Disc Golf

lokiloo

Does anybody know if there are plans in the works to develop a disc golf course in Ireland? The ultimate scene has really taken off the past few years, and I would expect that a disc golf course should not be too far behind!

Lord Panic

Is this the same loki that mentioned this on the DCU forum, and somewhere else as far as I can remember? To answer your question, no, as far as i'm aware there are no plans at all for a course anywhere in the country!

Pity.

lokiloo

The very same Loki! Thanks for the reply. I have been championing disc golf in Ireland for about two years.....(many meetings with many people) but as of yet.....no joy. (I have found a few people who are willing to pay for a course, but it is the land availability (or lack thereof) that is more the problem. I actually sold the idea to the superintendant of the Dublin Parks Department (who is happy to pay for it), but he hasn't committed to any one park yet. (I and he would like to see a course in Phoenix Park but it doesn't fall under his jurisdiction.....and the super from P Park is not interested!) Pity, but I haven't given up hope. I just posted this to see if anyone else was trying the same, so that we could possibly join forces. Obviously, if my dream does come to fruition, the ultimate players (via these forums) will be the first to know....as you lot will be the player base and backbone of it's impending success. If you haven't played disc golf on a nice course (or any course), you really don't know what you are missing, and Ireland just seems so perfect.........fingers crossed.

Jonathanpbk

personally i've never played it, but i really would like to! it sounds like such a fun relaxing sport, but i may disagree with you on the whole "ireland just seems so perfect" statement.... it has almost the worst favorable conditions wind-wise etc... but if you can organise some way of us joining forces to try and get a course up and running somewhere than i'd be game!
One idea that springs to mind would be petitions in all the colleges with frisbee involvment. posters or demos to educate people who dont know anything about it etc... think about it, i have plenty of friends who'd love to see one made! (ucd team, pen15, trinity team, dcu team [well, pixie] and friends not on teams like me etc!!)

lokiloo

Good ideas....i will definitely consider. In reference to the wind and rain...you would be interested to know the stats...Europe has over 160 courses and every course is in northern Europe (60+ in Sweden!!). I currently live and play in Oregon which is as rainy as Ireland year round (although 3 summer months are dryish). I drove up to Alaska a couple of years ago and some of the best courses I've played were on the way....It was beautiful.....Ireland has all that without the bears (or americans)

Jonathanpbk

good point! i'd love to play! but there's nowhere available yet! i may have to go to england just to give it a shot! i believe there are courses there. how long are the holes (distance)?

lokiloo

There are 10 courses in England, 6 in Scotland and 1 in Wales. Check out www.obmegazine.com for more info on the British disc golf scene and courses. Course lengths vary almost as much as real golf, but if there was an average, I would say 100-125m. Most courses play all holes par three, but there is a newer trend of longer holes. (I've played tournaments with holes longer than 400m), but for the most part, any well designed course has a good mix from short to long. Be careful though, if you try it...you may never be quite the same ultimate player, because all you'll be thinking about is disc golf. I would say that 25% of the people I meet that play tournament are ex-ultimate players!!

doyler4k

If you look back through the pookas there should be some discussions about some guy opening a course in Limerick - can't remember the details and can't be arsed to look it up when all you need is some grass and a few trees.

Peace

KDGA

I am also in Oregon at the moment and addicted to disc golf. I am returning to Ireland (near Dublin) at the end of June and want to work to get disc golf in Ireland. We should talk about what avenues you have tried and future plans. Maybe meet up for a game?

lokiloo

Kdga......Check your private messages.

shambledagain

hi there. i have just come back from holland where for the last 3 months i have been playing disc golf. i am keen on getting something started up here. even if its a small course.

shambledagain

Hey, I just moved back to Ireland from Holland where for the last 3 months i have been playing. For a game thats been played for over 20 years Stateside, i think its time it came to ireland. I live outside Drogheda, so if there is anyone in the area up for getting together, let me know.
laterz............

L31mr0d

Dammit, I bought a load of drivers and putters for frolf (disk golf?) off ebay (this guy is excellent and super cheap) a while back and I can't get anyone playing it. Although they will play Ultimate frisbee... i guess they like catching?

