Playing

Disc golf is played in a similar manner as ball golf. The initial drive is taken from a designated tee area, and each subsequent throw is taken from just behind the spot where the disc came to rest. Every throw is added to your tally.

As with ball golf each hole is given a par rating. A common strategy for a par-three hole, as in golf, would be drive (long throw toward the basket), approach (mid-range throw to the "green"), putt (short throw into the basket). Your hole is scored when the disc has come to rest in the basket of the target or when it hits the designated part of an object if there are no baskets.

A typical course would be 18 holes. Many smaller courses have only 9 holes, while an increasing number of courses offer an additional 9 holes to make 27 available holes to the disc golfer. Many disc golf courses are in open, grassy public parks, but more challenging courses are set in semi-wooded and hilly areas, some quite rough and natural. One good example of a classic long course with wooded hills is De Laveaga Disc Golf Course in Santa Cruz, California, USA.

The target in disc golf is usually a metal basket that is suspended parallel to the ground about two feet from the ground, and attached to a vertical pole that is a few feet tall. To allow discs to come to rest in this basket, chains are suspended from another circular section near the top of the pole and allowed to hang limply to a point where they are connected to the pole in or near the receiving basket.

Disc golf is unique in that PDGA and WFDF rules, based in player conservation efforts as well as fair play, make it a violation to cause damage to the course's flora. Due to the fact that most courses don't require greens fees, the relative low cost of discs, and tournament fees still fairly low, the disc golf social structure may be among the most egalitarian and relaxed in organised sports.

There are a wide variety of discs, divided into three basic categories: putters, approach discs, and drivers. There are several classes of drivers intended for different distances. Mid-range drivers tend to be the most versatile discs, and are very good for beginners. For longer drives there are many variations of long-range and extra long-range drivers.