{"id":784448,"date":"2026-05-09T14:49:18","date_gmt":"2026-05-09T14:49:18","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/784448\/"},"modified":"2026-05-09T14:49:18","modified_gmt":"2026-05-09T14:49:18","slug":"hiking-with-a-purpose-how-one-sports-club-plans-to-lead-the-way-for-a-disc-golf-boom-in-nyc","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/784448\/","title":{"rendered":"Hiking with a purpose: How one sports club plans to lead the way for a disc golf boom in NYC"},"content":{"rendered":"

A man steps up to the tee at hole 6. He plants his front foot, rotates his hips and pulls the disc, a blue plastic saucer about half the size of a Frisbee, across his chest. He launches the disc through the air, weaving between trees before it gently glides downward. For a moment, everyone watches in awe. Suddenly, the disc strikes a tree and tumbles to the ground, just feet from the basket. \u201cAlmost an ace!\u201d one player shouts.<\/p>\n

Gathered at Highland Park between Brooklyn and Queens, these excited players enjoy a game of disc golf, a sport in which competitors aim to land a flying disc into a metal basket with as few throws as possible. The game is traditionally played individually, with professional courses featuring 18 holes that include elevated metal chain baskets and a lower basket tray to catch discs.<\/p>\n

The game was invented in Pasadena, California, in the 1970s by American toy inventor \u201cSteady\u201d Ed Headrick. Also the designer of the modern Frisbee, he earned his nickname by practicing target shooting with his friends and son, aiming at trees, trash cans and signs. These informal games led Headrick to found the Professional Disc Golf Association (PDGA) in 1976 and to develop the classic chain baskets in 1977.<\/p>\n

In the 1990s, disc golf legend Brad Keller designed, installed and paid for an 18-hole course on Randalls Island. However, despite his efforts, the course remained underutilized, prompting the New York City Parks Department to remove it after six years. Its baskets found a new home at FDR State Park\u2019s disc golf course.<\/p>\n

For decades, disc golf had no true presence in the city. This changed in 2024, when the New York City Disc Golf Association (NYCDGA) partnered with the Paul Macbeth Foundation. Together, they raised funds and donated a course to the NYC Parks Department through the Adopt-a-Park Program. Installed in just a day and a half, the Highland Park course celebrated its grand opening in June of that year, becoming the only permanent disc golf course in the five boroughs.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>A disc golf basket.Photo courtesy of NYCDGA<\/p>\n

But NYCDGA\u2019s impact extends far beyond installing a course. The group has transformed this obscure sport into a defender of the environment and a promoter of community.<\/p>\n

It all began when NYCDGA President and Co-Founder Alex Bender, originally from Colorado, realized the sport had little presence in New York City. While biking past Prospect Park in March 2023, he met Alex Hoyle, his future co-founder, who had been running a small weekly disc golf meetup called the Brooklyn Disc Golf Club since 2022. Meanwhile, Bender had been working with the NYC Parks Department and the Paul McBeth Foundation to expand the sport, leading the two to team up.<\/p>\n

In September 2023, NYCDGA officially became a nonprofit organization, paving the way for the Highland Park course just a few months later.\n<\/p>\n

Since its founding, NYCDGA has built a strong and growing community. Its work centers around three core pillars.\n<\/p>\n

On the recreational side, NYCDGA hosts disc golf events, leagues and tournaments at Highland Park, as well as pop-up events at other parks around the city.\n<\/p>\n

At weekly leagues, NYCDGA utilizes numbered keychains they call \u201cbag tags\u201d for friendly competition. These blue-and-green tags switch from player to player each week based on their performance, with each player competing to earn the first-place bag tag. Competitors in these weekly leagues are as young as 8, while some are in their sixties.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m playing with people who are half my age, if not younger, and that\u2019s a joy,\u201d member Michael Mena, 64, said. \u201cI wouldn\u2019t have had the opportunity to be involved on this level and have this interaction with a very diverse group of people, had I not discovered disc golf.\u201d<\/p>\n

As Mena suggests, the emphasis at most of these gatherings is more on growing their community and making the sport accessible to all people rather than the competition itself. This community aspect of the sport makes it easy for people of all ages and backgrounds to quickly start playing.<\/p>\n

\"disc<\/a>Disc golf is picking up in popularity in NYC.Photo courtesy of NYCDGA<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s a group of people who really care about engaging with the community around them and figuring out the ways they can have a positive impact,\u201d member Jack Hanlon said.<\/p>\n

That positive impact is seen through the association\u2019s hands-on involvement in caring for Highland Park itself. NYCDGA often organizes trash cleanups and invasive species removals with the NYC Parks Department.<\/p>\n

For many volunteers, environmental stewardship has become their own way of building community, especially since disc golf itself is heavily dependent on nature.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt has felt so natural,\u201d Board Director of Membership, Carlos Pena, said. \u201cI\u2019m getting to meet other neighbors, getting them involved, not just in disc golf, but in caring about their park.\u201d<\/p>\n

