How to play Disc Golf
Do you already have a disc and want to get started? Then you can either go to the nearest meadow and start a throwing training or you can look for a disc golf course close to you. Here we link to the course search of the disc golf app UDisc.
Don't forget to warm up a bit before your round (circle your arms, jumping jacks, ...). Perfect, you're ready to start with hole 1. Most Disc Golf courses have between 9 and 18 holes and a round takes around 1 to 3 hours. Allow a little more time at the beginning or feel free to stop your the round at any hole.
1. The Tee Off
Each hole begins with a throw from the tee pad, the starting point. At the moment of throwing you stand on the throwing surface and may only “step over” when the disc has left your hand. The player with the least throws on the previous hole always starts on the next hole.
2. Approach Throws
Every further throw you carry out from the place where your disc landed from your previous throw. Even if this is in a bush or behind a thick tree trunk. When throwing, your front foot stays just behind the disc (on an area about the size of an A4 sheet of paper).
3. Putting
When you're about 20m (60 feet) or less from the basket, most players will putt. This is a special throwing technique that is not designed for distance but for accuracy. If you're a newbie, just try to throw extra carefully so your disc doesn't fly too far over the basket if you miss. Otherwise every additional putt will be just as difficult.
If you are less than 10 m from the basket, be careful not to step over your disc after the throw. Always throw and then stand still for a moment. After that you can follow the disc and, if successful, take it out of the basket. The hole is completed when the disc is in the basket or hanging in the chains.
Congratulations, you have successfully played your first hole of Disc Golf! There should be a small arrow installed directly on the basket that shows you the way to the next hole. We hope you've enjoyed your first round and don't worry, you will make great progress the more you play.
Scoring
There will probably come a time when you would like to count your throws in order to compare yourself with your previous performance or your teammates. We can recommend the following two apps.
UDisc and Disc Golf Metrix.
Both apps have a huge selection of Disc Golf courses and after a free registration (that paid pro subscription is optional) you can get started straight away and record your throws for each hole.
The Par value indicates how many throws are required on average on the hole. Par 3 means that your disc should drop in the basket on your third throw. If you are one throw better, than this is called a Birdie and if you need more throws, you score a Bogey (+1), Double Bogey (+2), and so on...
At the end of the entire round you have a total score with the number of throws overall and the deviation from the course par.