Throw Green

 

The PDGA Environmental Committee consists of a group of dedicated volunteers who share an interest in the relationship between disc golf and the natural environment. Committee members provide expertise, information and guidance to the PDGA, its committees, disc golf clubs, promoters, tournament directors and courses.

The current focus of the committee is the refinement and implementation of the PDGA’s Throw Green initiative. The goal of this initiative is to establish best practices for reducing the environmental impact of disc golf through community outreach to all PDGA members and stakeholders.

We are always interested in having energetic, enthusiastic and resourceful new people join our committee, work on our initiatives and research projects and become part of our Facebook group. 

Limiting Erosion and Compaction on Courses

How erosion happens

• Compaction and over-use in high-traffic areas
• Loss of vegetation and ground cover
• Lack of physical cues where to walk on disc golf courses (trails, signs, mulching)

Where erosion typically occurs

• In areas of highest use (tees and targets, heavily used trails)
• Sloped areas
• Check out water flow under under intense precipitation events
• In areas with already highly-erodible soils

What to observe (and do) on your home course

• Look to see where the course is dry, has exposed roots, and areas that appear to be impacted
• If designing a new course, predict where the problem areas might be and plan to avoid them (baskets on slopes for example)
• Do not remove leaves, needles and/or other organic matter on the playing surface; tread lightly

Throw Green Signage

Many club leaders report that litter on their courses is a persistent and labor-intensive issue. What can you do? Many parks have a pack-it-in, pack-it-out philosophy where there are no trash or recycling receptacles. The beauty of this is no over-flowing receptacles, no broken glass, and less litter. The PDGA supports this approach — in fact your club can now purchase these signs from the PDGA store. A litter-free course tends to stay that way. If it looks like players care, it sends a good vibe.

Encourage visitors to your course to clean up after themselves with a PDGA Throw Green 12"x18" aluminum sign, available on PDGAStore.com. The graphic is also available for download.

Resources

• Professional Design, Planning And Maintenance Can Limit Erosion And Compaction On Courses (Part One Of Two)
• A Change Of Course: Practical Erosion Solutions Second Of A Two-Part Series
• Learning From Ball Golf Helps Disc Golfers Throw Green
• Maintaining And Sustaining: The Care And Feeding Of Your Course
• PDGA Environmental Committee Report: Throw Green Initiative Takes Root
• Taking Steps to Keep Disc Golf Green
• Conservation by Design: Using Conservation Principles in Disc Golf Course Design