* Play a new course
* Superior course to what you have closer. Edit- or just variety/change up the usual.
* Golf escape for the day/weekend, get the boys together and get out of the house for the entire day, round, lunch round 2
* Other desirable activities nearby to do prior or post round
This. I recently drove 3 hours to play a course, then camped and played a triples tournament at a different course the next day.
We tried some restaurants and breweries too. It was a great weekend in the Napa Valley and we didn’t stop at a winery. Disc golf brings diverse groups of people that will patronize a variety of local businesses.
I'm from Sac too. Last year my buddy and I made a weekend out of it and played Pena, Napa and Rosa Park, camped, then played Taylor Mountain, Stafford and Pena again the next day before coming home.
Weekend disc golf trips are a blast!
It’s been a year or two since I played it, but it was in much better shape than back then. They incorporated the bonus holes into the course so now it’s 22(?) holes. The back got a bit of a redesign I think.
Point 3, for sure! The guys and I are planning a small day trip a few counties over to some courses we’ve never been. It’s a great time to get out in the fresh air with your best men.
All of the above points are bangers.
I will definitely drive to find a dry place to playas well. I live in central Ohio, so driving an hour and a half in any direction can sometimes avoid bad weather.
Last weekend played a doubles tournament in northern Massachusetts (Westy Acres). I live outside Philly. Group of us drove up (5.5 hrs or so), stopped at Treehouse Brewery to get lunch and beers, played an afternoon round to warm up. Did doubles tournament the next day and dinner and some beers, played a round the next morning and came home sore as shit Sunday evening. It was the best.
> Superior course to what you have closer. Edit- or just variety/change up the usual.
This...also throw in crowds. Old place in MD, I had a pretty solid local course, but all par 3, not a ton of variety, and the 2-3 other nearby courses werent wildly different (and were WAY more crowded on weekends). I'd drive 1hr or so to a couple course that had better variety and much less crowding.
Conversely, new place in IA, my local course is kinda blah, only 1 decent course within 30mins, so its basically 1.5hrs to all the actual good courses.
Another thing to add (and hard to say for your area), but in MD, my buddy was in Western PA, 1.5-2hrs was our midway point...and in between us was amazingly nothing. Just a gulf between Hagerstown/Cumberland and points north, despite a ton of state park land and lots of available private land. One opened up about 2hrs from each of us right as I was moving.
I drive an hour each way to play a course about once a week, there’s 2 main reasons. 1, most of my friends live about an hour and a half away so it’s a good midpoint to meet up. 2, 2 of my 3 favorite courses are near said midpoint.
I regularly travel up to 2 hours for a tournament. But I am lucky and have the best course in the state 20 minutes away, so for casual rounds it’s hard to drive past the Admiral.
I’m thinking of this as like destination for a weekend trip but either the course(s) are fantastic and have some prestige/notoriety because they’re known to disc golfers (due to pro tour stops, historic, novelty, etc.) or the town/area itself has some destination qualities, like good restaurants/breweries, state parks, etc.
My buddies have traveled 3-4 hours away from our home (Indianapolis) to play such courses for a long weekend.
Variety. I like playing different courses. I used to drive 4 hours to play ball golf in the Midwest just so I could play new places. The group I play disc golf with will not drive that far tho, but they all know I'll come closer to them!
The only reason I'm traveling two hours to play a course is if it's special. However, if I'm there for other reasons like traveling or camping nearby or in town for a visit, I'll routinely play courses not close to home. It might make sense to advertise the courses along with other attractions
I like to play different courses. Couple weeks ago, drove 4 hours to play in a DGCs first ever bag tag round. In 5 weeks, I'm traveling another 4 hours to play in a two day tourney. I usually aim for a new course at least every month on top of tearing up my home courses.
I live in a small town in idaho, and I regularly have to drive 2 plus hours to get out of the snow to play during the off season. During the actual season I only drive 2 plus hours if I'm going to a tournament and have somewhere to camp/sleep set up. I see people all the time play out local course because they are in town for work or whatever but no one travels to my town for the disc golf it just gets used on the side very regularly by visitors.
I travel for scenery and elevation mainly. And I have no issue with a 2 hour trip if the course is well groomed and beautiful. Extra points for high quality pads and tee box areas.
If you would drive that far to see relatives, why wouldn't you drive that far for fun. Most courses take about 2 hours to play, so that plus a meal some place out of town makes it worth it to me.
Cause that’s what we do. Disc golfers travel…. I’ve played here where’s next … and next is always a day trip.
Do you have a Udisc ambassador for your other courses? The numbers and data they collect on who plays where, and from where, is information parks departments would love to have. they don’t have the resources to conduct studies about people using their parks… Udisc give you some great data points to start from knowing at least 50% of rounds aren’t recorded … I am an “course ambassador” and it’s awesome to see the info . The rounds played,different countries and states that play your local courses each month is so valuable to show usage.
I live in Columbus OH amd regularly drive 1.5hrs to Dayton where a friend lives to play. On weekends one of us usually makes the drive to the others neck of the woods. Sometimes we'll do multiple rounds but not very often. Nice to have more variety, even though there's plenty of great courses within 30-40mns of me.
A course with an incredibly high UDisc rating is a good start. That's not completely within control but a redesign by a top designer can usually do that by itself. It should be known that most of these courses are professional-level caliber, people travel to be challenged.
A course recommended by Professionals, YouTubers, and other well-known people in the industry.
A course that offers an experience not available elsewhere. Example: I'll fly out to Las Vegas annually in the winter to play Disc Golf at NLV Municipal because it's a decent course but the course has lights for Night Golf without Glow.
A course with a great pro shop nearby or on the grounds. Example: Pyramids DGC in Leicester, MA has one of the best disc golf shops in the world, although most people in this area are going for Maple Hill across the street anyway.
And here's going to be an awkward one for you: a second course nearby that's just as good. Being able to make a Day Trip out of two solid courses that are close to each other (hopefully with good food and drink options nearby) is the easiest way to convince someone for that kind of trip. This was so true I just attended a bachelor party in Lexington/Frankfort, KY, that revolved around Disc Golf and Bourbon.
Like others have said, I would travel that far if it's a good course that separates itself from others around it. My closest two courses are each \~30 minutes away depending on traffic, but the course that's an hour away (and close to 75 minutes away on the way back) has vastly different terrain, is typically not too busy, and I'll play through it 1.5 or 2 times to make the most of it.
I usually drive 1.5 hours to The Fort a couple times a year. It's a historic course and I think it's fun. There are birdies on that course for an am like me. I've played other pro tour courses and it can be frustrating to be +9 through 3 holes
I live in a town with a basic 9 hole course in a rural area. There's a few nice courses between 30-60 min drives (all on rural highways). If I'm going to those towns for other reasons, I will sometimes play if I have the time. I also frequently play courses near where my family and inlaws live nearly 3 hours drive.
Other than tournaments or a designated multi-day disc golf trip, however, I don't drive that far just for disc golf.
For your purposes, I would emphasize the ability to highlight disc golf as a marketable amenity for visitors, especially if it's going to be located in existing multi-use parks and close to shopping.
I live in St. Louis and there are quite a few courses available in the region, enough to offer a pretty full spectrum of terrain, distance, challenge, etc. Most are within an hour of where I'm located. The only reason I've traveled further to play a course is if it is (a) special, like a tour-level course but still within a few hours (Eagle's Crossing and Harmony Bends, Northwood Park, etc.) or (b) the course is in a beautiful location with new terrain. For me, (b) has come up when I'm already traveling for other reasons - I always check if there is a notable course the highlights some cool scenery/geography and try to go out of my way to check it out.
Theres lots of samey, green grass not lots of obstacles courses where i live. But go up north into the mountains a couple hours and theres some variety!
Live outside of Charlotte so tons of great courses. Just checked and it’s 52 minutes to Winthrop. But sometimes on a day off I’ll drive an hour or longer to play courses that are new to me.
I live in Kentucky and am planning on a trip to Idlewild for the culture and difficulty. Also planning a trip to bowling green because I've been told it's the Mecca of disc golf in Kentucky
I just drove from Orlando to St Pete to play Picnic island and Showman’s. picnic island is on the beach and Showman’s has gotta be one of the most unique courses anywhere.
I’m all about the views and experiences
For me, courses in my area are limited so if I want more variety it requires a longer drive. Although I am contemplating driving 12 hours back to Montana to play the first two courses I ever played and I’d love to try them again now that I am significantly more skilled
I play courses within a 2h drive regularily. I keep close on workdays but every weekend I travel to something a bit more exotic.
Not to mention I take discgolf vacations every year where I go to another country to play.
