Some summer camps want to put in disc golf courses for boys and girls ages 7-10. What should they know about children this age before installing the course? How far can kids throw? How do they like to play? How long does disc golf hold their interest?

Any help from someone who introduces kids this age to disc golf would help make a better camp experience for the children.

The uninitiated kids will need to work on learning disc throwing-skills/flights...like playing catch with a tree or obstacle between the 2 throwers - forcing hyzers and anhyzers...or ambidexterity with a flick/sidearm.

Putting games with 'multiple chances' to move to the next station should help keep their spirits/attention-spans in tact. :D

In one of the last 2 or 3 DGWN issues, there was a little blurb about world record throws for age groups down to 1 y.o. That may be a starting place. There's a course at Sunset Hills, suburban St Louis, which has a few holes in the 100'-150 ' range, it's a little more difficult than it sounds due to trees etc. A little. But, certainly for a 7 yo, holes in the 100-150 range would be a challenge, at least for a while.

Contact Chuck Kennedy or Bill Ashton. Both are course designers in your area and both are familiar with designing courses for children and/or recreational players. They are both available on the MFA yahoo group or you can PM me and I can provide email addresses.

How long does disc golf hold their interest?


I have 2 daughters ages 9 & 7. In previous years they were interested for the first 5 maybe 6 holes. By the time we'd get to #8 they'd be asking to go play on the playground located in the middle of the back 9. This past summer my 9 year old has started to play a full 18. She's thinking about playing her first (2-round) tournament next summer and knows she has to be able to play all 18. My 7 year old has been able to play a few more holes (12-16 total) but eventually she gives in to the playground and skips a few holes.

One other observation. The speed of play and interest level is different when they're playing with friends. When they're with me I guess I keep things moving. When we bring a friend or two along they become a little more distracted. They start looking at sticks, bugs, each others hair, etc. I've seen them forget where their disc is. I don't know if it's just a girl thing or not and it doesn't really matter. When I bring my kids out it's all about having fun and being social. :cool:

Steve posted the same question to our course designers group and here was my response:

The EDGE program is essentially for students starting around 2nd grade. With the patch program, the first level Owl patch only includes 6 of the 20 skill stations, none which is longer than 100 feet. Here's a link to the skills chart: http://www.edgediscgolf.org/skillshot.htm Even the next Hawk level only includes lengths up to 150 feet.

When I did my length measurements in 2002 at Am Worlds, I got data on 6 throws for boys under age 13. They averaged 203 feet with lengths ranging from 156 to 249. Two girls in this age bracket threw 156 & 183. Not much data but it's a start.

i would think you could modify an existing course by adding kiddie tees half way up the fairway (even using flags) -- or you could design a course that had long and short tees with the short tees geared toward this age bracket...