The up and coming game of Disc Golf (or Frisbee Golf) is a challenging sport that easily integrates into the community and natural landscape of city parks. It is a sport open to many ages and skill levels that grows in popularity as it gains support around the world. The addition of a Disc Golf Course to the Community brings a varied activity for the easy going beginner across the spectrum to competitors within the Professional Disc Golf Association. A well designed course of multi-level playing ground will attract individuals, groups, families, amateurs and professionals alike.
1.) The Basics of Disc Golf:
Disc Golf is basically played just as traditional Golf, but instead uses simply a Frisbee and metal baskets as targets instead of balls, clubs, carts, and holes. The Disc Golf course also utilizes the natural landscape of parks and open areas instead of the manicured courses of traditional golf.
A course usually has 18 baskets (holes) which are laid out around an open area, utilizing trees, hills and water as natural obstacles to players. Along with the 18 strategically placed baskets, there are coinciding platforms (tee-boxes) placed between 200 and 600 ft. from the baskets from where players toss their discs.
2.) Positive Addition to the Community:
- Disc Golf is essentially a low cost activity open to a wide variety of people, bringing a free environment for players to experience the sport.
- It fosters community health as a sport open to families or students and as a low impact, yet mentally challenging activity.
- The disc course enhances the natural aesthetic of parks and open space, with low impact changes made to the area.
- It provides an extra curricular activity for students in local schools for all ages. Schools may also introduce the sport into curriculum using physical education, social aspects, ecology, geology as well as the application of physics.
- The course is an informal setting for the community, but can also provide community involvement in tournaments from local to national levels.
- It is safe sport that can bring increased activity to a park from families and the disc golf community, lessening any mischievous deeds such as vandalism and crime.
3.) Environmentally Friendly
- A disc golf course co-exists with a park's open area, with minimal additions to the natural landscape, such as tee-boxes and the small metal baskets. The tee-boxes actually blend into the natural landscape and require little maintenance.
- The addition of trash cans and benches also provide an added benefit to the park, while also requiring minimal maintenance.
- The benches, tee-boxes and baskets are low to the ground on the course and meant to blend into the space, so not to impede on the park's existing scenery.
- The game of disc golf is harmonious to other activities enjoyed in the park, such as dog-walking, hiking, jogging and biking. Most disc golf courses post a small sign for players to respectfully give these activities the right of way before continuing play on the course.
- It is in the best interest of disc golf players to maintain the park's integrity, where basic cleanliness and ecology are part of the game.
4.) Low Cost: Positive Investment:
- Between volunteers and respectful players, a disc golf course's maintenance brings no additional cost to the park or community. With grants and private donations, the development of the course is easily achieved with a budget under $10,000.
- The majority of disc golf courses are maintained by developers and volunteers of the disc golf community. Often, the entire process of planning, developing and maintaining a course is a non-profit endeavor.
- The cost to players is virtually free on the course and the sport itself does not impose a high cost on players, with specialized Frisbee discs sold at a variety of retailers for between $5 and $15.
- The low-cost to high-benefit ratio of disc golf for communities and players has helped to popularize the sport with close to a 1,000 courses in North America. Most of these courses have been developed and installed by innovative city and county parks departments.
5.) Low Maintenance:
- The tee-boxes on a course are a natural base using dirt and wood, requiring only a periodic up-keep of minimal landscaping provided by volunteers.
- The metal baskets used are a heavy duty, rust-resistant structure; anchored into the ground and requiring no regular maintenance. In the rare event a basket is damaged it can be easily replaced for about $350.
- Since the course utilizes a park's existing area, no additional maintenance of landscaping is required for the up-keep in this respect.
- The addition of trash cans to the course may bring added trash pick-up to the park, but is important to help keep the park clean from increased use.
6.) High Rewards:
With the growing popularity of disc golf, especially with Colorado's 70 courses, the commonly used motto of "if you build it, they will come" has great relevance here. It is a sport that helps to revitalize parks and areas not in use for other high cost activities such as baseball, basketball, tennis and soccer.
As disc golf becomes popular with younger players, schools are taking a noted interested in incorporating its benefits.
In summation, as Bill Flynn, a Metropolitan Parks Commissioner, said, disc golf is "the best kept recreational secret," making it a beneficial enhancement to any community.
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Contributor's Note
Prepared by Bob Birdno and Jason Cangialosi
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