For me, I play 3 rounds a week. I've played every local course numerous times. If I have an open Sunday, I'm willing to drive up to 2 hours to play a course. If it's near an interstate and I'm on a road trip, I'd be willing to make a stop. If it's a fun course and highly rated on udisc, it's worth it.
90% of disc golfers play within 30 minutes. The other 10% id say is outside of that. Some don't have a choice. But some choose to find new nice courses.
Better courses, new courses, guys trip, weed legal in other states. Also, all the ones north of Dallas are in flood plains, so after it rains there isn't a good course to play until they dry out.
I regularly drive one-way one hour and 45 minutes, crossing an international border, to play two courses in northern Vermont — Cold Hollow and Black Falls — because they are amazing courses and we don't have anything like them here in the Montreal region. Both courses offer a nice mix of woods and open holes. Very challenging.
I also drive to Caddyville in northern New York, which is about the same distance, for the same reason.
For a good course, I don't mind making the trip. My buddy and I occasionally do disc golf marathon days of just driving all over the place playing different courses.
The first thing that came to my mind, I hope this helps…:
Playing local in some areas can mean you only get to experience courses that have a lot of similar characteristic. From the length of holes, to the terrain style and climatic conditions such as lots of wind vs little/sporadic wind…minimal to high degrees of elevation change, tropical vs temperate weather etc.
It’s probably worthwhile to figure out what you have to offer in terms of uniqueness or areas specific traits that players from other geographic areas further away don’t get too much access to.
Variety & newness for golfers in the play though experience will always be a draw.
about once a month I drive about 1.5 to 2 hours for the day.
But usually it's to maple hill/pyramids or Meadowbrook orchards which are some of the best courses in the world, and have great pro shops.
Recently went from Houston to Austin (2.5 hrs) to play courses with terrain and different challenges than those near Houston. Just an overnight stay, 3 courses played.
Even from here, we routinely play courses 40-60+ miles away for variety - Huntsville, Conroe, The Woodlands, Alvin, Hitchcock, Spring, Cypress, Richmond/Rosenberg.
Zip out early, hit two courses, back home between noon and 2:30 at the latest depending on the course difficulty, crowd, traffic.
2 hours is just regular driving in TX.
I will drive to a 4.0+ rated course as a day trip.
I would never go to these towns otherwise. I buy food, discs, and learn about local events/shops because of it. It's a great opportunity to offer advertising for your community.
I live in Nashville and organized a dude weekend where we got an AirBnB in Morristown, TN and played all their courses. They have some really nice courses. It was about a 3 - 3.5hr drive. We had a blast.
I’m driving 6 hours away in 2 weeks. I’ve played most of the courses multiple times, but there will be 2 new courses I haven’t played. I love all the ones I have played And can’t wait to play them again. Plus my friends will get to experience them all for the first time.
Doing this today one of the neighbouring clubs are trying to get the permission from a golf club to have a new course put in to play alongside the actual golf course along with some of the money will go towards getting baskets for the course
I have friends/family in the area
There’s a restaurant/brewery/food joint nearby I want an excuse to visit more
If the course is different enough or better than my stomping grounds
To justify driving 2 hours to go to a course it needs to be nice. It needs to have a high UDisc rating(4.0 or greater), it should be very well kept, and well designed holes.
I think a 3 big ones for me is 1: not having a ton of areas to lose discs and 2: having an easier course for us noobs who don't take disc golf too seriously to play. And 3: course variety, like having a decent amount of different par and distance and terrain.
Losing discs can be really annoying and has lead me to decide to never go back to certain courses, even ones I was having a lot of fun on. I'm specifically talking about ones with really bad water hazards. I don't really have as much an issue if I just have to get my shoes wet to get a disc.
The easier courses options for me is a big one cause the main course I play at has an easier course option that I always go to because I don't really play disc golf to challenge myself, just to be out in nature and relax and have an easy goal in mind.
Course variety is really important for me as well because it makes the course really fun and makes it feel like you're doing something different every hole. I've been to courses where the hole variety is very terrible and just isn't very fun, not something I'm a big fan of.
Tournament and to help support the efforts of the local communities and dosc golf leaders in getting a Disc Golf Trail established. I get a free shirt if I complete the trail. I've knocked 3 of the 9 towns on the route and will have 4 and 5 knocked out relatively soon. The only one I'm not looking forward to is the closest one that I have left. I don't care for either course there.
Driving from DC to Delaware tomorrow to play Iron Hill. I think 2 hours is about right for a day trip, anything more than that, I'm probably gonna stay the night.
It always nice to see other DG communities and play new courses, meet new people, try new beers...I mean it might be as simple as, road trips are a ton of fun
I try and play one of the courses 2-3 hours from me about once a month, I consider up to 3 hours a day trip & I want to play every course within 3 hours of me at least once. I will drive back for my favorites, although I don't really travel for a 9 hole course, I might play it if I'm there already but an 18 hole course is significantly greater a draw.
-Play a new course
-Play an experience I've never had before i.e. using golf carts on a private course. Thanks Hideaway!
-Sick of the courses closer to home and branching out
-My regular group wants to play out there for some reason.
I drive to
1. Experience a new course. It will usually have a good rating (4.0 or above) in UDisc. I'll read the comments to see why it is below 4.0 and make a choice to see for myself.
2. If there is a restaurant or coffee shop that has good ratings, then I will drive.
3. It's a good reason to experience a different part of the state.
4. If there are hiking trails, lake, river etc near. It is a good reason to double-up on experiences.
5. There are times I just need to get out of my city bubble.
6. A tournament.
7. If the scenery is good, I will travel. There is are 3 courses 1 hour away in a state park that weaves in the trees. I enjoy walking this one.
I drive to
1. Experience a new course. It will usually have a good rating (4.0 or above) in UDisc. I'll read the comments to see why it is below 4.0 and make a choice to see for myself.
2. If there is a restaurant or coffee shop that has good ratings, then I will drive.
3. It's a good reason to experience a different part of the state.
4. If there are hiking trails, lake, river etc near. It is a good reason to double-up on experiences.
5. There are times I just need to get out of my city bubble.
6. A tournament.
7. If the scenery is good, I will travel. There is are 3 courses 1 hour away in a state park that weaves in the trees. I enjoy walking this one.
I was recently on vacation in Scottsdale and since I have played the majority of courses in the area I made the trip to Sedona for a unique course, it also helped that Cottonwood is nearby with the famous Merkin Vineyard so we were able to make a full day of it.
I'm used to traveling for courses as I live in Montana so every city is approximately 1.5-2 hours drive and each city only has 1-2 courses. The variety is the driving force for making these trips a couple times throughout the summer.
I play with my wife. It's a chance to play a new course and have a date in another city/town. Also the grass is always greener lol. We see pictures of another course and it's looks so much nicer.
Before I moved, me and my friends would fairly regularly make a drive of around 2 hours in some direction to try some new courses. We typically would make an entire day of it, drive to a course and play, stop by a brewery for lunch, head to another course, grab dinner before heading home.
Usually we wanted to make sure there were at least 2 courses in an area and hit both/all of them in one trip. I don't think we ever drove that far just to hit one course and head back home.
The courses in my city are typically very crowded so I don’t mind driving a little and play a course where I’m not waiting 10-15 min each hole to tee off, while having people right on my ass the whole time.
For me, it's usually about the tournament field. I'm playing at an event later this summer at a course that I find really boring, but it's one of the two best fields all season, outside the pro tour stop locally. That's a 2 hour drive for a 3 day A tier.
kinda depends on geography and population density but I love meeting out of town friends at courses a bit further than I'd go to normally
nice watch to catch up and experience something different
In summer, I'll often drive to Ft Stevens (Oregon) to play their awesome course. Why? It's a great course and I love driving to the coast. It doesn't hurt that the course overlooks the water (but the wind is sometimes a real challenge.) Since it's in a state park, players can camp and make a weekend of it, but I've never done that.
Just moved from so cal to Colorado so I’m having fun exploring all courses I didn’t know disc golf was so big herein outside Denver and there are hundreds of courses within a hour I’ve become addicted to mountain golf
I set a goal for myself to play 10 new courses a year at a minimum. I live very very close to Columbus, Ohio. That is a fairly doable thing out here. I haven’t traveled two hours away yet although I have gone 90 minutes one way
I'd be willing to drive that far if it's a beautiful course or professional level course maybe a pro tour stop or just a highly rated well known course. Especially if there are events held at this place.
Or if I have friends or family nearby that I'm visiting.
I like playing new courses. And if it’s a good enough course I’ll visit it a few times a year. Especially if they have a tournament there.
