An integral part to the disc golf experience is the sense of place we develop from hurling plastic into the air spaces between and around trees, hills, and other various obstacles. The setting in which we play is a fundamental part of the discing experience. The very essence of disc golf is throwing a round of disc golf in a beautiful natural setting; it is a fundamental pleasure of the sport. As we play, however, we need to be aware of the ways that we affect the land, the plants, and the animals that share our course with us.

In many cases, disc golf has resulted in significant environmental improvement. Disc golfers have cleaned up tons of garbage and refuse and made courses out of former illegal dumps, and disc golfers have spent weeks clearing non-native vegetation so that they could use a specific location. De Laveaga Disc Golf Course in Santa Cruz, California is a great example of this. Before the disc golf course was located there, it was a frequently used illegal dump and illegal four wheel drive playground. Disc golfers cleared away thousands of pounds of debris, and their continued presence has resulted in nearly no new dumping and far less damage from four wheel drive vehicles since the installation of the course.

The PDGA has committed itself to the growth of disc golf, and is also committed to seeing that the sport grows in an environmentally responsible way. Because of this commitment, the PDGA formed the PDGA Environmental Committee in 1998.

The primary duties of the Environmental Committee will be to:

1. educate players and course designers about the impacts of existing and proposed courses;
2. provide specific input, advice, and general expertise in specific locations;
3. store environmental documents and/or data from courses around the country for use by other course designers or operators.

How to Reach the PDGA Environmental Committee

The PDGA Environmental Committee is a cybercommittee comprised of members from all over the world. We can be reached through the committee chair, Mike Belchik, mbelchik@snowcrest.com. Mike can then route the communication to the rest of the committee. We can help you interface with parks departments, answer questions about environmental issues and course maintenance, and be a general contact for the PDGA regarding these issues.

If you have any environmental documentation regarding your course, we would greatly appreciate it if you could forward it to this committee so that others can access it easily. We are building a reference library of these types of documents for future use. Examples include memos from parks departments, permits, and environmental documentation of any kind. We are also interested in any generalized books, documents, or references you might feel would be relevant to this subject.

Finally, if you know of any people, disc golfers or not, that are interested in this subject and could contribute to the functioning of this committee, please let us know.

Background Information Regarding Environmental Effects of Disc Golf

It is far better to anticipate, plan, and prevent, than it is to fix or repair.

Existing Courses

The PDGA strongly recommends that existing disc golf courses have a maintenance program in place. This is becoming increasingly important as the popularity of the sport soars and usage of the more popular courses continues to increase. There are many ways to accomplish this goal, but the three most frequently used ways are:

1. Establish a volunteer maintenance program using existing disc golf clubs as the core volunteer group.
2. Acquire funding from the entity in charge of the land where the course is located. Sometimes park and recreation districts will be willing to fund maintenance activities.
3. Fund a maintenance program by charging players a nominal fee to play the course. This is a controversial subject, but it will be detrimental to the long- term development of disc golf if existing popular courses show heavy impacts from the thousands of players that use them.

Goals of a disc golf course maintenance program: The overall goal of a disc golf course maintenance program is to lessen the impact of disc golf to a given area. Measures include a whole range of things; from physical structures such as trails, bridges, and trash receptacles, to subtle changes in course design to steer people away from sensitive areas and player education. In addition to keeping baskets, tee signs, trash receptacles benches and tees in working order, the maintenance program should:

1. Establish easily recognized well maintained trails that draw foot traffic away from other areas.
2. Replant appropriate areas with native vegetation, or cover with wood chips, bark, gravel or other soil protector.
3. Control weeds and other non-native vegetation, preferably without chemicals.
4. Take measures to protect sensitive small trees and shrubs. Use stakes to protect the trunks of small trees, and replant some new trees every year.
5. Preserve the aesthetic value of the course through the use of ground covers, steps, planting, etc.

It bears repeating the first rule of mitigation and maintenance: it is far better to anticipate, plan, and prevent than it is to fix or repair. This brings us to our next topic; building and designing new courses.

Proposed Courses

Most proposed courses are in parks, which are for the most part, designated for recreational use, and disc golf is an entirely appropriate activity for these areas. In fact disc golf courses have far less impact than many commonly accepted land alterations for recreational activities, such as: ball golf, tennis courts, soccer or baseball fields, etc. Think about it, a disc golf course leaves the structural integrity of existing vegetation largely intact, while a ball golf course, soccer field, or tennis court requires earth moving and destruction of portions of land.