Couldn't we just allocate some urban frolf courses (like these guys) to start building interest? I'd be interested in getting into it, and could drag some friends along. All we'd need to do is find somewhere (say a park somewhere or campus) and just put down some baskets and setup a course? The more people see it being played the more they'll want to try it out for themselves.

lokiloo

I tried for two years to get a course into Ireland. I'm an Irishman who has been playing the game for almost 10 years (3 professionally) stateside. I spent approx $10,000 travelling to Ireland on numerous occassions to pitch the idea to Shannon Development board, Limerick Co. Council, Dublin Co. Council, Dublin (and other) parks departments, Coillte, The Irish Sports Council and finally John O'Donoghue (minister of sport). Although I never got to meet Mr. O'Donoghue.....Many people were very interested in the idea, but after getting to the top (O'Donoghues office) and been given the brush-off, I decided to give up on the idea. I was offering to design and build the first couple of courses for free (if of course someone could come up with the land), as this is something that I have a lot of experience in (I have designed and built about ten courses here in the US). I also had the European disc golf tour interested in adding Ireland as one of their tour stops as soon as I could get a course in the ground........but nobody was willing to take the leap. Does Ireland have to wait til their kids are as fat as Americans before they start looking for alternate forms of low cost exercise that will easily get these kids away from their computer screens? Sorry I might sound a little bitter, but my plan was one that would promote a healthy lifestyle, as well as being a huge boost for Irish tourism revenues, and yet those that were in a position to make a difference showed no interest in the sport and it's obvious and ensuing benefits.

If anyone is interested in taking up the torch I will be happy to furnish you with my proposal (which totals 150 pages) and explains the massive growth of the sport around the world, full specs for designing and building a course, feasibility studies for Ireland etc. My brother also has hundreds of discs that I brought over with me as well as a few baskets, so that those that need persuading can physically see how little it actually takes to set up a working disc golf course.

discgolfandy

I was wodnering, are there any disc golf courses in irleand yet? Hi my names andy. I am traveling from charlotte, n.c. to dublin in dec. I would love to play A round while I am there, thanks.

Andy.

RareVintage

I'm in Munster province and will gladly help out in organising an event here in the sunny south west. Lets do it! Next summer would be great. Here's a mail I got a year ago from Discgolf (and previously Ultimate) legend Derek "Delboy" Robins:

<<Hi ***,

Didn't you used to play disc golf as well?
It would be really good to get some disc golf going in Ireland. A couple of years ago I met a guy (teacher I think) from somewhere near the Wicklow hills who plays a bit and sells some discs. If there was an Irish Championships it might be possible to get a van load of UK players with portable baskets to help kickstart the golf scene. Let me know if anyone is playing in the Cork area (or anywhere else in Ireland for that matter)

Del>>

So maybe with a little assistance we could do this. We'd need some suitable terrain with public access and lots of planning. Who'll help? Maybe Loki would like to talk to Del; let me know and I'll connect you.

roonming

This may be old news, but are there any disc golf courses in Ireland yet? If not, I would like to help to try and get one built. Please reply!

wahlrab

none yet and i doubt there will be one built for a good few years, it's rarely played although ultimate is getting bigger and bigger

Par72

My friend said they saw a sign for Frisbee golf in Dunshaughlin Co. Meath. Does anyone know anything about it?

Gelio

I cant imagine making a course would be to expensive once you have the land

chat2joe

Isn't it just a matter of getting 18 of those baskets setup in a public park? I've seen this in Norway - looks like a good idea!

GASP gary

We are in the process of setting up a short disc golf course at GASP, near Newcastle in Co Down, should be completed by July.
If it goes well and peope are interested in playing, we have scope to make a much larger course and host some events.

ravey

Hi There,
Yes there is a 9 Basket course at Rathbeggan Lakes in Dunshaughlin, and its on the 109 bus route.
Check out our web page on www.rathbegganlakes.com and come along and play, bring a barbie or whatever. Its great fun and quite skillful.
We charge €3 and you can play around as many times as you wish.
We are open every day!

davgtrek

ravey. do ye have the different frisbees, drivers etc for someone to shopw up empty handed.... thanks.

ravey

Hey DAVGTREK.
At the moment we only have the cheapo same size shop frizbees, but are expecting some of the heavy ones soon. They are very pricey though and the last batch we had got nicked over the last two years!
So if you can get em before you come well and good otherwise its the cheapos at €3 a pop including your game.
Cheers

jdryan307

Hello All!

I'm trying to find out whether or not there are any disc golf course in Ireland. All I've found thus far is a mention of a first course in Crossgar, Ireland. I live in Chicago and will be traveling near Dublin in August and would love to play. If anyone can point me in the directions of some baskets I'd appreciate it.

