Everything a first-timer asks, answered straight. The short version: pick up three discs, come to Odell Park on a Wednesday at a quarter to six, and say it is your first time.
What is disc golf?
Golf, with flying discs. You throw from a tee toward a metal basket, you keep throwing from wherever it lands, and the fewest throws wins.
A course is usually nine or eighteen holes laid out through woods or park land, and a round takes about two hours on foot. The scoring language is the same as ball golf — par, birdie, bogey — and so is the etiquette: the person furthest from the basket throws next, and nobody throws while somebody is downrange.
What equipment do I need to get started?
Three discs and shoes you do not mind getting wet. That is genuinely it.
A putter, a mid-range and a fairway driver will cover every shot on every course around here. Skip the distance drivers for your first season — they need arm speed you have not built yet and they will go sideways. A three-disc starter set runs about thirty dollars locally; the shops that stock them are on the where to buy gear page. A junior membership comes with the three discs included.
Where can I play disc golf in Fredericton?
Odell Park is the one to start with — it is a free city course, close to downtown, and it is where the club plays on Wednesdays.
There are six courses in and around the city: Odell Park and The Royal 9 in Fredericton, Fulton Heights, Deer Park in Oromocto, Mactaquac Provincial Park, and Ripples Run at JOMO Acres out in Ripples, which has eighteen holes and a pro shop on site. The course finder has the details, the map and what each one costs to play.
Is disc golf free to play?
Mostly, yes. Odell Park costs nothing, and you can play it any day the park is open.
Two exceptions. Ripples Run is a private course, so there is a green fee — $5 on a Thursday league night, and free that night if you are a club member. Mactaquac sits inside a provincial park, so whatever the park charges for day use in season applies to getting to the course. Filter by access on the course finder if you want the free ones only.
What is the difference between a driver, a mid-range and a putter?
How far they go and how hard they are to control. Putters are slow and predictable, drivers are fast and unforgiving, mid-ranges sit in between.
A putter is for the last throw and anything inside about thirty metres — it is also, unhelpfully for its name, the disc most good players throw the most. A mid-range holds a line and lands where you aimed. A driver has a sharp edge that cuts through air and needs real speed to fly the way it was designed to; thrown slowly it just turns over and dives. Beginners gain far more from throwing a putter well than from buying a faster driver.
Do I need to join a club to play?
No. Every course here is open to anyone, and you can play every league night of the season without being a member.
A $25 membership gets you cheaper league nights, double season points, a bag tag and a vote on what the club does — but it is not a gate. Nobody will ask to see anything before you throw. Joining is for people who want the club, the baskets and the tee signs to still be here in five years.
How do I get involved with Fredericton Disc Golf?
Turn up to Wednesday doubles at Odell Park. Be there for 5:45, cards go out at six, and you will be paired with somebody who knows the course.
Random doubles means you do not need to bring anybody and you do not need to be any good — your name goes in a hat and comes out next to a partner. The season runs from the end of April. Out of season, the Monday night putting league at LaunchPad Sports runs indoors from 8:30, which is where most of the winter improvement in this club comes from. Week-to-week changes and rain calls go up in the Fredericton Disc Golf Community group on Facebook; if you are not on Facebook, email us and we will tell you what is on.
Still got a question?
Ask it. Nobody in this club learned any of this on their own.