Throw a Round
If your reaction is “disc what?” when you hear the phrase disc golf, then you are missing the newest sports craze. Disc Golf Emerges as the Fourth Largest Growing Sport in the U.S.
Photos: D. Paul Graham
Disc Golf Emerges as the Fourth Largest Growing Sport in the U.S.
If your reaction is “disc what?” when you hear the phrase disc golf, then you are missing the newest sports craze. Disc golf is what happened when a frisbee and the game of golf decided to get married, courtesy of inventor Ed “Steady” Headrick. It is currently listed as the fourth fastest growing sport in the United States.
In the early 1970s, Ed Headrick began work at “Wham-o” toys, working his way up to head of research and development. His job was to improve existing toys so that they would sell better and invent new games. The company had a project called a saucer that was not selling well, so Headrick stepped in and redesigned it, coming up with the frisbee.
Headrick went on to create disc golf, a hybrid of frisbee and regular golf, before he left the toy company to start his own business. In 1976 Headrick brought into existence the Professional Disc Golf Association (PDGA), and in 1977 trademarked the “Disc Hole Pole” as a standardized catching device that could handle a disc thrown from any direction. Today, there are over 7,000 disc golf courses installed throughout the world, and this unique game is enjoying a resurgence of popularity.
Headrick was so proud of his creation that he left instructions that his ashes should be incorporated into a limited number of discs to be given to family, with the remaining ones sold to support the 501c3 nonprofit to fund the “Steady” Ed Memorial Disc Golf Museum at the PDGA International Disc Golf Center in Columbia County, Georgia.
Today, disc golf is quickly becoming an amateur as well as professional phenomenon. Part of the reason for the resurgence in popularity is the need in a post COVID world to have a new sport that can be played outside. If you are ready for a new adventure by playing disc golf, then here are a few places you should visit!
Where to get gear + Play
Tybee Island, GA
TIMS Bikes, Beach Gear & Disc Golf
timsbeachgear.com
Jaycee Park Disc Golf Course
Pooler, GA
Dynamic Discs Savannah | @dynamicdiscssav
Tom Triplett Community Park | 912.965.9629
more at dgcoursereview.com
Ready to Play?
You’ll need at least three disc golf discs + a bag to carry them in water bottles, snacks, sunscreen and bug spray, more discs (for when you get your first three stuck in trees) disc retriever (and/or ball or other hard object to throw at discs in trees to knock them out) disc golf towels (for water perils and mud pits).
To read this story in its entirety, subscribe now to the print edition for the full article or get instant access to our interactive digital edition.