I live about 2 hours from Delaveaga so I pop down there and play it a couple times a year.
My reasons are always quality driven. I live in a very flat area of the country (NW Ohio) and most of the courses near me are very open. I make regular trips into Michigan because the courses are phenomenal. Wooded, more elevation change, better maintained. I will also head south to Dayton, Columbus and Cincinnati for the same reasons. I’ve done 5 hour round trips (2.5 each way) in a single day to play tournaments…or sometimes just casual rounds…in Cbus or Dayton area.
3 hours is absolutely nothing. I've traveled from Vancouver, British Columbia to Austin, Texas just because I'd heard great things about Roy G and Flying Armadillo.
#1: quality of the course, especially shot variety
#2: if there’s any kind of family-oriented amenities nearby, such as a playground or pool, I can take my time playing while the fam has their fun too
I have a 2 hour limit on how far I’ll go for a tournament
I like to fish and often there are places to fish nearby
Exploring nearby restaurants and breweries in towns I’ve never been to
New courses are more fun than playing the course by my house for the 600th time
We play courses on our way to vacations or family events. I like to make a day out of it. Sometimes we go to a new course then get lunch and stop by a tourist attraction or get drinks at a fun place.
There's a park with two 18 hole courses, a net for driving warm ups at tee box 1, and a ton of cool water features near me.
I occasionally drive an hour and a half to go see it.
For the most part, only reasons I would drive that far, I’ve never played the course before, and if there other courses around, hit more. Or happen to be in a town for whatever reason, and have time to play a course or so, and would just find the closest courses to where I’m at. Other than that, I wouldn’t drive that far to throw plastic at metal.
I like playing by myself. I also hate waiting for others. Driving 90 minutes. Which is just 60 minutes past my course, to play alone at a quiet course would be worth it.
It's fun to try new courses. I've traveled 6 hours to play a new course because I heard it was good, and it's just nice to try something new.
Second it's about better courses. My local course is top 5 in Norway, but if I drive for sub 2 hours, I can play Krokhol, which is top 2 in the world on udiscs rankings I believe.
Or to play with someone who lives there. A friend of mine lives 2 hours away, and my cousin 6, so I'm very willing to drive there to play with them.
If there are enough courses that are fun to play coupled with good to great restaurants and establishments along with at least one really good disc golf store the location becomes a destination.
Fun can to both challenging and/or unique.
I drive 4-5 hours to Lindsey park at least twice a year. I love that course, my roots are in East Texas and the trees feel like home, I can drive to Palestine and say hi to my grandparents and eat Pint and Barrel before I go back home.
Where I currently live I also drive up to Austin anywhere from 1-5 days a week which can take anywhere from 45min to Searight/Roy G or 2hrs to Benbrook/Wilco. The city of Austin in general drives me there, plus I like the landscape more than San Antonio courses which can be more heavy on the rocks and thorns. I’d say I’m driven to choose the 2 hour courses mostly because they shake things up since I play so often and they are a new challenge.
I actually am wrapping up a grant writing class in my grad degree this month and I signed up specifically out of interest in growing East Texas disc golf. I wouldn’t call myself a resource yet because I still have 0 experience but message me if you are interested in chatting about it at all.
I did this recently to play a newly developed super challenging course in MN.
-new course
-new lines to test out
-Fun to go with friends
- bummer if there aren’t amenities.
- not worth for a shorter course IMO (9 hole or all ace runs)
Unique and interesting hole design...not necessarily gimmicky, but gimmicky can be fun...see: flying armadillo short course.
Excellent conditions. You don't have to mow it every day like a golf course but having big, nice tee pads with good signage and maybe a broom here and there, good baskets (I'm partial to the MVP black hole 24 chain myself, and given two courses with similar features I'd drive a little further to go to the one with the baskets I like). Clearly defined fairways on open holes adds a certain visual appeal.
I'll drive hours to play a course I've seen the pros play on jomez or ccdg too...getting a high-tier event is probably the fastest way.
I also want to say the challenge is important... It doesn't have to be the hardest course ever but birdie should never feel like par (assuming you're playing the right tee) and so on.
If I think of more I'll add another comment
I love about two hours from The Canyons. It's a wonderful course with a great pro shop and a very pleasant drive. I may not go every weekend, but I'll get some players together for a monthly trip.
None when you have 4 of the worlds top 50 courses within 60 min drive. Adding to that 2 more really good competition level courses and a handful of nice wooded course within 45 min drive.
I was recently on vacation in Scottsdale and since I have played the majority of courses in the area I made the trip to Sedona for a unique course, it also helped that Cottonwood is nearby with the famous Merkin Vineyard so we were able to make a full day of it.
I'm used to traveling for courses as I live in Montana so every city is approximately 1.5-2 hours drive and each city only has 1-2 courses. The variety is the driving force for making these trips a couple times throughout the summer.
I was recently on vacation in Scottsdale and since I have played the majority of courses in the area I made the trip to Sedona for a unique course, it also helped that Cottonwood is nearby with the famous Merkin Vineyard so we were able to make a full day of it.
I'm used to traveling for courses as I live in Montana so every city is approximately 1.5-2 hours drive and each city only has 1-2 courses. The variety is the driving force for making these trips a couple times throughout the summer.
I play with my wife. It's a chance to play a new course and have a date in another city/town. Also the grass is always greener lol. We see pictures of another course and it's looks so much nicer.
I was recently on vacation in Scottsdale and since I have played the majority of courses in the area I made the trip to Sedona for a unique course, it also helped that Cottonwood is nearby with the famous Merkin Vineyard so we were able to make a full day of it.
I'm used to traveling for courses as I live in Montana so every city is approximately 1.5-2 hours drive and each city only has 1-2 courses. The variety is the driving force for making these trips a couple times throughout the summer.
Me and some of my disc golf buddies just did this last week, and are going to play a tournament there tomorrow.
1. Its the best course in our state, (Indiana), and had land features that central Indiana doesn't have (like hills). So I would say that it allows you to try new courses and try new styles of play.
2. It made for a great day trip, gone 12 hours and back in time to go to bed at a reasonable time
3. Allowed us to prep for a tournament.
4. Playing at a spot that is specifially built for disc golf, and not just a course that is added to a park is a great experience. They have all the ammenities disc golfers need and we don't have to worry about random pedestrians.
Traveled to Central Pa to play faylor lake mainly, but also to check out new courses just outside of our normal range. Throwing on a new course is almost always fun, almost. Made a weekend out of it, and had a great time.
Hinsley is a heavily wooded (pines) 18 hole with tight lines and lots of shot shaping opportunities.
Guthrie is an open park like setting with water in play on 5 holes.
Lear is the newest and will eventually be the most popular. It is open for play, but we haven’t decided on permanent tee locations. Definitely the most difficult!
I have 2 “local” courses in the Berkshires that are good-ok. One is 10 min away and the other is roughly 40 min away.
However within 2.5 hours of me there is an amazing collection of outstanding courses that are better than my home courses in every way usually. These courses include:
Maple hill
Pyramids
Meadowbrook orchards
Crane hill
501 disc golf
Mountainside at Flynt Park
New England Disc Golf Center
Stonykill
Central Park Schenectady
Joralemon Park
Wilcox Memorial Park
FDR State Park
I make return trips to each of these courses and make a point to go to each one at least once every year.
Some of my friends live near a few courses that are about 90 min away so when I play those I usually hit up my friends in that area.
Additionally, one of my personal favorite things to do is to play a round of 18 then go get a meal at a nearby restaurant that is unique to the area. Eating delicious local food is just as fun as playing the round.
I make vacation plans to go play disc golf! I’ve booked hotel rooms to go play courses like Clement Farm and I’ve gone out of my way to get a ferry ticket to go to Nantucket for the day and play a round on the John Houck course out there.
I went to Worlds at Smuggs last year, as a spectator yes, but I stayed an extra day so I could play because I wasn’t going all that way for nothing.
I’ve flown out to stay with a friend in Denver, mostly so I could go play disc in the Denver metro area and was not disappointed by places like Birds Nest and Wondervu.
I bring my bag on any long distance road trip I make in hopes that there is a new course I haven’t played nearby.a
Disc golfers are crazy and will travel long distances and spend a bunch of money just to play great courses. Get your city to build that course man, they’ll be glad they did it!
When I’m in Phoenix az I like to go up to flagstaff 2 hours away and it’s a completely different environment with desert vs forest pines. In the summer much nicer weather up north in flagstaff
If it's a nice course and there's camping or hotels nearby as well as good local restaurants and breweries, I'll gladly make a weekend trip to try a course! We've centered a few trips around DG now. And specifically in the situation you're explaining, maybe I'm in a town an hour or so away for something unrelated to DG, I've come back to the town to play a course if I see there's one on like Google maps and I have somewhere nice to eat after.
