



Sustainability in disc golf: What is sustainability?

By Mike Harrington



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This is the first part in a series on sustainability in disc golf course design.



Sustainability is a word that has been thrown around for many years in the green industry. For the best comparison, I will use golf course maintenance since disc golf shares many of the same concepts and design characteristics as golf. The basic definition of sustainability is, "When using a resource, the resource is not depleted or permanently damaged."



In this instance, the land is our resource. To put it in disc golf course terms it means that when a disc golf course is designed and installed, it does not get destroyed over time. A truly sustainable property will not be negatively impacted over time through normal use, and the resources needed to maintain this property will also not decrease. True sustainability is a very lofty goal, but the intent is to make our properties more sustainable with proper design/installation.

INDUSTRY PULSE Should disc golf focus on course sustainability? 1. Yes

2. No





Golf is the opposite of what disc golf is in this regard because they clear-cut fairways, move thousands of yards of soil, create man-made water hazards, and plant different species of grasses for their rough, fairways, tees and greens. In general, golf courses create the need for more inputs like irrigation, pesticides, daily mowing, etc. Golf has become less sustainable over time because of the demands of the golfers in terms of quality of turf and speed of the greens. I honestly think that is one of the reasons golf has taken such a hit over the last two decades.



This is where I feel disc golf can shine. We can be the sport that puts sustainability at the forefront of our designs and installations. Parks departments should be excited to see someone approach them with the idea of a disc golf course because it can actually be an asset to the park. The difficulty in shifting disc golf toward sustainability will be to get everyone to realize the impacts of the way courses are designed and installed and how that affects the property's sustainability.



Sustainability of a disc golf course would be affected mostly by safety (of the disc golfers and non-disc golf users), compaction and erosion of the soil, and loss of vegetation including existing desirable trees, turf, prairie grasses and other plants. Invasive species such as buckthorn, honeysuckle and many more are not considered desirable.



A secondary issue would be the loss of wildlife. We do not want to claim an entire property for disc golf and force the already existing wildlife to find other areas to live or completely trample and remove the vegetation and trees that already exist. Obviously, any time humans use a property that was not previously maintained or used in that manner, there will be a change in vegetation and wildlife, but good design will allow these things to remain intact as much as possible.



Everyone who reads this article can relate to this topic because we all know of at least one course that has been removed due to safety issues, environmental concerns, compaction, erosion and/or loss of plant material. My goal in writing this series of articles is to promote sustainability and ensure that our courses remain in the ground as long as possible and the game of disc golf continues to grow and improve. I will be focusing on more specific topics and ways for those involved in course development to ensure that their projects are more sustainable.



Mike Harrington has a Bachelor of Science degree from the University of Minnesota with a focus in landscape design and turf and landscape management. He has spent his entire 20-year career in the green industry, primarily in golf course management and high-end residential lawn and landscape management. He wants to take his knowledge of property management and his passion for disc golf to promote good design and installation techniques in hopes of making disc golf courses more sustainable.



While the concepts of disc golf and golf are very similar, the two are very different when considering installation. Disc golf courses usually use natural pathways, natural terrain and natural openings through the woods. They play around or over existing bodies of water, and the grass we have on most of our fairways was already there.Golf is the opposite of what disc golf is in this regard because they clear-cut fairways, move thousands of yards of soil, create man-made water hazards, and plant different species of grasses for their rough, fairways, tees and greens. In general, golf courses create the need for more inputs like irrigation, pesticides, daily mowing, etc. Golf has become less sustainable over time because of the demands of the golfers in terms of quality of turf and speed of the greens. I honestly think that is one of the reasons golf has taken such a hit over the last two decades.This is where I feel disc golf can shine. We can be the sport that puts sustainability at the forefront of our designs and installations. Parks departments should be excited to see someone approach them with the idea of a disc golf course because it can actually be an asset to the park. The difficulty in shifting disc golf toward sustainability will be to get everyone to realize the impacts of the way courses are designed and installed and how that affects the property's sustainability.Sustainability of a disc golf course would be affected mostly by safety (of the disc golfers and non-disc golf users), compaction and erosion of the soil, and loss of vegetation including existing desirable trees, turf, prairie grasses and other plants. Invasive species such as buckthorn, honeysuckle and many more are not considered desirable.A secondary issue would be the loss of wildlife. We do not want to claim an entire property for disc golf and force the already existing wildlife to find other areas to live or completely trample and remove the vegetation and trees that already exist. Obviously, any time humans use a property that was not previously maintained or used in that manner, there will be a change in vegetation and wildlife, but good design will allow these things to remain intact as much as possible.Everyone who reads this article can relate to this topic because we all know of at least one course that has been removed due to safety issues, environmental concerns, compaction, erosion and/or loss of plant material. My goal in writing this series of articles is to promote sustainability and ensure that our courses remain in the ground as long as possible and the game of disc golf continues to grow and improve. I will be focusing on more specific topics and ways for those involved in course development to ensure that their projects are more sustainable.