Lifetime Activities P.E.
Miss Wagner
Disc Golf Study Guide
History
The early history of disc golf is closely tied to the history of the recreational flying disc (especially as
popularized by the trademarked Frisbee) and may have been invented in the early 1900s.The first known
instance of anyone playing golf with a flying disc occurred Canada in 1926 by Ronald when he played a
game throwing tin plates at targets such as trees and fence posts. They called the game Tin Lid Golf.
Modern disc golf started in the early 1960s, when it seems to have been invented in many places and by
many people independently. Students at Rice University in Texas, for example, held tournaments with
trees as targets as early as 1963, and in the early 1960s players in Georgia would toss Frisbees in 50gallon barrel trash cans designated as targets.
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 formulated and began organizing Frisbee golf
tournaments at playgrounds. This culminated in 1965 with a fully
documented, Wham-O sponsored, city-wide Frisbee Golf
tournament. This highly publicized tournament included hula
hoops as holes, with published rules, hole lengths, pars, and
penalties, Wham-O prizes and, an event in which Fred Morrison,
the Frisbee inventor, was in attendance.
In 1967, two years after conducting the first-ever organized Frisbee Golf Tournament, Kevin, organized
and then taught the first ever college level Frisbee Golf activity course.
Two of the best-known figures in the sport are "Steady Ed" Headrick, who introduced the first formal disc
golf target with chains and a basket, and formed the first disc golf association, the PDGA in 1975. The
PDGA now officiates the standard rules of play in the sport.
The other best – known figure, Dave Dunipace, invented the modern golf disc in 1983, and was one of the
founders of Innova, a major producer of disc golf sets.
The sport has grown at a rate of 12-15 percent annually for more than the past decade, with nearly 3000
courses in the US and more than 4000 globally. The game is now played in more than 40 countries
worldwide, primarily in North America, Central and Western Europe, Japan, South Korea, New Zealand
and Australia.
Terminology
Ace – a hole in one.
Drive – any throw off of the tee pad, or a throw from the fairway designed for maximum distance.
Lie – the spot where the disc comes to rest.
Pole hole or basket – the target for catching the disc.
Tee Pad – the location or designated area where the first throw of the hole is supposed to take place from.
Throw – The act of advancing the disc towards the basket. Each throw is counted towards the player’s
score.
Rules of Disc Golf





Each hole begins from the tee pad.
Your lie is the spot where your previous throw landed and is marked by turning over your disc.
You must throw from behind your lie.
A hole is completed when your disc comes to rest inside the basket or target.
Doubles disc golf: both partners throw a disc, but the next throw occurs from the closest lie.
Scoring



One stroke is counted each time a disc is thrown.
Typical par for an 18-hole course is 54. Par on each hole is 3.
The object of disc golf is to acquire the lowest score.
Term
Albatross (Double Eagle)
Definition
Completing a hole or course three throws under par.
Course Score
51
Eagle (Double Birdie)
Completing a hole or course two throws under par.
52
Birdie
Completing a hole or course one throw under par.
53
Par
(par for every course)
Bogey
Desired number of throws a player needs to
complete the hole. (Each hole has par of 3)
Completing a hole or course one throw over par.
Double Bogey
Completing a hole or course two throws over par.
56
54
55