The number of disc golf courses in the world continues to go up, and as the sport's popularity grows, its appeal to businesses does, too. That's especially true for establishments like wineries with vineyard estates that hope to attract tourists and day-trippers and have – at least in many New World regions – sizeable chunks of property that aren't used for viticulture.
Here's how Rich Daniel, owner and winemaker at Daniel Vineyards in West Virginia, explained his decision to add disc golf to his property.
"It’s a great way to get customers out here of all ages and also makes the property much more appealing as a family friendly environment," Daniel explained. "We also have the opportunity to make more sales and introduce our products to customers that may not typically seek out a local winery."
For disc golfers, these facilities offer not only new places to play with often stunning scenery, but a chance to get away from the busy public park courses many players frequent. Of course, the opportunity to try locally-produced tipples isn't too bad, either.
Below you can discover which disc golf courses at wineries are the 10 best in the world – including detailed looks at the top five – according to disc golfers with UDisc, the world's #1 disc golf app that includes the largest and most frequently-updated directory of disc golf courses in existence.
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- How did you identify and rank the best winery courses?
- Where do your course length and difficulty ratings come from?
- Top 5 best winery disc golf courses: In-depth looks
- Top 10 best winery disc golf courses: List
Ranking the Best Winery Disc Golf Courses
Here's how we came up with the rankings in this post:
- How did you identify winery disc golf courses?
Disc golfers adding courses to the UDisc directory can tag them as certain types of property, e.g., private, public, camp, or military. Another property tag option is brewery/winery. We ranked the courses with this tag using the same methodology behind the World's Best Disc Golf Courses. After that, we went down the list sorting out which courses were affiliated with wineries until we had the top 25.
Keep in mind that any course not labeled "brewery/winery" at the time we ran our search was not eligible for this list. - Why might a course with a higher rating in UDisc Courses be ranked behind a course with a lower rating?
The rankings are based on disc golfers' ratings of the courses in UDisc. However, we didn't go purely off of current rating. Our methodology accounts for differences in regional rating norms, applies more weight to recent reviews, and helps identify which courses with excellent but relatively few ratings are true destinations rather than just local faves. - What qualified as a winery disc golf course?
The course had to be clearly owned, operated, or very closely affilliated with a winemaking facility. - Did you limit what part of the world the courses could be in?
No. Winery disc golf courses all over the world were eligible.
Where Do the Length & Difficulty Ratings Come From?
You'll notice below that we have length and difficulty ratings listed for each course. These are based on scales UDisc first released in the latter half of 2023.
The length categories are based on how long a course's holes are on average:
- Very short: Less than 180 feet (55 meters)
- Short: 180-247 feet (55-75 meters)
- Mid-length: 247-310 feet (75-95 meters)
- Long: 310-394 feet (95-120 meters)
- Very long: Greater than 394 feet (120 meters)
We assess difficulty by combining length rating with technicality ratings. Technicality is based on how players' scores on a courses' holes compare with scores on holes of similar lengths recorded with UDisc across the world. In simple terms, courses with holes mostly in line with global averages are Not Technical, those with most holes above average are Technical, and those with most holes scoring well above average are Highly Technical.
Depending on its length and technicality, a course falls into one of four categories, each signified by a symbol in the UDisc Courses directory:
- Easy
- Moderate
- Challenging
- Very challenging
To learn more, check out our blog post explaining this disc golf course difficulty rating system.
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The Best Winery Disc Golf Courses: Get to Know the Top 5
Click or tap a location below to take a closer look at any of the top five winery disc golf courses.
5. Twin Oaks Disc Golf Course at Daniel Vineyards: Crab Orchard, West Virginia
Multiple Layouts? Yes
Layout Lengths: Long
Layout Difficulties: Moderate | Challenging
Free or Pay-to-Play? Free
Course Established: 2018
Photos, hole lengths, current course conditions, and more: Twin Oaks Disc Golf Course on UDisc Courses
Around 35 years ago, Dr. C. Richard Daniel, Sr. decided to do something a bit out of the norm: Purchase a former golf course in West Virginia to see how it'd do as a vineyard.
"He ended up creating one of the largest vineyards in the state and doing it all in his hometown," his grandson and current owner and winemaker at Daniel Vineyards, Rich Daniels, told us.
