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To recap, the goals of disc golf are based on the rules and ideas of ball golf.

Discs take the place of balls. There is a tee and a hole, with the objective of the game being to cover the distance between the two in as few strokes as possible.

There are formal rules for disc golf, and one should search the Internet for rules if the intent is playing correctly.

But if you are simply out to have a good time, all you need to do is check out a local course.

The sport is, for the most part, self-explanatory. If you have played Ultimate Frisbee, you know that when Frisbees are around, the vibe is usually fun and easygoing. Disc golf is no exception.

Student Sean Murray says that the sport is a “relaxing, nice way to spend time outdoors, while challenging and requiring skill.”

Murray speaks for many disc golfers. This calm activity has been entertaining college students for years.

According to the PDGA, play often continues after college ends; A reported 24 percent of the 500,000 U.S. players are between the ages of 18 and 30, with 42 percent possessing a college degree.

Although the sport indeed attracts many of its players from the college age group, an overwhelming 74 percent of players are over age 30, meaning that disc golf is a lifetime activity.

Young and old alike can compete at nearly the same levels, which culminates in an eclectic group of people who participate in this already distinctive sport.

During the summer, courses buzz from 3ą8 p.m. with students, businessmen, and everyone in between.

These are the people who finish with work or school and choose to socialize. And these are the people who choose to occasionally drink beer not in a stuffy bar, but at one of the many Minnesota city and regional parks.

Dave Berglund, a St. Paul resident and Hamline alumnus, works in Minneapolis as an advertising
specialist for a computer magazine and is an avid disc golfer.

He often plays the Minneapolis and St. Paul courses during his lunch breaks and after work.

At St. Paul’s Highland Park, Berglund said, “I lived in California just after I graduated. It was cool, but I really enjoy Minnesota. Beautiful parks, a nice way to get outdoors, and it’s free.”

California boasts more disc golf courses than any other state in the nation.

In addition to the appeal of the game itself, Berglund says an enjoyable aspect of disc golf comes in the wallet; disc golf is (with the exception of discs and a bag) 100 percent free.

Thanks to all of the wonderful taxes that citizens pay, the courses of the metro are all open to the public at one of 19 city or county parks.

Hamline’s location puts us in close proximity to five St. Paul courses: Highland Park, North Valley, Acorn
Park, Oakwood, and the crown jewel of Minnesota disc golf, Kaposia Park.
As residents of Minneapolis/St Paul, we have the most convenient and easily accessible disc golf courses in the nation.

Nineteen courses in the MSP area puts you within a 15-minute drive to one if you are located in the boundaries of either Minneapolis or St. Paul. It seems that most Hamline disc golfers prefer the local Highland and Kaposia parks.

However, all St. Paul area courses rank near the top of Minnesota’s 74 courses statewide (fourth in the nation, according the PDGA in 2003.)

“Disc golf is slowly rising to the level of ball golf,” says Air Traffic’s Chris Amundsen, “and it’s only getting more popular.”

As of 1998, 7ą10 million people had tried disc golfing, and the number of courses in the United States was 1263. The number of courses have increased 10ą12 percent each year since, according to the PDGA.

This means only one thing: There is something about the sport that draws players and keeps them playing.

Any kind of activity that comes at this price, has this kind of accessibility, and provides the caliber of companionship that disc golf offers, can only make it popular with all audiences.

If you are out of money but have time to spare, play disc golf. Or if you are bored senseless with Hamline weekend afternoons, play some disc golf. Or if you just need the perfectly priced activity for that special someone, make a trip down to Highland or to any other of the metro’s 19 courses.

If you try this pleasurable and relaxing game, you can experience what I been enjoying for half a decade.
Disc golf can be played any time, even if the temperature isn’t above 60 degrees.