Recreation

Disc Golf

Disc Golf at Elings Park

Free and fun, the Elings Park Disc Golf Course is designed to be family friendly and good for beginners.

The Elings Park Disc Golf course was built along existing trails not far from the park entrance, in an arroyo behind the BMX track and below the softball fields. Access to the first hole is from the softball field parking lot. The par-3 course is oriented to offer dramatic views of the Park, Hendry’s Beach, and Arroyo Burro Watershed.

Teeing off from the first hole of the Elings Park Disc Golf Course

Directions to the First Tee

From the softball fields parking lot: Follow the path at the far left of the parking lot, stay left towards the picnic tables. The first tee is to the left, overlooking the BMX track.

From Jerry Harwin Drive: Park along the stone wall or across the road. Wooden stairs located at the beginning of the stone wall lead to the first tee.

Keep Track of Your Score

Follow your own – and the course’s statistics – on www.UDisc.com.

Three players from Bishop Diego High School review the course (using an “invisible microphone”).

Teeing off from the first hole of the Elings Park Disc Golf Course.

Ian has a good putt.

All About Disc Golf

Disc golf is played by throwing specialized flying discs (commonly known by the brand name Frisbee) into a basket on an outdoor course.

Scoring

Disc golf is scored like traditional ball golf, with each throw equaling one stroke. Each hole has a par, which is the number of throws it should take to complete the hole. Any throws above par are counted as +1, and any below par are -1. Example: if a player takes four throws to complete a par 3 hole, their score is +1 (“plus one”). Most holes are par 3. The winner is the player with the lowest score.

Discs

Traditional Frisbees can be used in disc golf, but there are also specialized discs for different uses in disc golf. Discs for driving off the tee are typically flat with a wide rim, while putters tend to be deeper and stockier with thick rims. Discs also vary by weight, from 140 to 180 grams, and by the type of plastic used in manufacturing.

Throws

Players use a variety of different throws and grips depending on the hole, including backhand, overhand, forehand (also called sidearm), fan, stacked, thumber, and variations.

Baskets (“Holes”)

Disc golf baskets come in many shapes and sizes including permanent, portable, all-metal, and hybrid designs. They usually have a top ring (band) that holds chains that hang vertically down into the basket.

Disc Golf Slang

Learn insider phrases to sound like a disc golf pro!

“Hey Noodle Arm, do you really think you can pancake that stroke without being tree-jected?”

Throws

  • Grip and rip: used to indicate that the players should start throwing
  • Hole out: the final toss on a disc golf course, one that lands inside the basket
  • Butter: a difficult throw that someone makes look easy
  • Noodle arm: a disc golfer who can’t throw very far
  • Pancake: a throw that turns the disc upside-down mid-air
  • Tombstone, land shark: a disc that lands vertically in the ground rather than lying flat
  • Makin’ minis: a disc that comes to rest on top of another player’s disc

Obstacles

  • Guardian: tree, bush, or obstacle that makes it difficult to reach the basket
  • Kick: a disc’s change of direction after hitting a tree or other object
  • Getting skinny, nice thread: a shot that just squeezes by trees
  • Druid: someone who gets a kick from a tree which helps their throw
  • Tree love, Lorax love: a disc that hits a tree and stops or travels in a favorable direction
  • Tree-jected, tree-nied: a disc that hits a tree and stops or travels in an unfavorable direction

Putting

  • Circle: a 10-meter/32.8-foot perimeter around the basket where a disc must land before a player can putt
  • Blow through, chain out: a putt that flies right through the chains, but doesn’t hit them
  • Bounce out: a putt that strikes the center pole then bounces back out
  • Spit out, kick out: a putt that hits a lot of chains but doesn’t stay in the basket
  • Banger: a putt that hits the chains but stays in
  • Kobe!: what to say when someone makes an impossible putt

Thanks to:

  • Bob Bryant (of Bryant & Sons Jewelry), a longtime Elings Park supporter who proposed the idea of a disc golf course at Elings Park, and who funded the project with his wife Patty
  • Mike Evans and Noah Peresman, avid disc golfers who designed the course
  • Sage Trail Alliance, a Park partner for more than twenty years that built the course

Above: Disc Golf course sponsors Bob and Patty Bryant with Elings Park Executive Director Dean Noble.

Support the Park

Elings Park is not operated by the city or county. We depend on user fees and public donations to maintain and improve the park. You can help.

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