In keeping with his grandfather's example, Daniels opted to do something atypical himself and add a disc golf course to the estate when a state university built a new campus nearby.
"West Virginia University Tech moved their campus into Beckley, West Virginia, and we were looking for ways to attract younger customers to the vineyard," Daniels explained. "Had a local disc golfer named Daniel Pritt who brought the idea to us and helped to design the course. Then the Daniel Vineyard’s work crew put in the labor to clear and integrate the course into the property."
The resulting course features a mix of technical shots in the woods, open-field bombers, and a good amount of elevation change. There are also scenic overlooks of the vineyard with mountains beyond. Originally just nine holes, there are often another nine holes set up with temporary baskets that Daniels says he's considering making permanent.
The wines are aged in stainless steel, so expect plenty of fruit with no heavy oak weighing it down. Daniels said his red wines in particular "have a distinct earthy tone and profile that is unique to West Virginia." One of his personal favorite offerings on the list is a port, and he always encourages visitors to give the winery's flagship blackberry wine a shot.
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4. Back 40 at Fulkerson Winery and Farm: Dundee, New York
Multiple Layouts? Yes
Layout Lengths: Mid-length | Long
Layout Difficulties: Moderate | Challenging
Free or Pay-to-Play? Free
Course Established: 2022
Photos, hole lengths, current course conditions, and more: Back 40 at Fulkerson Winery and Farm on UDisc Courses
A Fulkerson has worked the same land near New York's Seneca Lake since the early 1800s, making Fulkerson Farms one of the state's longest continuously-operating family farms. Though grapes have been grown there for nearly two centuries, Fulkerson Winery first opened in 1989 during an era when many wineries popped up around Seneca Lake. One of multiple current owners, Steven Fulkerson, has a degree in viticulture and oenology from Cornell.
Something else he has studied closely is literature on disc golf course design. Though he isn't an avid disc golfer, when someone suggested adding a course to his property, he got curious. After playing a round, enjoying himself, and thinking the sport could be a unique draw for his winery, he started researching course building and eventually began creating the Back 40 course that weaves through the fields, hills, woods, and vineyards of his farm.
His design offers a wide variety of shot shapes and makes great use of his property's elevation changes to provide fun and challenge. It has fairways both open and wooded as well as holes that transition from one landscape to the other. Repurposed materials from former farm infrastructure abound, too, such as the old bricks that make up a number of tee pads. A particular highlight are the frequent and excellent views of the lake and surrounding countryside the course provides.
With short and long tee pads, the Back 40 offers an enjoyable experience for players at various skills levels.
In the tasting room, expect dry and semi-dry wines made of both widely-known varietals like Sauvignon Blanc, Syrah, and Cabernet Franc and more niche grapes like Grüner Veltliner, Dornfelder, and Lemberger associated with German-speaking wine regions.
3. Jenkins Mountain Disc Golf at Little Washington Winery & Skyline Brewery: Washington, Virginia
Multiple Layouts? Not at the time of publication, but a set of short tees is in the works.
Layout Lengths: Very long
Layout Difficulties: Very challenging
Free or Pay-to-Play? Free
Course Established: 2020
Photos, hole lengths, current course conditions, and more: Jenkins Mountain Disc Golf Course on UDisc Courses
Beer Bonus: The property is also home to a microbrewery.
Jenkins Mountain Disc Golf Course in Virginia is associated with both Little Washington Winery and Skyline Brewery, so you may have already learned about it in our post on the top 10 brewery disc golf courses. The triple threat of winery-brewery-disc golf is pretty rare, but if we had rankings just for that combo, Jenkins Mountain would top it.
However, neither the course nor the brewery would exist without Donna and Carl Henrickson's passion for wine.
"A wine named 'George' is our flagship product," Donna told us. "We started making George as a hobby on the kitchen counter of our townhouse in 2003. We encourage everyone to do this. Get a wine making kit and keep wine percolating on the kitchen counter. Don't get as obsessed as we did. We jumped off the corporate ladder to go pro with a winery in 2010. George got named the best red wine in Virginia in 2013, 2014, and 2015."
The Henrickson's left a townhouse in the D.C. area for a large plot about 60 miles/97 kilometers away up in the Blue Ridge Mountains and today make an assortment of 10-12 wines per year from these grape varietals: Chardonnay, Vignole, Viognier, Merlot, Cabernet Franc, Arandell, and Cabernet Sauvignon. Of those, Donna believes the Chardonnay provides what she called "the biggest aha moment." But this wine has also created a long-lasting battle of 'grape' proportions at Little Washington Winery.
