About Disc Golf

I have had several people ask me "What is Disc Golf and how is it played?" So I thought I would write a blog entry about it. Basically, Disc Golf is played the same was as regular golf except you throw a disc (much like a frisbee) rather than hitting a ball with a club. (Note disc golfers call old fashioned golf: “ball golf”) The game is played on a course with a number of holes. On each hole you start in a tee area (generally a cement pad) and try to reach the hole in the fewest throws. In disc golf, the hole is actually a basket (see picture below). To complete the hole, your disc needs to land in the basket. There are chains draped above the basket. Generally, if you can hit the chains with your disc, it will drop into the basket. Although sometimes, the disc will bounce out after hitting the chains.



There are several different styles of throwing the disc. The standard style is the backhand, much like you would throw a frisbee. If you can throw the disc straight (which not all of us can), it will generally go straight until it slows down and is about to land. At that point, it usually curves sharply to the left (if you are a right hander). You can also throw forearm and overhand. Forearm throws usually do not go as far, but break to the right at the very end. This can be very handy on some holes. Overhand throws are usually used when you want to get the disc over some obstacle. There are also a variety of grips that you can use, but I don't know much about the grips so I won't talk about them now. There are also a variety of different techniques for putting, but that is another area that I have not investigated yet, so I can't say anything about it.


You can also throw a “roller”. This throw only goes about one half as far, however it lands on its side and starts to roll. This can be especially effective on downhill slopes. It often will roll farther than a standard throw. I have only seen one person who actually tries to make this throw. He seemed to have pretty good control over where it would roll and it would roll a long ways. Several times my throws have accidentally started rolling. Unfortunately, they generally do not roll in the direction I want and they will roll a long ways. It is not pretty sight. Sigh


There are a variety of different discs available for different shots. A really good golfer will be carrying 15 to 20 discs as they play a round of disc golf. There are long distance drivers, fairway drivers, mid-range discs, approach discs and putters. Furthermore, there are variants of the above types of discs that are designed to cut sharply to the right at the end or sharply to the left or mostly straight. I don't think there are any discs that go completely straight, but there are some that are pretty close. All of the discs that I have seen are about 2/3s the size of the standard frisbee. The long distance discs are very light (maybe 150-160 grams). These discs will go the farthest, but are the hardest to control. For me, they often end up off in the woods somewhere. On the other hand, putters are the heaviest, probably about the same weight as a standard frisbee. They are also made of a relatively soft material. Putters don't go far, but are accurate and designed to fall softly into the basket rather than to bounce off.

Most of the discs that I see are made by Innova. Below is an example of a very nice long distance driver from Innova: