DISK GOLF
By: Joey Adelizzi
WHAT IS IT?
Disc golf is a flying disc game in which individual players throw a flying disc
at a target.
OBJECT
The object of the game is to traverse a course from beginning to end
in the fewest number of throws of the disc.
POPULARITY
The number of disc golf courses has more than doubled in 8 years from 2000
to 2008.
The game is played in about 40 countries around the world primarily in North
America, Central and Western Europe, Japan, New Zealand and Australia.
HISTORY
The early history of disc golf is closely tied to the history of the recreational
flying disc (Frisbee) and may have been invented in the early 1900s.
Modern disc golf started in the early 1960s, when it seems to have been
invented in many places and by many people independently
INVENTORS
"Steady Ed" Headrick, introduced the first formal disc golf target with chains
and a basket.
Headrick formed the first disc golf association, the PDGA, which now
officiates the standard rules of play for the sport.
Headrick, who is now regarded as the "Father of Disc Golf",designed and
installed the first standardized target course in what was then known as Oak
Grove Park in La Cañada Flintridge, California.
Headrick coined and trademarked the term "Disc Golf" when formalizing the
sport
UP-RISE
The true pioneer of the sport of Frisbee Golf is Kevin Donnelly,
who, until 2011, was unknown for his accomplishment.
Kevin began playing a form of Frisbee golf in 1959 called Street
Frisbee Golf.
In 1961 he began organizing Frisbee golf tournaments at nine of
the city's playgrounds he supervised.
His highly publicized tournaments included hula hoops as holes,
with published rules, hole lengths, pars, and penalties
Kevin, then the Coordinator of the Parks and Recreation Section
at Fresno State College, California, organized and then taught the
first ever college level Frisbee Golf activity course.
DISK TYPES
The golf discs used today are much smaller and heavier than traditional flying
discs, typically about 8 or 9 inches (20 or 23 cm) in diameter and weighing
between 90 and 180 grams.
The PDGA prohibits any disc to be heavier than 200 grams.
Discs used for disc golf are designed and shaped for control, speed, and
accuracy, while general-purpose flying discs, such as those used for playing
guts or ultimate, have a more traditional shape, similar to a catch disc.
There is a wide variety of discs used in disc golf and they are generally divided
into three categories: putters, all-purpose mid-range discs, and drivers.
THROW STYLES
While there are many different grips and styles to throwing the disc, there are
two basic throwing techniques, backhand and forehand (or sidearm).
These two techniques are extremely different, and are very much a player's
preference to perform.
It is highly recommended that players gain competence in both types of
throws because each is highly effective in different circumstances.
All discs when thrown will naturally fall to a certain direction, this direction is
termed Hyzer, the natural fall of the disc, or Anhyzer, making the disc fall
against its natural flight pattern. For a right-handed, back-hand thrower
(RHBH), the disc will naturally fall to the left. For a right-handed fore-hand
thrower (RHFH), the disc will naturally fall to the right. For a left-handed,
back-hand thrower (LHBH), the disc will naturally fall to the right. For a lefthanded, fore-hand thrower (LHFH), the disc will naturally fall to the left.
TARGETS
The first incarnation of targets were known as tonal poles because of
the sound they made when hit.
These consisted of a metal pipe placed on a smaller pipe that when
struck with the disc made a gong type sound, while these were much
more accurate than a tree, arguments and disagreements led to the
invention of the Disc Pole Hole by Ed Headrick in 1975.
The basket (as it is now known in most circles) is the standard for disc
golf courses.