Congratulations on your interest in Disc Golf. You may have found this page from one of our Play it Forward discs (lucky you) or maybe you were searching to learn more about disc golf. Either way we hope you find what you are looking for and are soon sharing our passion for Disc Golf.
What is Disc Golf?
Disc Golf is golf played with a frisbee (known as a disc). Players throw from a tee area and try to land it in the chain basket in the least number of throws. Disc Golf courses are usually 9 or 18 holes and will often have trees and other obstacles to avoid.
Why play Disc Golf
There are numerous benefits to playing disc golf. Here are some of the key ones:
- It is a low impact, physically active sport.
- It gets you out in nature, exploring green spaces.
- It is suitable for all ages, making it an excellent family activity and lifetime sport.
- It can be played on your own or in a group providing social interaction.
- It can be played casually or in tournaments with different divisions based on ability.
- Most courses are free to the public and discs are inexpensive.
For some more information about why to consider Disc Golf have a look here.
Where to play
There are over 100 disc golf courses spread all over Australia. Find a list of courses here or search the map.
Most courses have a club associated with them. For a list of clubs in Australia see here.
What you need to play
All you need is a disc. While you can use any old disc to play you will find that a proper golf disc flies more reliably and is easier to control. There are different discs for distance, approach and putting and even curving certain ways to get around obstacles. But to start out all you need is 1 disc.
Your first throw with a golf disc may not come out very well. It can take practice to get them to fly straight and to understand how to get the flight path you want. But give it a chance and work on your technique then distance will follow. A great idea to start with is to go to a local oval or park and just throw the disc to see what it does.
If you want to buy discs, there are lots of online disc stores located in Australia. Starter discs cost around $25 or there are often discounted starter sets with a putter, midrange and driver. Many local clubs will also sell discs or loan them if you just want to give it a try.
How to play
The first thing to do is learn to throw. Most people find they either like throwing backhands or forehands. Putting is the other type of throw to learn and that is used when close to the basket. There are loads of videos out there to demonstrate these throws.
Once you have thrown a few times you will be ready to play a round.
- Check: Never throw when there is a risk of hitting someone. Always check that the possible flight paths are clear and wait until it is safe to throw.
- Plan: Plan your shot to the basket avoiding trees, water hazards and other obstacles.
- Throw: Take your first throw from the tee area towards the basket. Watch while the rest of your group tees off. Take your next throw from where the disc landed. The player whose disc is furthest from the basket goes first.
- Count: Continue taking throws until your disc lands in the basket. If you want to keep score count how many throws you took to finish the hole.
How to get started
The best place to start is to look up your local club. Most clubs run monthly league days which are suitable for beginners and offer a great way to meet other players. If you can’t find a club or course near you then please get in contact with us and we can help you find someone in your state to help. Maybe there is a park near you that is perfect for a course!
Play It Forward
The Play It Forward program is about getting discs to new players. If you have a Play It Forward disc please use it for as long as you like. Then when you move on to other discs or decide you are done you can pass it on to someone else to give it a go. We are so excited about this program and can’t wait to see where the discs end up. Please share your experience with us through the contact us link or on our social media.
The Discs we are using for this program come from our good friends in New Zealand, RPM Discs. They are a midrange called a Tui and are a great utility disc to get you started.