"We had to split the Chardonnay vineyard right down the middle in order to save the marriage," Donna said. "We could not agree on how to do it, so we made two. We do side-by-side tastings of our Chardonnays so that guests can experience what we mean! Donna’s Shenandoah Steel Chard got named the #3 white wine in Virginia. Carl’s Old World Oak Chard is consistently the winery's best seller."
Disc golf came to the estate just a few years ago at the prompting of the Henrickson's disc golf-obsessed son, David, but his parents love the results they've seen so far.
"Disc golf has added a whole new dimension of fun on the farm," Donna said. "The course gives disc golf guests a common reason to meet new people. The winery and brewery give them a place to hang out for a while after the [round] with friends engaging in their common passion."
The course offers pro-level turf tees and panoramic views of the mountains in many places. Though a few wooded holes add technicality to the track, many of its fairways are long and mostly open. But 'open' doesn't mean simple. The course's elevation changes and length make it best for experienced players. However, there is work being done to add in shorter tee pads that will make the course more fun for everyone.
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2. Flat Creek Disc Golf Course at Flat Creek Estate: Marble Falls, Texas
Multiple Layouts? Yes
Layout Length: Very long1
Layout Difficulty: Very challenging1
Free or Pay-to-Play? $10 per day per player
Course Established: 2017
Photos, hole lengths, current course conditions, and more: Flat Creek Disc Golf Course on UDisc Courses
Food: You can opt for a fine dining experience at The Bistro at Flat Creek or enjoy a glass of wine and light snacks at The Pavilion. Both are on-site.
One of the United States' best disc golf destinations is Austin, Texas, so it's not surprising that areas near the city have caught on to how attractive the sport can be. But Flat Creek Estate certainly didn't opt for the disc golf course equivalent of two-buck-Chuck in hopes of convincing more people to make the hour or so drive from the Lone Star State's capital to their location in Hill Country. No, they went about as high class as you can.
They opted for a John Houck course.
Houck is a legendary disc golf course designer known for quality. For example, he created Hillcrest Farm – a track that's perennially in the top 25 of the world's best disc golf courses – and has more courses in the world's top 100 than you can count on one hand.
Flat Creek's disc golf course displays yet again Houck's knack for hitting all the right notes with players. It has two sets of tees, one shorter and one longer, so that people of all skill levels can enjoy themselves. Though the property is mostly open, there are trees (or, occasionally, the vineyard) to contend with on many holes. Water comes into play in a few places, too. Since you're in "Hill Country," it won't surprise you that elevation is yet another frequent factor.
These challenges plus constantly-changing distances from hole to hole make for a fun and diverse layout that includes some great views in a peaceful setting.
On the wine side of things, Flat Creek grows a number of varietals with a focus on Old World style reds and whites, largely with grapes typically grown in Spain and Italy that have climates similar to the Texas Hill Country.
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1. Whale Rock Disc Golf Course at Castoro Cellars Winery: Templeton, California
Multiple Layouts? No
Layout Length: Mid-length
Layout Difficulty: Moderate
Free or Pay-to-Play? $5 per day per player
Course Established: 2014
Photos, hole lengths, current course conditions, and more: Whale Rock Disc Golf Course on UDisc Courses
Distillery Bonus: Bethel Rd. Distillery is also near the course and makes spirits with Castoro grapes and more.
Whale Rock Disc Golf Course at Castoro Cellars isn't just a great winery disc golf course – it's one of the top five disc golf courses of any type in all of California. And when you have great disc golf right next to a place where you can drink tasty California wines you can feel good about (certified organic grapes, growing and wine-making practices that have won awards for environmental stewardship), what's not to love?
We've talked about Whale Rock's story before on this blog, but it's certainly one worth digging into again.
The disc golf course is a dream come true for Max Udsen, son of Castoro Cellars founders and owners Niels and Bimmer Udsen. Max played a lot of ultimate Frisbee while at California State Univeristy, Chico (AKA, Chico State), and he and a few others on the ultimate team got deeply into disc golf thanks to Chico's lovely Peregrine Point Disc Golf Course.