Thank you in advance!

gearoidof

there's rumoured to be one somewhere, I can't remember the exact address, emm

president@irishultimate.com would be a good bet, I think

radve

What is the current situation with disc golf in Ireland?

GASP gary

Our 9 hole course has been running for 2 seasons now, and has had some interest. We are looking at ways to increase the participation and promote the sport.
We have found an overall general lack of awareness of the sport, coupled with the traditional Irish reluctance to have a go.

gearoidof

Any chance of full details about the course, Gaspgary?

GASP gary

GASP is an activity centre near Newcastle, Co Down, located on Tullyree Road, Bryansford, BT34 5LD (adjacent to Moneyscalp Woods).
We currently run a short 9 polehole course which we hope to develop into a longer and more challenging course, with a view to hosting competitive events.
Course fees are £4.50 per day for unlimited play. You can become a centre member for £35 per annum, and members course fees are £2 per day.
Other activites at the centre include Surfin' Dirt Mountain Boarding, 4X MTB, slacklining, mtb trail riding, and this year our Segway Experience activities start. Details at our website.

Im.Steppo

What about you guys, have you played much?

GASP gary

Sorry Im.steppo just saw your post. we have played using frisbees occasionally for about a year, different game when played with golf disc, some of which we got in April. I need a lot more practise!

Tournament aim is to be a fun event, while being competitive at the same time. We will be applying the PDGA rules, more as a learning curve for everyone rather than being totally strict with them. We'll get stricter as time goes on.

Im.Steppo

That's good, playing for fun is the best way, especially if your like me and the disc either lands 10 feet in front of you or in a bush

Im.Steppo

Hope you are all planning on getting down to GASP on saturday for their first disc golf tournament!!!

gearoidof

I can't go

But I have a few mates in Belfast who are going!

Im.Steppo

awww that sucks

glad theres a few ya mates going at least :P

GASP gary

Course now ready! Open Friday for practise if anyone wants to play a round.
Looking forward to seeing some competitive play!

Played the disc golf in new zealand. Was painful then again I'm not into ultimate frisbee so each to their own.

GASP gary

The Kingdom of Mourne Disc Golf Tournament is happening this Saturday 23rd June in Kilbroney Park, Rostrevor, Co Down. Register on day and tee off is at 09:30. 36 hole format, 3 hole tiebreaker if required for top players. Entry is £15, and bunkhouse accommodation is available Fri and Sat night for £12pp. Prizegiving party on Saturday night.
You can also play in the BDGA Tour event, but this means staying on for round 3 and finals on Sunday, to win the Finn MacCool Trophy.

GASP gary

The 2014 KoM DGT is to be held in Kilbroney Park, Rostrevor on weekend of 14th and 15th June.
Registration and info available by following these links.
£10 early bird entry is available up to 16th May.
A recreational division is open to any novices who haven't played an event before , but would like to try out this great sport.

GASP gary

Register your interest with Disc Golf NI for news and info about our sport. It is free to become an associate member, and registering will help us show that there is a demand for the provision of disc golf facilities within N Ireland. Thanks.

the_syco

Maybe an idea would be to contact the lads at http://www.footgolf-dublin.ie ? It's a football golf place, so you'd be kicking the football to the hole. I'm sure they wouldn't mind extreme frisbee people on one of the quieter days?

denboywalton

lokiloo wrote: »

The very same Loki! Thanks for the reply. I have been championing disc golf in Ireland for about two years.....(many meetings with many people) but as of yet.....no joy. (I have found a few people who are willing to pay for a course, but it is the land availability (or lack thereof) that is more the problem. I actually sold the idea to the superintendant of the Dublin Parks Department (who is happy to pay for it), but he hasn't committed to any one park yet. (I and he would like to see a course in Phoenix Park but it doesn't fall under his jurisdiction.....and the super from P Park is not interested!) Pity, but I haven't given up hope. I just posted this to see if anyone else was trying the same, so that we could possibly join forces. Obviously, if my dream does come to fruition, the ultimate players (via these forums) will be the first to know....as you lot will be the player base and backbone of it's impending success. If you haven't played disc golf on a nice course (or any course), you really don't know what you are missing, and Ireland just seems so perfect.........fingers crossed.

Loki did you ever get anywhere with this? It would be great to get something going in Dublin.