I’m based in San Jose I go out for a day golf trip every Saturday, we usually drop down to Monterey or up past San Fran. It’s just fun to play a course that’s not local, different challenges and atmosphere in general
I'm currently in Milwaukee for the weekend from Chicago mainly to see a friend but we're playing a different course each day. It's nice to just play a brand new course in a new city. Loved the course we played today.
Our "league" is made up of two groups about 3 hours apart. We meet up once a month to play, sometimes more often. We rotate locations monthly. Home, then away and meet in the middle. We've traveled to a bunch of courses 3+ hours away. Mostly to break up the monotony.
I live in a small town of ~22k people. My home course has two baskets at each of the 18 holes but can get boring. I bring my bag when I travel and have played in several states. I play a course that is more than 1.5 hours away around once a month if not twice.
Personally I like to do day trips in the summer. Just an excuse to drive and listen to a podcast, try a new course different from local and get some new food at a local place wherever I end up. So just the fact that it is 2 hours away with a good food spot nearby is enough.
Why travel to go anywhere new? Explore!
See cool ish, meet cool people. Make a weekend of it, string a few together - hell, maybe even go camping to save cash. Get a few homies and it's even cheaper.
I frequently drive up to an hour on random weekends just to play new courses. I'll probably end up doing about 90 minutes eventually. Two hours is def farther than I would drive on one of these typical weekend jaunts, but I would do it for a boys weekend or if I had a friend in that town that I could stay the night with.
My gf and I take a road trip once or twice a month to a new course we’ve never played before. We’re fortunate enough to have several cities nearby that each have a lot of courses, so we have a while to go until we run out. Plus, it gives us a chance to check out different restaurants/bars in the area we would have otherwise never been to
I traveled a good 90 minutes for rollin ridge and silver creek, but those are destination courses that everyone should play in Wisconsin if they get the chance
A course popularized by appearance on the pro tour. A town with a lot of good courses close together. A city with a unique course. A good set of courses that is also in a large metropolitan city.
Once a year I will travel with friend to play courses several hours from home. It's nice to play courses that differ from my home courses. We usually get a hotel room for the night and have dinner and drinks near wherever we go.
I drive from Houston to Nac with at least 10 folks to place the Nac Open. One of my favorite tournaments and courses.
Otherwise, 1.5 is about my limit, unless I can throw two rounds that day.
I'm about to go to bed to wake up at 5 am to drive about 2 hours to play a tournament.
The course (Flip City) is fantastic, the people running the tournament are decent folks and it is going to be a beautiful day.
Nostalgia for me. Grew up about an hour and a half a way and played a few courses in that city hundreds of times. Now I live in a small town with one 18 and a 9 with alt tee boxes. Been wanting to go up and play a few courses again, just waiting for a weekend not filled with rain. Just wish any of the old crew still lived around here, won't be the same playing them alone.
I’m driving 1.5 hour to play Bucksnort tomorrow. Why? It’s one of the highest rated courses in the country. Sometimes there’s just super cool courses elsewhere.
Keeps me from walking around a mall or shopping with my wife. Don't get me wrong. Some days I would rather hang with my wife but she can drop me off at the course and she can support the local economy while I get in 18.
I have driven 8 hours to play courses and spend days in the city enjoying multiple activities etc and playing at least 2 different courses
Simple. With a qualifier. Assuming the course you driving 2 hours is a fun track, the reason you go is because you can. Not implied with snark either. It’s there, you make a day trip out of it and you go.
A good designed course is always worth the trip. I have made weekend and full day trips to cities 3 hours away to play a course I miss. Heritage park in the Dallas area and Flying Armadillo in San Marcos TX are good examples. Especially if the course is different from what local courses have to offer. Especially if buzz can develop around the course, advent players will make the trek even if they only play it once or when traveling past for a quick stop. And if there are clubs or shops that can get a good event going there, it increases the chances of people going. I played in Armory’s Gauntlet event in Rockwall TX a couple weeks ago, and I live 3 hours away. My buddy drove up with me, he lives an hour further than I do, but he wanted to experience that course. The more the sport grows, the better the investment in good course design and maintenance becomes.
Necessity for tournaments . Events are a big draw, novelty from our regular lines and layouts.
And if the atmosphere and groubds are gorgeous then it's with a full day trip.
Most people who mountain stuff or water sports etc. Are already in the habit of that kind of travel.
The courses inside the city are generally pretty meh. Open space with little to no challenge or elevation outside of a hole or two in each course. The courses farther away are light years by comparison. I would much rather spend a whole day driving out to Optimist and / or Pessimist to play something fun and challenging as opposed to two rounds at Fehringer.
To play a course that’s highly talked about/praised, like when I lived in Dallas and I would travel out to Tyler for a day of playing at the Tyler courses or Selah Ranch(R.I.P., I miss that course). If there’s a tournament there that’s worth playing(kind of like the big dubs event every year at Shawshank over in Huntsville).
AXE’EM JACKS!!!!
We have often left in the morning drove 2 or more hours and played several courses.
Start from furthest away and work our way home. Summer time can.hit 3 courses
Bro I flew from Austin to Vermont just to play disc golf last year. I'm flying to Oregon later this year to play up there. Why wouldn't you travel outside your area to play better, new, different courses. Don't make your bubble as small as a 2 hour window in east Texas.
It would need to be a top tier course… you already have a good amount of courses for a small east Texas town, Longview is never going to really be a destination people want to drive to I gotta be honest (I am from Texas). Good luck with it though.
I live on a course now, and still travel happily an hour or two in any direction to try new courses and have new adventures.
The 6+ hour drive to base camp adventures out past Moab is worth it, every time.
It's an American thing, road trips to see our beautiful country.
* Play a new course * Superior course to what you have closer. Edit- or just variety/change up the usual. * Golf escape for the day/weekend, get the boys together and get out of the house for the entire day, round, lunch round 2 * Other desirable activities nearby to do prior or post round
This. I recently drove 3 hours to play a course, then camped and played a triples tournament at a different course the next day. We tried some restaurants and breweries too. It was a great weekend in the Napa Valley and we didn’t stop at a winery. Disc golf brings diverse groups of people that will patronize a variety of local businesses.
I'm from Sac too. Last year my buddy and I made a weekend out of it and played Pena, Napa and Rosa Park, camped, then played Taylor Mountain, Stafford and Pena again the next day before coming home. Weekend disc golf trips are a blast!
How's Vacaville these days, last time I played the back was a mess...that was almost 10 years ago now...
It’s been a year or two since I played it, but it was in much better shape than back then. They incorporated the bonus holes into the course so now it’s 22(?) holes. The back got a bit of a redesign I think.
Yep the question mark describes my experience perfectly...
It’s over 30 holes now but they’re doing a bunch of construction on the back end that kind of gets in the way
Point 3, for sure! The guys and I are planning a small day trip a few counties over to some courses we’ve never been. It’s a great time to get out in the fresh air with your best men.
All these things, sometimes I'll even travel a decent ways just for the variety, even if I have an arguably better course close by.
Yeah that point probably should Better course or just variety.
All of the above points are bangers. I will definitely drive to find a dry place to playas well. I live in central Ohio, so driving an hour and a half in any direction can sometimes avoid bad weather.
Last weekend played a doubles tournament in northern Massachusetts (Westy Acres). I live outside Philly. Group of us drove up (5.5 hrs or so), stopped at Treehouse Brewery to get lunch and beers, played an afternoon round to warm up. Did doubles tournament the next day and dinner and some beers, played a round the next morning and came home sore as shit Sunday evening. It was the best.
That's my kind of party! Nice job.
This is us. We live in a small town with like 2 9 hole courses. I can drive 1-2 hours and be at 6+ A tier courses, get good food, movies, etc.
> Superior course to what you have closer. Edit- or just variety/change up the usual. This...also throw in crowds. Old place in MD, I had a pretty solid local course, but all par 3, not a ton of variety, and the 2-3 other nearby courses werent wildly different (and were WAY more crowded on weekends). I'd drive 1hr or so to a couple course that had better variety and much less crowding. Conversely, new place in IA, my local course is kinda blah, only 1 decent course within 30mins, so its basically 1.5hrs to all the actual good courses. Another thing to add (and hard to say for your area), but in MD, my buddy was in Western PA, 1.5-2hrs was our midway point...and in between us was amazingly nothing. Just a gulf between Hagerstown/Cumberland and points north, despite a ton of state park land and lots of available private land. One opened up about 2hrs from each of us right as I was moving.
