Disc golf’s “pole hole” is made

to catch a flying disc.

©S

OC

OO

JAN07PR PGS.rev 12/27/06 6:30 PM Page 34

P A R K S & R E C R E A T I O N J A N U A R Y 2 0 0 7 35

Disc golf, with its flying discsand holes that are closer tothe sky than the ground,may not be quite what youthink it is. And if you’re

not careful, the sport may just hit youin the head before your facility is readyto handle it.

The sport of disc golf is growingquickly. In fact, disc manufacturers esti-mate incredible growth in the next fewyears for the unique sport of disc golf,which tasks players with landing a discinto a person-sized basket on a pole, or“hole.” Harold Duvall, part owner ofInnova Champion, a disc manufacturersays, “We’ve seen steady annual growthin the neighborhood of 15 percent overthe past 20 years and expect that yearlygrowth to continue for the next 20. Atthis rate, communities and regions withexisting courses will need roughly twicetheir current disc golf capacity in justfive to seven years and many communi-ties haven’t yet started.” Duvall’s obser-vation begs the question: are park andrecreation facilities ready for the jumpin disc golf popularity?

Course Development and Increased PlayDisc golf, sometimes referred to as Fris-bee® golf, is played like regular golfexcept that a disc is thrown in place ofusing a club to hit a ball. Players startfrom each tee and make sequentialthrows playing their next throw fromtheir previous lie like golf until holingout into a metal basket. The player tak-ing the least number of throws after 9or 18 holes is the winner.

Players carry a bag of discs with dif-ferent flight characteristics that typi-cally includes several for driving, ap-proaching and putting. The sport offi-cially became disc golf in the 1970s following the invention of the basket by founder Steady Ed Headrick. Hewatched players informally making uptheir own games by using objects liketrees, light poles and fire hydrants astargets.

A nine-hole recreational disc golfcourse requires a minimum of five acresand a championship course requiresupwards of 30 acres. To support thisgrowth, park and recreation managers

will need to find public property wheredisc golf players can be free to throwand toss. They should also look at theviability of developing private facilitiesrather than public courses that are thestandard in most communities.

For example, the metro area of thetwin cities of Minneapolis and St. Paul,Minn., has been a hotbed of disc golfactivity. There are currently 30 courseswithin a half-hour drive of the inter-state that loops around the cities. Morethan half of the suburbs either havepublic courses or have determined theydon’t currently have suitable propertyfor one.

There are a number of ways for parkand recreation departments to deal pos-itively with growth, and even produceincome to more than justify the cre-ation of one. If you don’t have disc golfin your community yet, you may dis-cover ways to economically justify andfund a new course.

One of the most straightforward—but not necessarily the easy ways togenerate funds for a new course—is to collect sponsorship for the basket,

Making Space for the

DISCJockey

by Chuck Kennedy

© IS

TOC

KPH

OTO

JAN07PR PGS.rev 12/27/06 6:30 PM Page 35

36 P A R K S & R E C R E A T I O N J A N U A R Y 2 0 0 7

cement tee pad and sign for each hole.For existing courses, one effective

way to beautify and maintain holes is todevelop an “Adopt-a-hole” program.Usually private parties will adopt a holeand work to upkeep landscaping, addbenches and perform periodic clean up.

The local disc golf club can be anexcellent source for course help. At aminimum, many of the higher levelplayers in the area are known to occa-sionally carry plastic bags for coursecleanup in their recreational rounds. Ifyou don’t yet have a disc golf club andyou have avid disc golf players, it maybe to your benefit to advocate for theformation of one.

Creative Income SourcesPerhaps it is time to consider ways togenerate some income from the discgolfers to help defray general mainte-nance expenses. Charging a fee for eachround is not the only way. Another wayis to sell discs and other items at a parklocation where you already havestaffing. For example, an indoor swim-ming facility near a course outside ofWashington, D.C., has annually soldabout $12,000 in discs for several years.

Not very many sites have establishedinfrastructure onsite from which togenerate income. But if you can, it canpay off handsomely. The Three Rivers

Park District that manages the HylandSki & Snowboard Area (HSSA) inBloomington, Minn., has been sur-prised and pleased with the incomethey’ve generated from greens fees and discs sales by using their ski areas as disc golf courses in the off-season.Despite a short first season, the moneythey made was substantial. The districtmanaged a golf driving range on the ski hill in the summer so their infra-structure and staffing were actively inplace. Placing disc golf courses on skihills for alternate season use is a fastgrowing and surprisingly successfulphenomenon.

Contract ServicesIf the community facilities don’t have aplace to sell discs or the headquarterslocation is too far away for players tostop by casually, park and recreationdepartments can consider opening acontract for bid to local disc entrepre-neurs. This model continues to workwell in central Texas. A local vendorpulls a trailer by truck into the parkeach day, selling discs and snacks undercontract with the city, resulting in afinancially viable business.

