New to Disc Golf

Your First Round

Walk onto a course and play with confidence.

Why it matters

The first round decides whether most people come back. The sport is not the problem when they do not — the course usually is. Picking a short, open, quiet course for your first outing is worth more than any amount of practice beforehand.

How to do it

Pick a beginner-friendly course: mostly par 3s, holes under about 300 feet, and not heavily wooded. Course apps list length and difficulty.
Go at a quiet time. A weekday morning means nobody waiting behind you while you look for a disc.
Take three discs, water, a mini marker and a small towel. That is the whole kit.
Play from the shortest tees. There is no prize for the long ones and they turn a fun round into a long one.
Write your name and phone number on every disc before you leave the house.
Count every throw, write the total down, and keep it. That number is the one you will beat.

Common mistakes

Starting at the longest, most wooded course nearby because it is the one everybody talks about.Those courses are good because they are hard. Earn them. A short open course on day one is far more fun.

Going on a Saturday afternoon with groups stacked up behind you.Go early on a weekday. You will play twice as fast and feel none of the pressure.

Measuring the day against par and leaving discouraged.Par is set for players with years of practice. Your own total, beaten next time, is the only score that means anything yet.

Taking one disc, or taking fifteen.Three. You will lose less, carry less and learn faster.

Key points

Find a beginner-friendly course and go at a quiet time.
Bring water, a mini marker and a towel; have fun.

The drill

Drill · Beat your own number — the same 9 holes, twice, within 2 weeks. Play nine holes and write the total down. Play the same nine again within a fortnight and compare. Almost everybody improves by several throws between the first and second attempt, purely from knowing where the trouble is — and seeing that happen is what turns a first round into a second season.

Watch: COMPLETE TUTORIAL FOR BEGINNER DISC GOLFERS — Disc Golf Kid