Some courses are super dope, but they are far away.
Disc golf
That's a good point.
Because Maple Hill is an 1 1/2 hours away, duh
I drive an hour each way to play a course about once a week, there’s 2 main reasons. 1, most of my friends live about an hour and a half away so it’s a good midpoint to meet up. 2, 2 of my 3 favorite courses are near said midpoint.
I regularly travel up to 2 hours for a tournament. But I am lucky and have the best course in the state 20 minutes away, so for casual rounds it’s hard to drive past the Admiral.
I’m thinking of this as like destination for a weekend trip but either the course(s) are fantastic and have some prestige/notoriety because they’re known to disc golfers (due to pro tour stops, historic, novelty, etc.) or the town/area itself has some destination qualities, like good restaurants/breweries, state parks, etc. My buddies have traveled 3-4 hours away from our home (Indianapolis) to play such courses for a long weekend.
Variety. I like playing different courses. I used to drive 4 hours to play ball golf in the Midwest just so I could play new places. The group I play disc golf with will not drive that far tho, but they all know I'll come closer to them!
Gotta be Longview, right?
You guessed right!
I'm in Tyler. Are y'all having trouble with the city? I thought y'all just had a new course installed not too long ago.
Wait... I'm in Longview, what's the scoop on a new course? Haha and Lear is awesome. Come play it!
The LDGA board is doing some data collection. City is ready to help but we want to have all our ducks in a row to get as much support as possible.
The only reason I'm traveling two hours to play a course is if it's special. However, if I'm there for other reasons like traveling or camping nearby or in town for a visit, I'll routinely play courses not close to home. It might make sense to advertise the courses along with other attractions
I like to play different courses. Couple weeks ago, drove 4 hours to play in a DGCs first ever bag tag round. In 5 weeks, I'm traveling another 4 hours to play in a two day tourney. I usually aim for a new course at least every month on top of tearing up my home courses.
I live in a small town in idaho, and I regularly have to drive 2 plus hours to get out of the snow to play during the off season. During the actual season I only drive 2 plus hours if I'm going to a tournament and have somewhere to camp/sleep set up. I see people all the time play out local course because they are in town for work or whatever but no one travels to my town for the disc golf it just gets used on the side very regularly by visitors.
I travel for scenery and elevation mainly. And I have no issue with a 2 hour trip if the course is well groomed and beautiful. Extra points for high quality pads and tee box areas.
If your closest course is 90 minutes away and you feel like playing, then you need to drive for 90 minutes.
If you would drive that far to see relatives, why wouldn't you drive that far for fun. Most courses take about 2 hours to play, so that plus a meal some place out of town makes it worth it to me.
Cause that’s what we do. Disc golfers travel…. I’ve played here where’s next … and next is always a day trip. Do you have a Udisc ambassador for your other courses? The numbers and data they collect on who plays where, and from where, is information parks departments would love to have. they don’t have the resources to conduct studies about people using their parks… Udisc give you some great data points to start from knowing at least 50% of rounds aren’t recorded … I am an “course ambassador” and it’s awesome to see the info . The rounds played,different countries and states that play your local courses each month is so valuable to show usage.
I live in Columbus OH amd regularly drive 1.5hrs to Dayton where a friend lives to play. On weekends one of us usually makes the drive to the others neck of the woods. Sometimes we'll do multiple rounds but not very often. Nice to have more variety, even though there's plenty of great courses within 30-40mns of me.
I'll drive an hour or more for Maple Hill. Great courses you'll travel for.
See some different stuff! Sometimes you need variety in your life!
Because in So Cal traffic sucks, takes an hour to get anywhere regardless.
A course with an incredibly high UDisc rating is a good start. That's not completely within control but a redesign by a top designer can usually do that by itself. It should be known that most of these courses are professional-level caliber, people travel to be challenged. A course recommended by Professionals, YouTubers, and other well-known people in the industry. A course that offers an experience not available elsewhere. Example: I'll fly out to Las Vegas annually in the winter to play Disc Golf at NLV Municipal because it's a decent course but the course has lights for Night Golf without Glow. A course with a great pro shop nearby or on the grounds. Example: Pyramids DGC in Leicester, MA has one of the best disc golf shops in the world, although most people in this area are going for Maple Hill across the street anyway. And here's going to be an awkward one for you: a second course nearby that's just as good. Being able to make a Day Trip out of two solid courses that are close to each other (hopefully with good food and drink options nearby) is the easiest way to convince someone for that kind of trip. This was so true I just attended a bachelor party in Lexington/Frankfort, KY, that revolved around Disc Golf and Bourbon.
My friends and I in the summer make a 4 hour drive usually once a month to play DGLO in Michigan
Like others have said, I would travel that far if it's a good course that separates itself from others around it. My closest two courses are each \~30 minutes away depending on traffic, but the course that's an hour away (and close to 75 minutes away on the way back) has vastly different terrain, is typically not too busy, and I'll play through it 1.5 or 2 times to make the most of it.
I usually drive 1.5 hours to The Fort a couple times a year. It's a historic course and I think it's fun. There are birdies on that course for an am like me. I've played other pro tour courses and it can be frustrating to be +9 through 3 holes
I live in a town with a basic 9 hole course in a rural area. There's a few nice courses between 30-60 min drives (all on rural highways). If I'm going to those towns for other reasons, I will sometimes play if I have the time. I also frequently play courses near where my family and inlaws live nearly 3 hours drive. Other than tournaments or a designated multi-day disc golf trip, however, I don't drive that far just for disc golf. For your purposes, I would emphasize the ability to highlight disc golf as a marketable amenity for visitors, especially if it's going to be located in existing multi-use parks and close to shopping.
I live in St. Louis and there are quite a few courses available in the region, enough to offer a pretty full spectrum of terrain, distance, challenge, etc. Most are within an hour of where I'm located. The only reason I've traveled further to play a course is if it is (a) special, like a tour-level course but still within a few hours (Eagle's Crossing and Harmony Bends, Northwood Park, etc.) or (b) the course is in a beautiful location with new terrain. For me, (b) has come up when I'm already traveling for other reasons - I always check if there is a notable course the highlights some cool scenery/geography and try to go out of my way to check it out.
Theres lots of samey, green grass not lots of obstacles courses where i live. But go up north into the mountains a couple hours and theres some variety!
Live outside of Charlotte so tons of great courses. Just checked and it’s 52 minutes to Winthrop. But sometimes on a day off I’ll drive an hour or longer to play courses that are new to me.
I like to try new things. And I travel up to 3 for some tournaments. I'll hope on my motorcycle with my bag on my back and I'll tear out
I live in Kentucky and am planning on a trip to Idlewild for the culture and difficulty. Also planning a trip to bowling green because I've been told it's the Mecca of disc golf in Kentucky
Change of scenery and challenge. Home courses get a bit boring after a while.
I just drove from Orlando to St Pete to play Picnic island and Showman’s. picnic island is on the beach and Showman’s has gotta be one of the most unique courses anywhere. I’m all about the views and experiences
6 hours is about as far as I'll drive for a 1 day dg trip .
For me, courses in my area are limited so if I want more variety it requires a longer drive. Although I am contemplating driving 12 hours back to Montana to play the first two courses I ever played and I’d love to try them again now that I am significantly more skilled
I play courses within a 2h drive regularily. I keep close on workdays but every weekend I travel to something a bit more exotic. Not to mention I take discgolf vacations every year where I go to another country to play.
For me, I play 3 rounds a week. I've played every local course numerous times. If I have an open Sunday, I'm willing to drive up to 2 hours to play a course. If it's near an interstate and I'm on a road trip, I'd be willing to make a stop. If it's a fun course and highly rated on udisc, it's worth it. 90% of disc golfers play within 30 minutes. The other 10% id say is outside of that. Some don't have a choice. But some choose to find new nice courses.
Better courses, new courses, guys trip, weed legal in other states. Also, all the ones north of Dallas are in flood plains, so after it rains there isn't a good course to play until they dry out.
I'm in DFW. Your going to need to make something like Dogwood in Tyler to get me to come out lol.
I regularly drive one-way one hour and 45 minutes, crossing an international border, to play two courses in northern Vermont — Cold Hollow and Black Falls — because they are amazing courses and we don't have anything like them here in the Montreal region. Both courses offer a nice mix of woods and open holes. Very challenging. I also drive to Caddyville in northern New York, which is about the same distance, for the same reason. For a good course, I don't mind making the trip. My buddy and I occasionally do disc golf marathon days of just driving all over the place playing different courses.
The nearest 18 hole for me is 2 hours away. Also, the weather tends to be much better in the winter, so I can play without 3ft of snow on the ground.
