s Peak league meets Thursdays.
