FITNESS AUTHOR
Chad Dyer
THE SPORT THAT SOARS n There is much to learn about disc
golf, from flight characteristics to where to play. Fortunately, the sport is much of what you make it.
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isc golf has grown to be a popular sport to the point where communities are referring to today as the golden era of disc golf. The sport can be as simple as throwing a disc around with your friends or as complex as advanced physics and choreography and this range of complexity is why the sport has grown so much in popularity. In fact, the sport has seen over a 55% increase in new players in 2021. Whether you want something to do while walking your dog or a new hobby to invest time into, this young sport has something for you. Shannon Mullan, owner of Austin-based disc golf store Disc Nation and former disc golf professional, shares how she first got into disc golf. “When I first started, I had no idea what I was doing. I played for a year without being educated on
MAY 2022
disc golf because, either way, it’s fun,” Mullan says. “Once I educated myself about the discs and what they did, my love for the sport just took off.” Seventeen years later and Mullan still enjoys playing!
How to Play
Disc golf rules are similar to normal golf. The objective is to throw the disc into the basket in as few throws (strokes) as possible. You start by throwing your disc from a tee, and your next throw will be from where your disc landed. You will repeat this until you
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successfully make the disc in the basket. Each hole is graded in par, like golf, meaning if you’re on a par three, then you have three shots to get the disc in the basket before your shots start adding against your score. Make it in three, and your score doesn’t change; make it in under three, and your score lowers. The lower the score, the better!
Breaking the Bank
Disc golf can be a relatively cheap sport to get into. Technically speaking, you can play disc golf with a single disc, but many people