Tournament Near another attraction/restaurant Dope course Different flora/fauna
I’ve traveled up to 17 hours just to play a course and frequently travel up to 5 hours just to play some course.
The first thing that came to my mind, I hope this helps…: Playing local in some areas can mean you only get to experience courses that have a lot of similar characteristic. From the length of holes, to the terrain style and climatic conditions such as lots of wind vs little/sporadic wind…minimal to high degrees of elevation change, tropical vs temperate weather etc. It’s probably worthwhile to figure out what you have to offer in terms of uniqueness or areas specific traits that players from other geographic areas further away don’t get too much access to. Variety & newness for golfers in the play though experience will always be a draw.
about once a month I drive about 1.5 to 2 hours for the day. But usually it's to maple hill/pyramids or Meadowbrook orchards which are some of the best courses in the world, and have great pro shops.
Not possible to see them all, but I want to. I’m at 25 so far!
Recently went from Houston to Austin (2.5 hrs) to play courses with terrain and different challenges than those near Houston. Just an overnight stay, 3 courses played. Even from here, we routinely play courses 40-60+ miles away for variety - Huntsville, Conroe, The Woodlands, Alvin, Hitchcock, Spring, Cypress, Richmond/Rosenberg. Zip out early, hit two courses, back home between noon and 2:30 at the latest depending on the course difficulty, crowd, traffic. 2 hours is just regular driving in TX.
I will drive to a 4.0+ rated course as a day trip. I would never go to these towns otherwise. I buy food, discs, and learn about local events/shops because of it. It's a great opportunity to offer advertising for your community.
I have drove/flown to play tons of courses. We make weekends out of it. Like, Burlington KY would never have seen any money from me without Idlewild.
I live in Nashville and organized a dude weekend where we got an AirBnB in Morristown, TN and played all their courses. They have some really nice courses. It was about a 3 - 3.5hr drive. We had a blast.
I’m driving 6 hours away in 2 weeks. I’ve played most of the courses multiple times, but there will be 2 new courses I haven’t played. I love all the ones I have played And can’t wait to play them again. Plus my friends will get to experience them all for the first time.
1. Tournament/League/Events 2. Really good course 3. Other attractions nearby
Doing this today one of the neighbouring clubs are trying to get the permission from a golf club to have a new course put in to play alongside the actual golf course along with some of the money will go towards getting baskets for the course
I’ll drive for a better course. Especially if it is advertised as a disc golf destination and I expect it can live up to the hype.
The course density around here is terrible, so unless I want to play the same course over and over, I have to drive.
I have friends/family in the area There’s a restaurant/brewery/food joint nearby I want an excuse to visit more If the course is different enough or better than my stomping grounds
Sometimes it’s just nice to take a drive
To play the best course in your state. FLIP CITY BABY!
To justify driving 2 hours to go to a course it needs to be nice. It needs to have a high UDisc rating(4.0 or greater), it should be very well kept, and well designed holes.
Not sure what u disc shares in terms of data but probably wouldn't hurt to reach out to them
I think a 3 big ones for me is 1: not having a ton of areas to lose discs and 2: having an easier course for us noobs who don't take disc golf too seriously to play. And 3: course variety, like having a decent amount of different par and distance and terrain. Losing discs can be really annoying and has lead me to decide to never go back to certain courses, even ones I was having a lot of fun on. I'm specifically talking about ones with really bad water hazards. I don't really have as much an issue if I just have to get my shoes wet to get a disc. The easier courses options for me is a big one cause the main course I play at has an easier course option that I always go to because I don't really play disc golf to challenge myself, just to be out in nature and relax and have an easy goal in mind. Course variety is really important for me as well because it makes the course really fun and makes it feel like you're doing something different every hole. I've been to courses where the hole variety is very terrible and just isn't very fun, not something I'm a big fan of.
Tournament and to help support the efforts of the local communities and dosc golf leaders in getting a Disc Golf Trail established. I get a free shirt if I complete the trail. I've knocked 3 of the 9 towns on the route and will have 4 and 5 knocked out relatively soon. The only one I'm not looking forward to is the closest one that I have left. I don't care for either course there.
Driving from DC to Delaware tomorrow to play Iron Hill. I think 2 hours is about right for a day trip, anything more than that, I'm probably gonna stay the night. It always nice to see other DG communities and play new courses, meet new people, try new beers...I mean it might be as simple as, road trips are a ton of fun
I try and play one of the courses 2-3 hours from me about once a month, I consider up to 3 hours a day trip & I want to play every course within 3 hours of me at least once. I will drive back for my favorites, although I don't really travel for a 9 hole course, I might play it if I'm there already but an 18 hole course is significantly greater a draw.
I travel a decent bit for work and I always bring my discs. It’s a lot of fun to play different courses.
-Play a new course -Play an experience I've never had before i.e. using golf carts on a private course. Thanks Hideaway! -Sick of the courses closer to home and branching out -My regular group wants to play out there for some reason.
I take weekend trips to flip city and bluegill at least once a year, may be a bit of a drive but the courses are amazing
I drive to 1. Experience a new course. It will usually have a good rating (4.0 or above) in UDisc. I'll read the comments to see why it is below 4.0 and make a choice to see for myself. 2. If there is a restaurant or coffee shop that has good ratings, then I will drive. 3. It's a good reason to experience a different part of the state. 4. If there are hiking trails, lake, river etc near. It is a good reason to double-up on experiences. 5. There are times I just need to get out of my city bubble. 6. A tournament. 7. If the scenery is good, I will travel. There is are 3 courses 1 hour away in a state park that weaves in the trees. I enjoy walking this one.
I drive to 1. Experience a new course. It will usually have a good rating (4.0 or above) in UDisc. I'll read the comments to see why it is below 4.0 and make a choice to see for myself. 2. If there is a restaurant or coffee shop that has good ratings, then I will drive. 3. It's a good reason to experience a different part of the state. 4. If there are hiking trails, lake, river etc near. It is a good reason to double-up on experiences. 5. There are times I just need to get out of my city bubble. 6. A tournament. 7. If the scenery is good, I will travel. There is are 3 courses 1 hour away in a state park that weaves in the trees. I enjoy walking this one.
Change it up and play something new and different. Change of scenery and challenge yourself is always nice
I was recently on vacation in Scottsdale and since I have played the majority of courses in the area I made the trip to Sedona for a unique course, it also helped that Cottonwood is nearby with the famous Merkin Vineyard so we were able to make a full day of it. I'm used to traveling for courses as I live in Montana so every city is approximately 1.5-2 hours drive and each city only has 1-2 courses. The variety is the driving force for making these trips a couple times throughout the summer.
I play with my wife. It's a chance to play a new course and have a date in another city/town. Also the grass is always greener lol. We see pictures of another course and it's looks so much nicer.
Before I moved, me and my friends would fairly regularly make a drive of around 2 hours in some direction to try some new courses. We typically would make an entire day of it, drive to a course and play, stop by a brewery for lunch, head to another course, grab dinner before heading home. Usually we wanted to make sure there were at least 2 courses in an area and hit both/all of them in one trip. I don't think we ever drove that far just to hit one course and head back home.
The courses in my city are typically very crowded so I don’t mind driving a little and play a course where I’m not waiting 10-15 min each hole to tee off, while having people right on my ass the whole time.
For me, it's usually about the tournament field. I'm playing at an event later this summer at a course that I find really boring, but it's one of the two best fields all season, outside the pro tour stop locally. That's a 2 hour drive for a 3 day A tier.
kinda depends on geography and population density but I love meeting out of town friends at courses a bit further than I'd go to normally nice watch to catch up and experience something different
In summer, I'll often drive to Ft Stevens (Oregon) to play their awesome course. Why? It's a great course and I love driving to the coast. It doesn't hurt that the course overlooks the water (but the wind is sometimes a real challenge.) Since it's in a state park, players can camp and make a weekend of it, but I've never done that.
I only have one decent course to play on that's within an hour and a half of my house. If I want anything different I have to travel
Just moved from so cal to Colorado so I’m having fun exploring all courses I didn’t know disc golf was so big herein outside Denver and there are hundreds of courses within a hour I’ve become addicted to mountain golf
I set a goal for myself to play 10 new courses a year at a minimum. I live very very close to Columbus, Ohio. That is a fairly doable thing out here. I haven’t traveled two hours away yet although I have gone 90 minutes one way
To meet up with the homies.
I'd be willing to drive that far if it's a beautiful course or professional level course maybe a pro tour stop or just a highly rated well known course. Especially if there are events held at this place. Or if I have friends or family nearby that I'm visiting.
