Featured photo by Adam Brown

Story by Adam Brown

There is a sport that many have never heard of that is exploding in popularity, is free to play, and is a great way to get outdoors for all ages. That sport is disc golf. For most people, disc golf is a lot different than what they think, so let’s start with the basics.

Disc Golf is exactly what it sounds like, but disc golfers throw discs instead of using irons and drivers to hit a dimpled ball. Some may have heard the term “frisbee golf,” but that term is not technically correct because the discs used in disc golf are not frisbees. Frisbees, which are a trademarked product of the Wham-O company, as you might see in collegiate or professional ultimate frisbee matches or even being thrown around on the beach is a standard 175-gram disc with a diameter of 10 ¾ inches. These were the first discs used in disc golf, but the game has evolved.

These days, discs come in different shapes, styles, plastics, and weights all for different uses, preferences, or shots out on the course. Rather than one standard disc, disc golf discs have different jobs based on the disc type. Just like golf you have drivers, putters, mid-ranges, and fairway drivers each with subtypes within those groups. Each disc has different flight characteristics that the player can expect from it when thrown correctly. These standards can be found printed right on the disc most of the time, and if not are on the manufacturer’s website. The first big diversion from golf is the size of the basket. Rather than putt into a hole, in disc golf you putt into a patented basket that acts as an above-ground hole with chains that are designed to catch discs.

Another way disc golf is different is the courses on which it is played. Yes, disc golf is played on large open courses like golf, but it can also be played on wooded trail-like courses.  Some of the hardest holes in the sport are like an obstacle course in the woods that takes precision to conquer. When starting, beginner packs that feature a driver, mid-range, and putter are available for purchase to introduce players to the game before building their collection for tougher or more technical shots. 

The sport is relatively new. The organized version of today was invented by the same inventor of the frisbee at Wham-O Toys, “Steady” Ed Hendrick, in the 1970s. Hendricks was not only the inventor of the frisbee, but also the inventor of the disc golf pole hole, and the…