Disc golf\u2019s deep connection to nature is a major part of why so many people enjoy the sport. Many players have referred to it as \u201chiking with a purpose,\u201d or as Mena puts it, \u201ca sanity saver.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cNew York City, we\u2019re always around concrete. Getting out in the park is so awesome,\u201d member Jonathan Lee said.\n<\/p>\n

Not to mention the health and accessibility of the sport. A person can walk over three miles in just one round of disc golf, as well as get some light cardio from the throwing. It is also a sport where people can often visibly see their gradual improvement and get outdoors, resulting in better mental health.<\/p>\n

\"disc<\/a>Disc golf is picking up in popularity in NYC.Photo courtesy of NYCDGA<\/p>\n

Traditional \u201cball\u201d golf requires a large, manufactured course, whereas disc golf only requires three elements: a tee pad, a basket and signage. This difference makes it rather affordable to install courses on a wide range of environments\u2014from dense urban parks to mountains, beaches and forests.<\/p>\n

Additionally, no trees or bushes need to be removed, being one of the most environmentally-friendly sports, as oftentimes, these natural obstacles play a huge part in the disc golf challenge itself.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s truly a sport that\u2019s for the people,\u201d Bender said. \u201cWe\u2019re on a mission to introduce it to all kinds of people.\u201d\n<\/p>\n

Disc golf is a very simple sport to start playing; all you need is one cheap disc and a target. Once people become more interested in the sport, they begin collecting different types of discs, such as putters and drivers.<\/p>\n

For NYCDGA, the accessibility of the sport works perfectly with the organization\u2019s long-term goal: to have a course within 30 minutes of public transit for every New Yorker. Bender believes this goal is reachable, as there are over 11,000 disc golf courses in the U.S., according to UDisc<\/a> \u2013 more than the roughly 10,000 Dunkin\u2019 Donuts locations in the U.S.<\/p>\n

Bender believes that in 10 years, disc golf will have become a \u201chousehold name.\u201d\n<\/p>\n

One way to meet this goal is through NYCDGA\u2019s youth programming. The association partners with local schools, including P.S. 7 and Leaders High School, to introduce youth to disc golf. Through field trips to the Highland Park course, NYCDGA is able to provide children with discs and instruction to the game.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>Members of the the New York City Disc Golf Association (NYCDGA).<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s one of the fastest-growing games or sports internationally,\u201d Mena claims. \u201cThe key to sustaining this growth and really cementing its place is to introduce the game to young people.\u201d<\/p>\n

It is estimated that 3 new courses opened per day in 2025, according to UDisc, with over 17,000 courses worldwide. What\u2019s even more impressive is that the majority of these courses were installed in the last decade, almost tripling the number of courses since 2015.<\/p>\n

The sport first gained major attention in 2020 during the COVID-19 pandemic, as it offered a way for people to get outside and remain a safe distance from others. PDGA reported<\/a> a 33% membership increase from 2019 to 2020, while disc sales also doubled. Additionally, 11.4 million rounds of disc golf were played in 2020 as opposed to the 3.8 million in 2019, according to UDisc. Those numbers have only grown since, with a whopping 20.1 million rounds played in 2024.<\/p>\n

However, exposing the youth to disc golf isn\u2019t just about keeping up with the rapid growth of the sport, but it\u2019s about the present impact on the community.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s a sport where you can go out there and try something new,\u201d Nathan Munster, NYCDGA Executive Director, said. \u201cNYCDGA loves to see people coming out and enjoying the sport and the park. It\u2019s a place you can go and feel accepted.\u201d<\/p>\n

The player scoops up his disc from beside the tree and steps into position. He plants his front foot, rotates his hips and pulls the disc smoothly across his chest once more. This time, the disc drops cleanly into the basket. \u201cBirdie!\u201d everyone shouts as they rush in with cheers, crowding around him to celebrate and trade quick fist bumps with each other.<\/p>\n

NYCDGA will be hosting a beginner-focused event on June 13 at Governor\u2019s Island. The event, Fly Off Course Open, will allow people to play in doubles, and discs will be supplied. For more information about this event or NYCDGA, visit nycdga.org<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"A man steps up to the tee at hole 6. He plants his front foot, rotates his hips…\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":784449,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_share_on_mastodon":"0"},"categories":[5122],"tags":[5229,34622,405,403,5226,5225,5228,5227,320853,67,586,132,5230,68,2969],"class_list":["post-784448","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-new-york","tag-america","tag-disc-golf","tag-new-york","tag-new-york-city","tag-newyork","tag-newyorkcity","tag-ny","tag-nyc","tag-nycdga","tag-united-states","tag-united-states-of-america","tag-unitedstates","tag-unitedstatesofamerica","tag-us","tag-usa"],"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@us\/116545177856697893","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/784448","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=784448"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/784448\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/784449"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=784448"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=784448"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=784448"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}