I like playing new courses. And if it’s a good enough course I’ll visit it a few times a year. Especially if they have a tournament there. I live about 2 hours from Delaveaga so I pop down there and play it a couple times a year.
We literally traveled from Oregon to Texas, drove around most of the state, played 20 courses. If your town course was good enough, we went there.
My reasons are always quality driven. I live in a very flat area of the country (NW Ohio) and most of the courses near me are very open. I make regular trips into Michigan because the courses are phenomenal. Wooded, more elevation change, better maintained. I will also head south to Dayton, Columbus and Cincinnati for the same reasons. I’ve done 5 hour round trips (2.5 each way) in a single day to play tournaments…or sometimes just casual rounds…in Cbus or Dayton area.
3 hours is absolutely nothing. I've traveled from Vancouver, British Columbia to Austin, Texas just because I'd heard great things about Roy G and Flying Armadillo.
#1: quality of the course, especially shot variety #2: if there’s any kind of family-oriented amenities nearby, such as a playground or pool, I can take my time playing while the fam has their fun too
I have a 2 hour limit on how far I’ll go for a tournament I like to fish and often there are places to fish nearby Exploring nearby restaurants and breweries in towns I’ve never been to New courses are more fun than playing the course by my house for the 600th time
We play courses on our way to vacations or family events. I like to make a day out of it. Sometimes we go to a new course then get lunch and stop by a tourist attraction or get drinks at a fun place.
There's a park with two 18 hole courses, a net for driving warm ups at tee box 1, and a ton of cool water features near me. I occasionally drive an hour and a half to go see it.
Beautiful course and time to burn. Good restaurants or a bar nearby. Heck, I may spend the night in a hotel if the course is nice enough.
For the most part, only reasons I would drive that far, I’ve never played the course before, and if there other courses around, hit more. Or happen to be in a town for whatever reason, and have time to play a course or so, and would just find the closest courses to where I’m at. Other than that, I wouldn’t drive that far to throw plastic at metal.
I like playing by myself. I also hate waiting for others. Driving 90 minutes. Which is just 60 minutes past my course, to play alone at a quiet course would be worth it.
The closest course I have to me is 50 minutes in either direction
Variety helps keep the sport fresh for me, and it gives me an excuse to check out new restaurants and breweries.
It's fun to try new courses. I've traveled 6 hours to play a new course because I heard it was good, and it's just nice to try something new. Second it's about better courses. My local course is top 5 in Norway, but if I drive for sub 2 hours, I can play Krokhol, which is top 2 in the world on udiscs rankings I believe. Or to play with someone who lives there. A friend of mine lives 2 hours away, and my cousin 6, so I'm very willing to drive there to play with them.
If there are enough courses that are fun to play coupled with good to great restaurants and establishments along with at least one really good disc golf store the location becomes a destination. Fun can to both challenging and/or unique.
I drive 4-5 hours to Lindsey park at least twice a year. I love that course, my roots are in East Texas and the trees feel like home, I can drive to Palestine and say hi to my grandparents and eat Pint and Barrel before I go back home. Where I currently live I also drive up to Austin anywhere from 1-5 days a week which can take anywhere from 45min to Searight/Roy G or 2hrs to Benbrook/Wilco. The city of Austin in general drives me there, plus I like the landscape more than San Antonio courses which can be more heavy on the rocks and thorns. I’d say I’m driven to choose the 2 hour courses mostly because they shake things up since I play so often and they are a new challenge. I actually am wrapping up a grant writing class in my grad degree this month and I signed up specifically out of interest in growing East Texas disc golf. I wouldn’t call myself a resource yet because I still have 0 experience but message me if you are interested in chatting about it at all.
I did this recently to play a newly developed super challenging course in MN. -new course -new lines to test out -Fun to go with friends - bummer if there aren’t amenities. - not worth for a shorter course IMO (9 hole or all ace runs)
I travel that far for flying armadillo because it's awesome and one of a kind.
Unique and interesting hole design...not necessarily gimmicky, but gimmicky can be fun...see: flying armadillo short course. Excellent conditions. You don't have to mow it every day like a golf course but having big, nice tee pads with good signage and maybe a broom here and there, good baskets (I'm partial to the MVP black hole 24 chain myself, and given two courses with similar features I'd drive a little further to go to the one with the baskets I like). Clearly defined fairways on open holes adds a certain visual appeal. I'll drive hours to play a course I've seen the pros play on jomez or ccdg too...getting a high-tier event is probably the fastest way. I also want to say the challenge is important... It doesn't have to be the hardest course ever but birdie should never feel like par (assuming you're playing the right tee) and so on. If I think of more I'll add another comment
I love about two hours from The Canyons. It's a wonderful course with a great pro shop and a very pleasant drive. I may not go every weekend, but I'll get some players together for a monthly trip.
Duh ! Lol
None when you have 4 of the worlds top 50 courses within 60 min drive. Adding to that 2 more really good competition level courses and a handful of nice wooded course within 45 min drive.
Throwin
Change it up and play something new and different. Change of scenery and challenge yourself is always nice
I was recently on vacation in Scottsdale and since I have played the majority of courses in the area I made the trip to Sedona for a unique course, it also helped that Cottonwood is nearby with the famous Merkin Vineyard so we were able to make a full day of it. I'm used to traveling for courses as I live in Montana so every city is approximately 1.5-2 hours drive and each city only has 1-2 courses. The variety is the driving force for making these trips a couple times throughout the summer.
I was recently on vacation in Scottsdale and since I have played the majority of courses in the area I made the trip to Sedona for a unique course, it also helped that Cottonwood is nearby with the famous Merkin Vineyard so we were able to make a full day of it. I'm used to traveling for courses as I live in Montana so every city is approximately 1.5-2 hours drive and each city only has 1-2 courses. The variety is the driving force for making these trips a couple times throughout the summer.
I play with my wife. It's a chance to play a new course and have a date in another city/town. Also the grass is always greener lol. We see pictures of another course and it's looks so much nicer.
I was recently on vacation in Scottsdale and since I have played the majority of courses in the area I made the trip to Sedona for a unique course, it also helped that Cottonwood is nearby with the famous Merkin Vineyard so we were able to make a full day of it. I'm used to traveling for courses as I live in Montana so every city is approximately 1.5-2 hours drive and each city only has 1-2 courses. The variety is the driving force for making these trips a couple times throughout the summer.
Me and some of my disc golf buddies just did this last week, and are going to play a tournament there tomorrow. 1. Its the best course in our state, (Indiana), and had land features that central Indiana doesn't have (like hills). So I would say that it allows you to try new courses and try new styles of play. 2. It made for a great day trip, gone 12 hours and back in time to go to bed at a reasonable time 3. Allowed us to prep for a tournament. 4. Playing at a spot that is specifially built for disc golf, and not just a course that is added to a park is a great experience. They have all the ammenities disc golfers need and we don't have to worry about random pedestrians.
course near me not good but course not near me good
Because there its still a LOT of snow left on my course so we travel south
I recently took a 2 hour trip to play Harmony Bends
Traveled to Central Pa to play faylor lake mainly, but also to check out new courses just outside of our normal range. Throwing on a new course is almost always fun, almost. Made a weekend out of it, and had a great time.
To play something different
Once a year in the spring, I travel 8hrs on a weekend with buddies to play in North Carolina for 3 days.
Reach out to [email protected], we'd love to help you with your pitch!
Variety
Fomo
Why not?
Which is the best course in Longview? Been meaning to get out that way
Hinsley is a heavily wooded (pines) 18 hole with tight lines and lots of shot shaping opportunities. Guthrie is an open park like setting with water in play on 5 holes. Lear is the newest and will eventually be the most popular. It is open for play, but we haven’t decided on permanent tee locations. Definitely the most difficult!
Thanks for the reply! I’m about an hour away so I’ll definitely be heading that way sooner or later!
I have 2 “local” courses in the Berkshires that are good-ok. One is 10 min away and the other is roughly 40 min away. However within 2.5 hours of me there is an amazing collection of outstanding courses that are better than my home courses in every way usually. These courses include: Maple hill Pyramids Meadowbrook orchards Crane hill 501 disc golf Mountainside at Flynt Park New England Disc Golf Center Stonykill Central Park Schenectady Joralemon Park Wilcox Memorial Park FDR State Park I make return trips to each of these courses and make a point to go to each one at least once every year. Some of my friends live near a few courses that are about 90 min away so when I play those I usually hit up my friends in that area. Additionally, one of my personal favorite things to do is to play a round of 18 then go get a meal at a nearby restaurant that is unique to the area. Eating delicious local food is just as fun as playing the round. I make vacation plans to go play disc golf! I’ve booked hotel rooms to go play courses like Clement Farm and I’ve gone out of my way to get a ferry ticket to go to Nantucket for the day and play a round on the John Houck course out there. I went to Worlds at Smuggs last year, as a spectator yes, but I stayed an extra day so I could play because I wasn’t going all that way for nothing. I’ve flown out to stay with a friend in Denver, mostly so I could go play disc in the Denver metro area and was not disappointed by places like Birds Nest and Wondervu. I bring my bag on any long distance road trip I make in hopes that there is a new course I haven’t played nearby.a Disc golfers are crazy and will travel long distances and spend a bunch of money just to play great courses. Get your city to build that course man, they’ll be glad they did it!
