5 reasons Disc Golf will overtake Ball Golf in 5 years

The first thing someone is going to respond to this post is this: Why are you calling it Ball Golf? For me, disc golf has always held a stronger allure than ball golf. When I ask my friends if they want to golf, they know I am referring to disc golf. So for me and my friends I have to designate regular "Golf" as "Ball Golf", so please forgive me ball golf enthusiasts for having a different preference. However, if me referring to golf as "ball golf" got you mad, then you may want to quit reading now as the rest of this post is about why I think ball golf is going to be supplanted by disc golf within 5 years as the most popular version of the stroke counting games.

So, lets get to the 5 reasons disc golf will supplant ball golf.

Disc golf costs less than ball golf.

Most people could likely guess that disc golf costs less than ball golf. However lets look at rough numbers. To start to play disc golf in most places where there are courses it costs no more than a set of 3 discs, just under 25$ For that 25 bucks you get access to 90% of the basic shots disc golfers will throw. Compare that to golf where if you buy the minimum driver, iron, and putter, you will shell out at least 100$. This doesn't even bring into play the golf bags you must buy, and the expense of greens fees. Now, all this said, a disc golfer can spend upwards of 800$ for a premium setup and premium plastic discs, however with many free to play disc golf courses and lack of repeated costs, disc golf far and away is more accessible for people just learning to play.

Disc Golf Courses are easier to maintain.

Ball golf courses around the United States are shutting down for many reasons, one of the big ones is that the amount of new players is going down while the costs of maintaining the grounds of the course are rising making it economically unappealing to own and operate a golf course. A disc golf course does not need to be super manicured, in fact, most disc golf courses once started need maintenance about 3-5 times a year mostly contained to cutting back brush and removing fallen trees within the playable course. Many times a group of volunteers with a few power tools can complete the course maintenance. With the cost of maintenance being relatively low, public parks are starting to adopt disc golf into their lands and the result is more options and courses to choose from. Where I live I can visit 25 amazing completely different course within an hour drive. Couple that with the low cost (The highest cost to play is 15$, with over half being free to play) and you can see why disc golf is becoming so popular.

Disc Golf has more variety of shots

Golf has multiple types of shots available to a player, disc golf has more. A good disc golf player can throw a much wider variety of shots than a golf player can hit with a club. A player can do so much more with a Frisbee than they can do striking a ball! Back hand, forehand, barrel rolls, rollers, hammers, thumbers just to name a few. You can just do so much more with a disc.

Space considerations

Ball golf takes up A LOT of space. A quick google search tells me that minimal acreage to house a ball golf course is about 120 acres for a small course, compare that to about 15 acres for a small disc golf course. Due to the lesser distance inherent to disc golf (a big throw in disc golf is about 150 meters compared to golf which is about double that) and the amount of control players have over the flight of their discs, disc golf can be played in a very wooded setting. The same cannot be said for ball golf where the players need wider fairways and a lot more vertical space to make a playable hole. This makes the game accessible to many different environments with minimal investment in design and creation of a course.

Disc Golf is a more accepting atmosphere

Disc golf is truly for all. Due to the less expensive nature of disc golf, it has attracted a wider range of players than golf has. While ball golf has been the territory of a more affluent clientele, disc golf prides itself in being an every man's sport. The course where I grew up and played at was a safe haven for people that wanted to hang out with friends, have a few drinks, and maybe throw a disc a little bit. That same type of loitering is not as accepted at ball golf clubs unless hanging around the lounge, and if you are doing that you better be spending some money! I have met a lot of very different types of people in my years of playing disc golf.

Side note: Unfortunately, this level of acceptance can be considered both a gift and a curse to disc golf as it has earned a reputation of having a drug culture. That is a topic for another day.

I know there will be some people that disagree, I know there are some people that have no clue what disc golf is. I would love to hear about that if that is you! Let us know how you feel!