NAD Park
I recently posted about the Minneapolis/St. Paul disc golf scene, which UDisc ranks as the third best in the country. Little did I know that another area I lived in, Bremerton/Port Orchard, WA, ranks tenth. Apparently, this ranking changes, and Washington may no longer be in the Top 10. That’s beside the point though. For a small, suburban area, Bremerton really does have some fun places to disc golf.
It all starts at NAD Park. Up on a hill in West Bremerton, a Vietnam War era fighter jet greets disc golfers when they enter. Bremerton is a big Navy town, home to Puget Sound Naval Shipyard. In fact, NAD stands for Naval Ammunition Depot. The old plane in NAD park is classic, with big fins, a pointy nose, and small wheels. It is also well decorated. A white star with blue background adorns the body, and jaws are painted near the front.
NAD Park starts off with a bang, and the actual course itself doesn’t disappoint. It’s a true Washington course, with dense groves of evergreens and muddy fairways. There are fallen trees, tall trees, and trees growing on top of trees. This course challenges all disc golfers. Even if the throw seems to find its way through the trees, there will be another one that pops up to send the disc off course.
I played with my wife Rita and a friend from work. He was much older than me but could sling it quite far. However, a few really bad holes brought him down to my level, and I ended with the lower score. A fun time to go is late March, early April. The cherry blossoms are in bloom, and NAD Park has several by the picnic tables. These are common in Japan and referred to as Sakura trees.
Fairgrounds
After moving to Bremerton, we played disc golf almost immediately. It was Fourth of July, and not sure of what else to do during the day, we visited the nearest course to our apartment. It was called the Fairgrounds. Don’t overthink the name. It just means that the course is on the county fairgrounds.
Similar to NAD Park, the Fairgrounds is heavily forested. I threw a few discs in the bushes but always dug them out. Fairgrounds are interesting places to me. They lie dormant for 50 weeks of the year, and then spring into action for a short time. A disc golf course is a great use of the area. While evergreens dominate the landscape, if one is lucky, they may see the beautiful Pacific Madrone. Their smooth trunks oscillate with the wind, and the leaves reflect the light from high above. Watching them seems like a scene from an anime movie.
We finished the course and headed back to our apartment. Since COVID cancelled the city fireworks show, people were left to their own devices. This made the evening the best Fourth of July celebration I have ever seen. Everyone and their neighbor shot off fireworks all night long. For one night, chaos and spontaneity reigned supreme.
