The Biggest Environmental Worries in Disc Golf

By Josh Woods, PhD, and Bill Newman ~

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Henry David Thoreau wrote, “What’s the use of a disc golf course if you don’t have a decent planet to put it on?”

Okay, we may have tinkered with Mr. Thoreau’s quote, but surely his point holds up. Disc golf would not be much fun on a severely damaged planet. And you don’t need to be a famous naturalist to understand that the sport itself can harm the environment. Building disc golf courses often involves cutting down trees, disturbing animal habitats and attracting herds of players who trample the fields and sometimes leave their garbage behind. Continue reading “The Biggest Environmental Worries in Disc Golf”

Good Dirt: How Soil Compaction Could Affect the Future of Disc Golf

By Josh Woods ~

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Soil compaction and visible tree roots are common on popular disc golf courses. Photo Ronald Harkey.

Try this: Search google for “environmental impact.” In the results, you’ll quickly see that almost everything humans do affects the environment, and that many of these impacts have been carefully studied by scientists.

Research on disc golf’s influence on the environment is still developing, but there are at least two studies, published in peer-reviewed academic journals, that examine a little-known problem that is right beneath our feet. Continue reading “Good Dirt: How Soil Compaction Could Affect the Future of Disc Golf”