The largest disc golf contract opera-tion is currently the Morley Fieldcourse in San Diego, Calif. SnapperPierson has had a contract with the city

to build, manage and run the disc golfcourse since the late 1980s. Consideringthis course has almost had monopolystanding since then, let alone year-round great weather, it should be nosurprise how well Pierson and the cityare doing. The city receives a substantialcut of the six-figure income the coursegenerates. Morley Field generates rev-enues from greens fees, disc, apparel

Resources for Disc Golf CourseDevelopers

To read about the latest disc golfinstallation trends: www.innovadiscs.com/coursedesign/index.htm

For general information or for addi-tional help on finding a qualifieddesigner in your area or determiningwhether someone has the necessaryskills for your project, visit the PDGAWeb site: www.pdga.com.

To learn more about the PDGA U.S.Mid-Nationals Disc Golf Champi-onships: www.midnationals.com.

For information about the sport,visit the Disc Golf Association:www.discgolfassoc.com.

Disc golf has become more popular since its initial conception in the 1970s.

PHO

TO C

OU

RTES

Y O

F TH

E PD

GA

JAN07PR PGS.rev 12/27/06 6:30 PM Page 36

P A R K S & R E C R E A T I O N J A N U A R Y 2 0 0 7 37

and snack sales plus disc rentals.Pierson says, “This year we plan on

moving and expanding our shop tonear hole 1 and turning our presentshop into a ‘19th hole’ snack shoprestaurant. This should allow us to dou-ble our current revenue stream over thenext several years and help generateeven more money for the cash-strappedcity. Making this section of the park themost beautiful enhances property val-ues of nearby homeowners and gener-ates more than $50,000 for the city cof-fers each year.”

If staff doesn’t want to deal withmerchandise sales, perhaps charging forgreens fees seems appropriate. One effi-cient way is to use an unattended honorkiosk with pay envelopes and a lock boxwhere random spot checks by a rangeror summer staff are all that’s needed.That’s worked well for Dane County’sVallarta-Ast Disc golf Course at TokenCreek near Madison, Wis. Permanentand seasonal staff manages five shelters,campgrounds, dog exercise area andseveral trails in addition to monitoringthe disc golf course.

County Parks Director Darren Marsh

pursuing excellence in course design.All members are dedicated to doing agood job and have knowledge of thesport.

Major Event HostingLest you think a large metro area is re-quired for major events, consider thatRock Hill, S.C., Peoria, Ill., and Augusta,Ga., were hosts of major events in 2006with past hosts including Rochester,N.Y. and Flagstaff, Ariz. In 2007, the ProWorld Championships will be held inthe small town of Highbridge, Wisc.,which has a population of 42.

So, is the timing right for park andrecreation departments to make somemoney on disc golf? Maybe. Is it timeyour park and recreation departmentlooked into some of these ideas? Per-haps. Talk to a park and recreationdepartment with a disc golf course—chances are, they think the facility is areal hole-in-one.

F O R M O R E I N F O R M A T I O N C I R C L E R E A D E R S E R V I C E N U M B E R 1 1

B

states, “The key to the success and pop-ularity of our pay course is having ahigh quality facility designed by profes-sionals that’s well maintained. We’reattracting golfers from all over the Mid-west. Our revenues cover all of ourmaintenance expenses and more, allow-ing for continued course improve-ments,” says Marsh. The county plans to expand the existing course by nineholes and add future courses.

Tournament CoursesIf the course is the right size, there’s anopportunity to gain revenue by hostingtournaments in addition to localleagues. While these events will likelygenerate more expenses for the parkand recreation budget, off-setting theseexpenses can be as simple as chargingfees to reserve the course, shelter or toi-let facilities. In many cases, loyal discgolf volunteers and clubs can help runthese events with little or no compensa-tion.

To find out if a course is capable ofhandling tournaments, park and recre-ation managers will need to consult aProfessional Disc Golf Association(PDGA) rating system to assess thequality. Current course ratings areavailable online at www.pdga.com/course/eval/index.php. The process isstill in its initial phase with only about100 courses evaluated.

While the primary intent for the rat-ings is to help players determine whichcourses they might want to play in theirlocal area or when traveling, the nextstep will be for these evaluations todetermine which courses are suitablefor hosting events at all levels, includingmajor championships. Convention andvisitors’ bureaus are actively pursuinglarge sporting events for their areas.

If a community is considering build-ing a course for tournament use, usinga qualified course designer will go along way toward achieving a safe andsuccessful course, a good evaluationand increasing the potential for hostinghigher level events. The Disc GolfCourse Designer (DGCD) group hasmore than 100 members dedicated to

PHO

TO C

OU

RTES

Y O

F TH

E PD

GA

The sport is fun for a variety of ages

and abilities.

JAN07PR PGS.rev 12/27/06 6:30 PM Page 37