Could disc golf fever sweep the UK?

Roughly four million people in the UK play golf. Go to any park on a summer’s day, and you will likely see frisbees gliding through the air. These activities might seem like chalk and cheese, but they have been combined to create a new sporting phenomenon: disc golf.

Photo by: Dan Brown

The rules of disc golf – also known as Frisbee golf – are much the same as regular golf. Instead of using a club to knock a little white ball into a hole, however, you are throwing a disc into a metal basket.

Where as regular golf uses a combination of sand traps and water hazards to provide obstacles, disc golf courses are usually located in woods. Just as getting stuck in a bunker can ruin your round of golf, seeing your disc ricochet off a seemingly unsurpassable wall of trees can prove to be rather frustrating.

However, seeing your disc arching beautifully, weaving between chestnut oaks to drop perfectly in the basket, provides a thrill every bit as satisfying as a chip in from 50 yards.

The sport’s governing body, the PDGA, actually dates back to 1975, but it is only since the turn of the millennium that disc golf has grown into a sport played across the globe. My first encounter came when I played with a group of friends in Queenstown Gardens, New Zealand, where The Remarkables mountain range provide a stunning backdrop as you work your way around the 18-hole course.

None of us had heard of disc golf before, let alone played it, but were soon engrossed in a competitive battle. Like golf, it takes five minutes to learn, but a lifetime to master; I scored an embarrassing 32 over par first time around. Undeterred, we ended up playing three rounds in as many days, seeing a gradual improvement along the way.

Upon my return to the UK, I enthusiastically investigated where I could go for a round. Unfortunately, the sport has yet to really take off on these shores, with none of the 40-odd courses in the country located in Lincolnshire.

The UK hasn’t yet fully embraced disc golf. However, there are signs that it is growing in popularity. A national governing body, the BDGA, has been created, and they run a series of tournaments across the country, including the British Open. While Lincolnshire is yet to have a course of its own, plans are ongoing for the first one to open in Lincoln’s South Common. Should the plans go ahead, it could be the start of a new craze in the county.

To find out more about disc golf, visit the BDGA website.