However, before proposing a course to any parks and recreation district or other land manager, it is highly recommended that you find any existing land use plans for the area you are considering and thoroughly acquaint yourself with them. This step can save an enormous amount of work later on. Parks often have a general land use plan, and if you can show that your course fulfills the goals of that plan, you stand a much better chance of hearing "yes".

If you are contemplating seeking permission to install a course on a tract of land, the PDGA strongly recommends seeking the advice of a professional disc golf course designer. The Disc Golf Course Designer's Guild has many qualified people that can help with all aspects of course design, including environmental impacts. Contact Chuck Kennedy (ck34@aol.com) to find the qualified designer nearest you. The PDGA further recommends that the new course proposal includes a maintenance element that states when and how maintenance will be performed after course installation.

Even if a land use plan exists, the folks that manage that land will have questions about what kind of effect disc golf will have to the land. In general, it is best to be as honest as you can about the impacts, and that is what the rest of this document is for. Even if there is a plan, you should use the following guide to analyze for yourself what the impacts to the course will be.

The idea is to take the general concepts discussed here, and apply them to the specific situation or location you are dealing with. This requires many field visits. Think about what the course will look like during the rainy season, and during the hot dry season.

Impact Analysis

The first two steps of impact analysis are to determine the appropriateness of the proposed location and then apply the general impacts analysis to the specific location in question. Finally, you should determine what mitigation measures can be taken to lessen impact. So first, we will talk about appropriateness of location, then generalized impacts, and finally mitigation. Remember, this applies to proposed courses.

Appropriateness of Location

Disc golf is appropriate for the vast majority of parks and open spaces that are designated for recreational use. Indeed, if the area has already been designated for recreational use, then chances are that a specific site analysis has already been completed, and you can build on that work. So, find out what general plans exist for an area to see what issues have been identified. This step can save an enormous amount of work. If no plan exists, or if the existing plans are too generalized, then some site specific analysis may be appropriate. For this, contact the environment committee for further documentation and site analysis techniques.

General Impacts

Disc golf courses generally do not require major land alterations, and usually do not require the use of chemicals. Although some disc golf courses are watered, it is not required, and many of the best disc golf courses in the country are played on land that is close to its natural state. Indeed, part of the joy of disc golf is being in a natural setting.

In most places, disc golf is a highly appropriate use of open space and has little lasting effect on the environment, and even heavily used courses have little lasting impact if properly maintained. Disc golf course designers and players everywhere need to be aware of the effects of their activities, and be aware of the simple things they can do to help. Regular maintenance is required for heavily used courses, but when regular maintenance is performed, environmental impacts are minor.

Specific Effects of Disc Golf and Mitigation Measures: A disc golf course alters the numbers of people that walk through a given area, and players walk through places that would otherwise not normally see much foot traffic. This can have several effects, the magnitude of which, varies widely from site to site and depends on the volume of players passing through the course. Proper maintenance can largely negate this effect, however.

When designing a new course, evaluate where the high foot traffic areas of the course will be. Each fairway should have a well defined main trail that will draw the bulk of the foot traffic, especially in areas with elevational relief. In high traffic areas, build in proper erosion control features into the course from the beginning. Examples of erosion control features include, stairs or steps, stabilizing side hill trails with logs or cut-banks, building small bridges over seasonal or permanent creeks, blocking access to sensitive areas using brush or other traffic control objects, and the use of ground covering materials such as gravel or wood chips. Proper use of these techniques can significantly reduce the impact of a disc golf course to a given area. Contact the environment committee for further information on these techniques.

Don't wait for a problem to develop before initiating maintenance or building proper foot traffic trails.

Litter: The PDGA has taken an active role educating players about not littering. For example, littering is a courtesy violation in the Rules of Disc Golf, and it is clearly stated that cigarette butts are considered litter. The vast majority of courses have resulted in cleaner parks, and in many cases, disc golfers have initiated extensive clean-up efforts prior to installing their course. It is important to have trash receptacles so that people can do the right thing.

Remember, local situations require local solutions. Now, go out and have some fun!!