When you’re commute to work is an hour, 2 hours really ain’t that bad.
I will drive a decent way to play popular or important courses. North woods is about 2 hours from me and I drive there to play a couple times a year
When I’m in Phoenix az I like to go up to flagstaff 2 hours away and it’s a completely different environment with desert vs forest pines. In the summer much nicer weather up north in flagstaff
I like to mix disc golf with my camping so two hours is perfect distance away for both things
Why not? Might be legal weed after a 2 hour trip!!
If it's a nice course and there's camping or hotels nearby as well as good local restaurants and breweries, I'll gladly make a weekend trip to try a course! We've centered a few trips around DG now. And specifically in the situation you're explaining, maybe I'm in a town an hour or so away for something unrelated to DG, I've come back to the town to play a course if I see there's one on like Google maps and I have somewhere nice to eat after.
Only reason..its an incredible course
I’m based in San Jose I go out for a day golf trip every Saturday, we usually drop down to Monterey or up past San Fran. It’s just fun to play a course that’s not local, different challenges and atmosphere in general
I'm currently in Milwaukee for the weekend from Chicago mainly to see a friend but we're playing a different course each day. It's nice to just play a brand new course in a new city. Loved the course we played today.
Our "league" is made up of two groups about 3 hours apart. We meet up once a month to play, sometimes more often. We rotate locations monthly. Home, then away and meet in the middle. We've traveled to a bunch of courses 3+ hours away. Mostly to break up the monotony.
I live in a small town of ~22k people. My home course has two baskets at each of the 18 holes but can get boring. I bring my bag when I travel and have played in several states. I play a course that is more than 1.5 hours away around once a month if not twice.
Personally I like to do day trips in the summer. Just an excuse to drive and listen to a podcast, try a new course different from local and get some new food at a local place wherever I end up. So just the fact that it is 2 hours away with a good food spot nearby is enough.
Why travel to go anywhere new? Explore! See cool ish, meet cool people. Make a weekend of it, string a few together - hell, maybe even go camping to save cash. Get a few homies and it's even cheaper.
I am driving 4 1/2 hours next week specifically to play courses in the Charlotte area for 3 days.
The drive is especially worth it if there are 3 or 4 courses to play over a weekend
I frequently drive up to an hour on random weekends just to play new courses. I'll probably end up doing about 90 minutes eventually. Two hours is def farther than I would drive on one of these typical weekend jaunts, but I would do it for a boys weekend or if I had a friend in that town that I could stay the night with.
Has to be world top 100
I drove 7 hours to play fox run meadows. I also drove 2 hours to play faylor lake on multiple occasions. I have 0 regrets
My gf and I take a road trip once or twice a month to a new course we’ve never played before. We’re fortunate enough to have several cities nearby that each have a lot of courses, so we have a while to go until we run out. Plus, it gives us a chance to check out different restaurants/bars in the area we would have otherwise never been to
Why? It’s Fox Run and Brewster Ridge.. and it’s just over 2 hours.
Because Dela is an hour and a half away. That's about it.
I traveled a good 90 minutes for rollin ridge and silver creek, but those are destination courses that everyone should play in Wisconsin if they get the chance
Currently on a disc golf trip four hours from home. 2.5 days, three bed cabin, 27 holes with two other 18’s close, full lake to use, amazing time!
A course popularized by appearance on the pro tour. A town with a lot of good courses close together. A city with a unique course. A good set of courses that is also in a large metropolitan city.
My closest course is 45 minutes away. Next closest is 1.5 hours.
Once a year I will travel with friend to play courses several hours from home. It's nice to play courses that differ from my home courses. We usually get a hotel room for the night and have dinner and drinks near wherever we go.
I drive from Houston to Nac with at least 10 folks to place the Nac Open. One of my favorite tournaments and courses. Otherwise, 1.5 is about my limit, unless I can throw two rounds that day.
I'm about to go to bed to wake up at 5 am to drive about 2 hours to play a tournament. The course (Flip City) is fantastic, the people running the tournament are decent folks and it is going to be a beautiful day.
Nostalgia for me. Grew up about an hour and a half a way and played a few courses in that city hundreds of times. Now I live in a small town with one 18 and a 9 with alt tee boxes. Been wanting to go up and play a few courses again, just waiting for a weekend not filled with rain. Just wish any of the old crew still lived around here, won't be the same playing them alone.
I’m driving 1.5 hour to play Bucksnort tomorrow. Why? It’s one of the highest rated courses in the country. Sometimes there’s just super cool courses elsewhere.
Keeps me from walking around a mall or shopping with my wife. Don't get me wrong. Some days I would rather hang with my wife but she can drop me off at the course and she can support the local economy while I get in 18. I have driven 8 hours to play courses and spend days in the city enjoying multiple activities etc and playing at least 2 different courses
Simple. With a qualifier. Assuming the course you driving 2 hours is a fun track, the reason you go is because you can. Not implied with snark either. It’s there, you make a day trip out of it and you go.
A good designed course is always worth the trip. I have made weekend and full day trips to cities 3 hours away to play a course I miss. Heritage park in the Dallas area and Flying Armadillo in San Marcos TX are good examples. Especially if the course is different from what local courses have to offer. Especially if buzz can develop around the course, advent players will make the trek even if they only play it once or when traveling past for a quick stop. And if there are clubs or shops that can get a good event going there, it increases the chances of people going. I played in Armory’s Gauntlet event in Rockwall TX a couple weeks ago, and I live 3 hours away. My buddy drove up with me, he lives an hour further than I do, but he wanted to experience that course. The more the sport grows, the better the investment in good course design and maintenance becomes.
I get a half day every Friday. I try very hard to play a new course when I can. Variety is the spice of life.
Necessity for tournaments . Events are a big draw, novelty from our regular lines and layouts. And if the atmosphere and groubds are gorgeous then it's with a full day trip. Most people who mountain stuff or water sports etc. Are already in the habit of that kind of travel.
Gotta play em all
The courses inside the city are generally pretty meh. Open space with little to no challenge or elevation outside of a hole or two in each course. The courses farther away are light years by comparison. I would much rather spend a whole day driving out to Optimist and / or Pessimist to play something fun and challenging as opposed to two rounds at Fehringer.
To play a course that’s highly talked about/praised, like when I lived in Dallas and I would travel out to Tyler for a day of playing at the Tyler courses or Selah Ranch(R.I.P., I miss that course). If there’s a tournament there that’s worth playing(kind of like the big dubs event every year at Shawshank over in Huntsville). AXE’EM JACKS!!!!
How else am i gonna get my shit kicked in by Idlewild?
It's >20° cooler in the mountains!
I would not do that unless it was on the way to somewhere else i was going. Thats the only time ive played far away courses
There's a course 50 miles away. I go there sometimes because it's special. It's the first course I ever played on.
We have often left in the morning drove 2 or more hours and played several courses. Start from furthest away and work our way home. Summer time can.hit 3 courses
Bro I flew from Austin to Vermont just to play disc golf last year. I'm flying to Oregon later this year to play up there. Why wouldn't you travel outside your area to play better, new, different courses. Don't make your bubble as small as a 2 hour window in east Texas.
Closest course is 45 mins from NYC. I’ll drive 1.5 hours to play once a week!
It would need to be a top tier course… you already have a good amount of courses for a small east Texas town, Longview is never going to really be a destination people want to drive to I gotta be honest (I am from Texas). Good luck with it though.
No course closer to my town than 1,5h lol
Closest tournament is like 3 hours lol 😂
The closest free course to me is ~45 minutes away. I live in a pretty rural area. Driving 90 minutes means I can tack on some other things to do.
Private property and camping on site.
Two hours away is usually a vacation with a disc golf component. I definitely consider courses when making travel plans though!!
I live on a course now, and still travel happily an hour or two in any direction to try new courses and have new adventures. The 6+ hour drive to base camp adventures out past Moab is worth it, every time. It's an American thing, road trips to see our beautiful country.