Why Fremantle would love Frisbee Golf
Frisbee Golf,also know as Disc Golf, is a sport that combines the fun of throwing a Frisbee, with the joys and challenges of golf. It's played with similar rules to traditional golf, however instead hitting of balls, players throw Frisbees from a tee area in to an elevated metal basket.
A disc golf course offers a great way to engage the community in a healthy lifetime sport. Disc golf promotes the use of our parks and open spaces and can help to activate areas that may be under-utilised. The facility offers an ideal way to connect the community and help to bridge the gap between generations by catering for all skill and fitness levels. A disc golf course can help build communities through participation and instil a sense of pride by rewarding practice in a sport that offers a fun challenge and is inexpensive to play.
Disc golf is unique in that it doesn't require any special athletic ability from participants. People of all ages and skill levels can enjoy the activity just the same. Disc golf gives you the opportunity to socialise with others, experience the outdoors and stay healthy at the same time.
The past few years has seen huge growth in the sport, with more and more courses, clubs and people casually playing the sport all over the world. There are now over 6,000 courses, about 15 million regular players made up of an exceptionally wide and diverse demographic. Whilst some participants play regularly in competition, most people enjoy the disc golf casually - creating a fun way to enjoy a walk in the park with family and friends.
Other local community courses include:
Curtin University, Bentley*
Hall Park, Mandurah*
Mundaring Sporting Club, Mundaring
Cockman Park, Greenwood
The Maze, Bullsbrook
*(due to open in October 2015)
There are thousands of disc golf courses all over the world, most of which are free to play in public parks. All you need is to bring your disc and start playing! A typical course has 9 or 18 holes. Generally there is an information board with a map of the course and rules of how to play. A tee marker is used to show the player where to start and describes the details of each hole, including the hole number, par and distance to the target - a metal basket which the player must land the disc in to complete the hole.
The importance of health and wellbeing has never been more in focus. With obesity rates in children at an all-time high, the need for a channel of exercise in which the community can easily access has never been in more demand. Disc golf provides upper and lower body conditioning, aerobic exercise and mental stimulation. Concentration increases by mastering throws and negotiating the courses obstacles. The sport is perfect for players of limited fitness levels, as they can start slowly and gradually increase their level of play as their fitness improves. Depending on the size of the course, a round can take 1-2 hours to complete and accommodate over 50 players at once.
Disc golf courses don't take up space like traditional golf. There's no need to clear trees or make other changes, instead the challenge of disc golf comes from controlling the disc to manage the changes in elevation and navigate the trees, bushes and other natural features of the landscape. A disc golf course is designed to fit in with other activities in parks and open spaces. It's similar to other free-to-use recreational facilities found in parks, like gym equipment and children's playgrounds. The course can be played along side sporting fields, in schools and camps and are especially at home in the suburban parks which give good access to sport for the community.
Key insights on how a disc golf course can benefit communities:
- Activate underutilised space with a safe, self-directed activity.
- Diversify recreational opportunities with a unique sport.
- Increase participation rates with a facility that safely supports dozens of players at any given time.
- An economical solution to offering participants a unique recreational activity.
- Provides participants of all ages and abilities with an exciting and environmentally friendly way to experience the outdoors.
Key benefits of DiscGolfPark:
- Professionally designed facility to co-exist with other activities.
- Designed to minimize impact on the environment with no clear cutting of trees required.
- Safe, fun and challenging facilities created by experienced course designers.
- A turnkey design and installation solution with practically no maintenance.
- Durable equipment designed for all weather conditions.