Disc Golf 101: What to Know and Where to Go 

Disc golf is an outdoor game similar to traditional golf where you throw your disc from a tee box to start your turn. The goal is to get your disc into the basket in the least number of attempts. In the end the player with the lowest total score wins. This is a great low impact, family friendly, social sport that gets you moving outdoors!

Gearing Up

Types of Discs

All discs aren’t weighed or measured the same, plus they may be made up of a different material. Beginners should consider using a lighter disc to get a feel of aiming and throwing. As you get more into disc golf it’s a good idea to have discs of different types with you for different situations, just as you would different clubs in golf. Here are a few different kinds of discs: 

  • Distance Driver: Has the potential to travel the furthest, includes a sharp nose, widest rim of all the discs, best for newer players, younger players and people with slower arm speed.
  • Fairway Driver: Has slightly smaller rims than the distance driver, better used to achieve a more straight or shorter drive, good choice for any player to use.
  • Midrange Disc: Has increasingly smaller rims than both drivers, has deeper made inner rims, has a more consistent straight flight pattern, best used when approaching the basket and navigating narrow fairways.
  • Putter: Has the thinnest rims with the deepest inner rims, shortest potential in distance traveled, travels in a very straight, slow spinning flight pattern. 
Trip Planning – Where to Go

Local Courses

  • Central Lakes College Disc Golf Course: In Brainerd right alongside of the Mississippi River and starts on the south side of Central Lakes College near the entrance. It’s a great course for beginners because it is very open with hole distances on the shorter side. The course features nine holes spanning around the college.
  • Lum Park Disc Golf Course: This course features a creek that flows into Rice Lake and cuts into some of the holes. It has relatively flat terrain, but it offers 18 holes of various skill levels making it a great park for all skill levels. 
  • Memorial Park Disc Golf Course: Located at Memorial Park in Brainerd, this course is unique that it technically has 9 holes but there are two pin positions per each hole making it an 18 hole course. One of the newest courses in town, it has a good mix of trees, flat ground, and a few twists making it a great course for any skill level. 
  • Breezy Point Park Disc Golf Courses (Monarch Trail & Agate Pass): Both of these 18-hole disc golf courses offer a challenge for all types of players and provide beautiful views. Players will be challenged by the heavily wooded landscape that offers a lot of elevation change through the rolling hills of maple and oak trees. Whether you’re an avid player or just want to enjoy the beautiful scenery, you may find this course to your liking. 
  • St. Mathias Disc Golf Course: This course has a mixture of rolling hills, flats and wooded areas. It features nine holes and nine baskets with an add-on of different sets of tee boxes for inexperienced and more experienced players. 
Where to Buy Equipment
  • Dick’s Sporting Goods
  • Dunham’s Sports
  • Fleet Farm
  • Play it Again Sports
  • Walmart

Disc golf is a wonderful way to embrace the outdoors, no matter your skill level. With proper gear, attention to weather conditions, and a little practice, you’ll be throwing hole-in-ones in no time.

Photos courtesy of Riley Nelson – Dying to Film.