Trail Hub: A Love Story

Once you make it out to The Trail Hub Disc Golf Course, you will instantly understand why it was so easy to fall in love with this enchanting place.

For me, this love story began, way back in February 2023, with a text message from Andrew Bailey.  Drew is a fellow disc golfer from Whitby, Ontario who has a true passion for growing the sport, specifically in the region of Durham, just east of Toronto, Canada. So when he reached out to ask if we were able to get a hold of 18 high quality baskets for a new prospective course in the area, our interest was instantly piqued.  That is because if you look on the UDisc map just east of Toronto, you will see a blank spot where disc golf courses should be.  We were hoping that Drew had an idea of how to change that. 

 

In no time, we had exchanged texts and calls and he shared this brilliant idea about a disc golf course being built on a property up in Uxbridge, just a few kilometers north of the 407 highway, Northeast of Toronto.  He told us about this place called Trail Hub.  Although I hadn’t heard of it at the time, Drew explained it used to be a pretty sweet downhill ski spot named SkyLoft, where local kids used to learn how to ski and snowboard.  Skyloft had since ceased operations, but the property was sold and renamed Trail Hub by new owners, in 2021. 

Jay and I figured that we certainly could obtain high quality baskets, but up to this point, we had zero experience with course construction. Fortunately, we had some friends whose expertise is just that- building exceptional disc golf courses in Southern Ontario.

 

We contacted our friends, Jeff and Cara, told them about Trail Hub and shared Drew’s idea with them. You see, Cara Hovius and Jeff MacKeigan make up ChainLink Disc Golf and if you love the game and live anywhere near Toronto and the GTA, you have most certainly played on at least one of their courses.  Be it short, municipal 9’s, or championship level 18’s, ChainLink can do it all and we knew they were the right team for the job.

After connecting Drew and ChainLink, progress moved pretty quickly. Jeff and Cara went up to Uxbridge to meet with one of the owners of Trail Hub, Rick Batty, and although it turned out that Rick wasn’t all that well acquainted with the game, he certainly revealed himself to be a lover of nature and a guardian of the forest.  Rick is a man who seeks to protect non-invasive, perfect specimen trees and looks to help establish and preserve rich tree top canopies found on the Trail Hub property.  Rick knows that these canopies provide both rich views for nature lovers, while also creating ample protection, food, and shelter for local wildlife. 



Once they began surveying the land, it was obvious to Jeff and Cara that Trail Hub would make for a picturesque place to play a round of disc golf.  After numerous course layout designs, and finding just the right sequence of holes, the first tee boxes were constructed only a few hundred feet from Trail Hub’s post and beam chalet, which sits atop the highest peak in the Durham Region.

Nestled within this idyllic chalet, Trail Hub offers diverse amenities and experiences— weddings, corporate events, two restaurants, a bar- and even Friday night line-dancing!  It stands unrivalled in its offerings, providing both exceptional quality and unforgettable experiences.  Do you know of any other disc golf courses that can offer all of these events and amenities?! The wood and beam structure also serves as a hub for trail passes, granting access to 240km of interconnected hiking and biking trails. 
 

A standout feature is the site's elevation, with the first hole and chalet overlooking a plateau descending over 100ft to Rick’s rich canopy forest. This vantage point offers an unobstructed panoramic view: sprawling pristine forest, the Southern Ontario skyline, and distant Lake Ontario, approximately 30 kilometers away, yet still in view from this elevation. Above it all, the prettiest sky you might have ever seen.

Although there are oh so many more moving parts, this is the beginning of how WolfKat became entwined in this disc golf love story at Trail Hub Disc Golf.  But, as Jeff from ChainLink often says, “This is just the end of the beginning”, it holds true for this tale as well. Until next time, discers, when we share our part in the creation of the course, the grand opening, and our ambitious ideas for what is to come next.

Please remember this though-  in most great stories, be it about love or disc golf, they often begin with one person looking to make a difference. In this story it was Drew.  So give Drew his flowers, discers, because none of this would have happened if that one person didn’t take a chance and try to make a change.  If you want to grow the sport, or grow anything, be like Drew- go make a difference.

Disc on!

Nick

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