Photo Credit: Courtesy of Bob Carver
The sport of disc golf is growing exponentially in America, according to the Professional Disc Golf Association (PDGA). The 2017 statistics show a membership of over 41,000 players in the U.S., with more than 6,000 courses. In 2018, the PDGA Worlds Amateur Championship was held in North Carolina, spotlighting the U.S.’s best in amateur disc golf. The Worlds Professional Championship was held in Vermont with all the pros in tight competition. Each year, thousands of tournaments and events are held on local disc-golf courses. Most courses regularly have a large number of individual players along with leagues and group events.
The need is great for new courses to be built, but often there is a lack of funding. The cost of a good disc-golf course can be less than $15,000—much less than a small playground unit. This article provides real-life case studies and the options used to fund the courses. Some courses are stand-alone, while others can be combined for maximum impact.
Funding From General Operating Expenses
New Whiteland, Ind., has a population of more than 6,000 people, while a neighboring city—Whiteland—has a population of more than 4,000 for a combined total that exceeds 10,000. These smaller communities had a need for a disc-golf course, so the decision was made to combine two small parks and spread the course over both. East Park contains holes 1 through 9, while West Park has holes 10 through 17, with the final hole in East Park. The decision was made to fund the course through the normal operating funds of each city and parks department. In this case, the bulk of the labor was performed by parks and city staff.