I'm aware of the various national efforts (EDGE Foundation, etc.) to foster disc golf in the schools, etc., and I've seen the stories on juniors in tournaments in DGWN, etc. but from a grass-roots, boots-on-the-ground, week-to-week standpoint I'd be interested in hearing what local organizations are doing to promote participation in disc golf among younger kids. I'm eager to push this along in my area, but I've been away from the sport for a couple of decades before getting involved again recently, so I have very little experience with or knowledge of the things that others have done, and with a few exceptions it doesn't seem to be a topic that interests other folks in my local area. So I'm looking for anecdotes, input, and ideas from elsewhere.

We do the following:

Clinics at both the course and the high schools
Hold events that are for that age bracket only, school versus school
Hold doubles events where they are paired with more experienced players that they can work with
Sponsor disc golf giveaways for gear and plastic

However, all of these are not important without making relationships with these young people and to do that they have to know that you really care about them. As a high school teacher, I am lucky in that I have a opportunity to work with them daily. Good Luck !

I am setting up a distance contest and a CTP ring at the Field Day of my kids elementary school. Every kid in the school will get a chance to throw a couple of discs. It is a 2 day event with K-2 grades one day and 3-5th the next day. I set it up with the gym teacher. She was happy to get some help with all the kids.

Once/year our club has a Boy Scout Father and Son Day at our local course.

We set up temporary short tees, bring in a bunch of 150g class discs and solicit local club members to act as "pros" and take groups around the course.

I'm one of the local players that likes to help out with this event because it's really quite fun for everyone involved.

It seems our local Boy Scout troop has even developed a "Frisbee Golf" merit badge....

I set up 2 events for Field Day at my kids school yesterday. Putting area with a 10 Meter ring and diving range with 200 foot field to fenceline of the school. Every 3rd, 4th and 5th grader in the school got a chance to thow some putts and then some long distance drives. I gave away a Discraft hat to the kid with the longest drive. Here's the funny part, right as the 2 kids with the longest drives were doing their final throws my 2nd grade son William showed up during his recess. Both 5th graders threw drives about 5 to 10 feet from the fence. William stepped up and just bombed one over the fence and across the street and into a front yard. The 5th grade boys wanted discs and not a hat so I gave them some drivers and putters and William got the hat. Monday I'll do it again for the K-2nd graders.

I think this thread has stalled so long because not enough people do anything to promote disc-golf among youths/juniors. Please prove me wrong and tell us that you have done. I have played every WA State series event and it is very rare that you see kids there old enough to play. My kids play more events than I do. On weekends that I work my wife brings the kids to tournies.

For the past 4 years I have done this 6 hole set up at a private golf course in san diego.The course is steel canyon golf course and is $140 for a round of golf.The course is set up in the driving range with lots of hills and very short 125 ft to 200 ft.I had over 100 kids and and parents playing last week on the 3rd of july....I have a few new courses going in this month in CA fininaly it has been slow this year..

...The course is set up in the driving range with lots of hills and very short 125 ft to 200 ft.I had over 100 kids and and parents playing last week on the 3rd of july...



Good job, Reese.
Thanks!

One good thing to do is get involved with your town's Parks and Recreation Department. Most towns hold some kind of annual or semi-annual street fair, health fair or expo, sponsored by Parks and Rec. Ask if you can set up a basket or two to demonstrate putting (and bring a bunch of discs for people to use). At a few of our city's health fairs we have set up a 4 or 6 hole temporary golf course (very short) and guided kids (and parents) around as they play. This is a great way to introduce families to the game.

EDGE is a great resource. They seeded us with some discs last year that we used at several diferent events. My son and I held fundraisers for EDGE last year - this month EDGE supplied our city's Parks Dept. with a starter package of discs, portable baskets and other cool stuff.

Parks Departments are always looking for volunteers and free stuff or services. Get a group together to set up a temporary short golf course at the local summer rec. program. Or do what I did - I volunteered for my city's Trails Committee, then was appointed to the Parks and Rec. Board. It took a few years, but I was eventually able to convince city staff and council to install a new golf course which opened in February. It's been a great success. We're adding a 6-hole short course for kids in another park next summer and a championship-level course within a few more years. Every time I see a new kid at our course I give them a mini or an old disc. A few months later some of those kids start playing in our weekly doubles league.

My two cents... :D

Glad this topic finally got some interest -- after six months of no replies I'd given up and forgotten about it (the thread, not the topic) until now.

Sounds like we're all thinking along the same lines. Since my original post, we've spent several months getting a local disc golf club, affiliated with the local Recreation and Parks dept., off the ground, and I'm hoping that will provide us with a mechanism for implementing some of the other suggestions. Our local Rec & Parks dept. held a disc golf camp as one of their regular summer camps for the second summer in a row, and both have been quite successful (full enrollment, etc.). The Rec & Parks dept had a Family Fun Day this past Memorial Day weekend and asked us to include something disc golf-related -- since this was a fairly short event (~2 hours) and there were several other events, we elected to do an Around Nine competition as a way of familiarizing folks with the concept while staying contained in a relatively small area.

As secretary of the new local club, I'm expecting to push for establishing some regular clinics and events for kids. Meanwhile, I'd love to hear more suggestions or success stories.

That's a great idea I am going to go down and sign up today. i would love to get on a Parks and Rec commitee just to spread the word.

JUST GOT THE EDGE PROGRAM FOR MY DAUGHTER"S MIDDLE SCHOOL> I"M PRESENTING IT FOR THE PTA>

I have a 6 yr old that has been playing for the past year, he enjoys the outdoors and the father/ son time that he gets out of it. I am wanting to promote the sport in our local school district however I am not really to sure as to how to do that.... Can anyone give some advice????

I have a 6 yr old that has been playing for the past year, he enjoys the outdoors and the father/ son time that he gets out of it. I am wanting to promote the sport in our local school district however I am not really to sure as to how to do that.... Can anyone give some advice????



Check out this link: www.edgediscgolf.org/ (http://www.edgediscgolf.org/)

Edge is a group (sponsored by Innova) dedicated to helping teachers tech disc golf in schools. They have put together a great DVD and curriculum package and bundle them with portable baskets and kid-weight discs. Great place for you to start.