“Disc golf lets me forget that anything else matters. It’s all about being outside in beautiful surroundings and enjoying the complexities of the game.” ~Steve Logan
In July of this year, I was introduced to the game of Disc Golf. And it’s absolutely amazing! As soon as I finished the first game with my fiance and our couple best friends, I knew that this was something that I wanted to get into.
What makes disc golf so good? There are so many different things! For myself at least, it comes down to ~3 main things. It’s simple, it’s cheap, and it’s outside. With all those factors in mind, it makes it such a fun activity when you’ve got some extra time. Let me go ahead and dive into each of those and expound on them a bit more.
It’s simple! The game of disc golf is actually quite simple to play. First off, you get some discs. These can be picked up anywhere, but in my experience Play it Again Sports tends to be one of the places that’s a chain, that consistently has a supply of discs. Once you grab a couple discs, you can just go down to your local disc golf course and play! It really is as simple as that. To play, all you have to do is go to the tee pad, and throw towards the basket. And once you throw, you go to it, and throw again. The process of playing is advanced enough, to where when you go to throw you may have to think about how you’re going to throw your disc, but it’s calm enough to where you can just enjoy the outdoors, and take it all in.
My Fiance putting into the basket on a hole.
Disc golf, on average, is fairly cheap in terms of playing. Unlike normal golf, it is fairly common to find courses completely free, as compared to golf courses where you may have to pay for a membership to play at 1 course! They also make starter bundles of discs for cheaper, allowing players that are playing for the first time to get the essential discs, that they can then replace later down the line. Play it Again Sports is also a good place if a new player is hoping for nicer discs. They have pre-owned discs, as well as receiving shipments at times of other discs. All together, my 3 discs that I bought at the beginning (in July) I still use, 6 months later. They’re robust, easy to carry, and not going anywhere. And even when I wanted to “treat myself” for doing well on my budget and get a new one, it was only ~$15.00. If you’re looking for something to be able to do on a budget, I highly recommend Disc Golf.
The last major part of why I love Disc Golf, is that it’s outside. I’ve always loved to camp (which watch out for after the 18th, going to be releasing a post on a fun trip), but you just can’t go camp every day. And hiking is fun, but my mind can sometimes wander, or get bored at times. That’s why I love to play Disc Golf. I get to go out for however long I want, and walk around in beautifully wooded parks while I throw my discs, and just enjoy the great outdoors. And it’s something that you can enjoy with someone else as well. It’s fun to do alone, with your significant other, or with your friends!
Ok, so maybe I’ve convinced you now that you need to try disc golf? If so, here’s a “checklist” to help you get started.
- Download the Udisc app and look for a course (Android) (Apple). Udisc is an app that allows you to create scorecards, and locate disc golf courses nearest you. It can also show the condition of them, and reviews by multiple people. Make sure that there’s one near you, so you can be able to play!
- Go get some discs! Having discs are necessary for the game. If you want to, you can take some time to learn the 4 digit disc flight scoring system that describes how discs fly, but I did fine with just picking 3 random ones, one from each section. The 3 sections are “Drivers”, “Midranges”, and “Putters”. As long as you have 1 of each, you can’t go wrong at the beginning. If you would perfer to find something a bit cheaper, just to start out and figure out if you like it, you can also find cheap beginner sets either online, or at sporting goods stores like Academy Sports or Dicks.
- Go play! Now that you have discs and a course, you should go play! Feel free to only do 9 at the beginning, as that’s initially what I would do, since I began with 4 players. Play time will depend on how many people you have, but if you have 4 people going 1 at a time, it should take ~1.5 - 2 hours on average. For a single person, it should only take 30 minutes to 1 hour on a empty course for 18 holes.
I hope you enjoy playing disc golf! It truly is an amazingly fun sport. If you’re not quite sold yet on disc golf, I would recommend watching the Latitude 64 YouTube Channel. It’s hosted by a beginner disc golfer, and he is both funny and informational.
Thank you for reading! I’ll probably start at some point going over different courses, but for now I just wanted to share my love for disc golf, and hopefully interest you in it! If you’re ever in Nashville and want to play, don’t hesitate to send me a e-mail and we can find a time to play! Happy discing!