This Ain’t Your Father’s Backyard Frisbee Toss
Disc Golf, the Sport of the Future

By Steven Sharp
Photo by Monique Beeley

Disc Golf? You mean Frisbee Golf? Yes, they’re synonymous. But “Frisbee” is a brand name, so aficionados of the sport call it Disc Golf. And as an organized sport, it’s been around longer than you think.

The object of Disc Golf is very similar to “Ball Golf” with some obvious differences. Rather than using a club to hit a ball, the player throws a golf disc from a designated tee-pad towards the target. The target can be a regulation “pole hole” (a metal basket with chains) if you’re playing on a regular disc golf course. Or, it can be an object like a rock or tree if you’re playing on an impromptu course. The goal is to get the disc into the basket, or to hit the object, in the fewest number of throws.

The distances on a disc golf course are measu red in feet rather than yards. An average length for a disc golf fairway is 350 feet. But the distances can range from 150 to over 750 feet. The current long-distance record for throwing a golf disc is 820 feet! But a person doesn’t need to be able to throw that far to play. The key is accuracy. If you can throw a disc between 200 and 300 feet with pretty good accuracy, then you’ll be able to par most holes. Being able to throw far is not nearly as important as being able to sink a 40-foot putt! Think, drive for show, putt for dough.

To play Disc Golf, any plastic disc or Frisbee will work, but the serious players use discs that have been custom-designed for throwing longer distances with greater accuracy (or, at least that’s the intent). There are many different makes and models of golf discs; long-range drivers, mid-range drivers, approach and putt discs. The discs vary in weight, design and type of plastic. It’s not uncommon to see a player carrying a dozen or more different discs during a round. But a person only needs one disc to play. And the discs aren’t very expensive; prices range from $10 to $25.

Pressed for time? A full 18 hole round of Disc Golf will typically take just over an hour to play. And the cost is very affordable; since most courses are in public parks, there are no green fees. Your only real expense is the cost of a disc.

Like the PGA for traditional ball golf, Disc Golf has a professional organization that maintains the official rules, sanctions competitive events, sets standards for course design and helps promote the sport. “Steady Ed” Headrick organized the Professional Disc Golf Association, or the PDGA, as it is known, in 1976. Steady Ed is often refer red to as the father of Disc Golf, not because he invented the sport, but because he was very active in the design of the first courses and targets and in its promotion as an easy, inexpensive and enjoyable activity.

PDGA members take pride in the fact that Disc Golf is the only sport in which damage to any part of the course, the trees, bushes or equipment is a rules violation. Penalties can cost the player two-strokes or even lead to disqualification from a competitive event.

In addition to the PDGA, Utah has it’s own organization to help promote and organize the sport locally. Craig Myrick started team Utah Disc Golf in 1992. Team Utah has over 70 members who all contribute and assist with all sorts of activities related to Disc Golf in Utah. Team Utah Disc Golf (TUDG) even maintains a website at www.teamutahdiscgolf.com to help spread the word on courses, events and such.

Utah has several unique connections to the sport of Disc Golf: The first person to patent a flying plastic disc, Walter F rederick Morrison, lives in Utah. Second, Utah is home to one of the first 50 disc golf courses in the world. Now, there are thousands of courses worldwide and the “flying plastic disc” has undergone some inc redible design and technological changes.

Utah currently has nine permanent disc golf courses. The first was installed in 1982 at Creekside Park in Salt Lake City. In honor of one of the pioneers of the sport in Utah, this course was officially renamed the Walter F rederick Morrison Disc Golf Course. Solitude Mountain Resort installed an 18-hole course right on their ski runs for some summer time, high-altitude playing! Players can hike the course for their daily aerobics, or, less strenuous, ride the chairlift up to the first tee and then play the course cruising down the mountain. In southern Utah, Brian Head Resort recently constructed a course near their popular mountain bike park. And one of the most unique new layouts is at Camelot Adventure Lodge on the banks of the Colorado River near Moab. Disc Golf over, through and in the redrock canyons of southeastern Utah. The Camelot Lodge course is the only “pay to play” course in Utah, but the modest $5 fee is waived if you’re a guest at the lodge.

If you want to play competitively in Utah, TUDG sponsors weekly and monthly events as well as two major PDGA-sanctioned Tournaments each year. And the prize money is growing. In 2004, the Utah Challenge Disc Golf Tournament at Solitude had a purse of over $6,000!

But whether you’re playing competitively, or are merely out for a relaxing round, there isn’t a more enjoyable activity that is suited to almost any age and skill level. Disc Golf has been refer red to as the “sport of the future” due to the relative ease of learning it, the challenges of mastering it and the low cost and friendly atmosphere associated with playing it. And Utah adds an additional element of enjoyment to the sport by having some of the most beautiful and scenic courses in the world!