"In our down time we played a lot of disc golf," Max recalled. "We would be playing rounds and dreaming together of building a course one day. On road trips to ultimate tournaments, we'd drool out the window at places we thought would be perfect for a course as they passed by."
Being constantly vigilant about areas' disc golf potential paid off one day as Max walked through Castoro Cellars' Whale Rock Vineyard, a name alluding to the ancient sea that used to cover the property. He tells the story as if seeing the lines was almost a religious revelation for him.
"Vineyards are beautiful but don't usually provide enough natural elements and features to make them disc golf ready," Max said. "Whale Rock was different. The first line I saw is now hole 18. As I walked the fairway, it took me to a rise in elevation. I looked down onto a huge 200-year-old oak tree from 100 feet [31 meters] up and knew this was disc golf heaven. [That's] now a signature hole on the course: hole 6."
Unlike some first-time course designers, Max didn't rush headlong into building. He created temporary tees and put posts in the ground at potential pin locations. He invited others to play the layout and reassessed and tweaked based on feedback and his own observations. He said his major concerns were "flow, safety, and shot diversity."
When he was certain Whale Rock could be home to a great course, he prepared a pitch for his parents. It included a mandate to make the course as high class as possible.
"Quality across the board," Max said. "Good permanent tee pads and baskets, clear signage, benches and brooms at every hole. All the things that frustrate me at the courses I visit were not going to happen here. It was a pitch not only to build a disc golf course but add a unique layer to the Castoro Cellars experience."
The elder Udsens liked what they heard and gave Max the green light to make Whale Rock Disc Golf Course. Today, the track is an impeccably maintained joy to play with the aim to challenge and entertain experienced players without intimidating newer ones. You won't need to throw any huge bombs, but the challenges offered by distance, technicality, and elevation are enough to keep any player happy (including 2021 Pro Disc Golf World Champion James Conrad).
Creating a course with such wide appeal has done exactly what it was intended to: grow disc golf and Castoro Cellars' customer base in equal measure.
"The beauty is that it goes both ways," Max said. "Some come specifically for the disc golf course and find out they love wine and some come for the wine and find out they love disc golf. A great pairing."
As good as it is now, the course is still a work in progress in Max's mind, and he says he goes to sleep each night dreaming up additions and improvements.
On the drink side of things, Castoro Cellars' team hasn't managed to be successful in the competitive California wine market by chance.
"We've had the same winemaking team for nearly 40 years!" Max said. "I would say we are consistent in producing outstanding wines that showcase the appellation but not shy to experiment and be innovative."
Castoro Cellars sets high standards for sustainability as well as its wines. They have solar arrays in their vineyards that offset 100% of their energy use, treat wastewater with a state-of-the-art system, and use no harmful chemicals to grow their grapes (great for the world and their workers).
And if wine isn't your thing (or even if it is), you can head across the street to Bethel Rd. Distillery. Owned by the same family as Castoro, they make grape-based spirits (again, 100% organic) as well as an orange liqueur and the walnut-based Nocino.
The Best Winery Disc Golf Courses: World's Top 10
| Rank | Course Name | Year Est. | City | State/Province | Country | Layout Difficulties |
| 1 | Whale Rock Disc Golf Course | 2014 | Templeton | California | U.S.A. |  |
| 2 | Flat Creek Disc Golf Course | 2017 | Marble Falls | Texas | U.S.A. |  |
| 3 | Jenkins Mountain Disc Golf | 2020 | Washington | Virginia | U.S.A. | |
| 4 | Back 40 at Fulkerson Winery & Farm | 2022 | Dundee | New York | U.S.A. |  |
| 5 | Twin Oaks Disc Golf Course | 2020 | Crab Orchard | West Virginia | U.S.A. | |
| 6 | Round Peak Vineyard Disc Golf | 2017 | Mount Airy | North Carolina | U.S.A. |  |
| 7 | Stonewall Creek Vineyards Disc Golf Course | 2021 | Tiger | Georgia | U.S.A. | |
| 8 | County Disc Golf at Black Prince Winery | 2021 | Prince Edward | Ontario | Canada | |
| 9 | White Tail Run Disc Golf Course | 2023 | Edgerton | Kansas | U.S.A. | |
| 10 | Wild Vines | 2020 | Watkins Glen | New York | U.S.A. | |
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Think We Missed Something?
If there's a fantastic winery disc golf course you think we missed, feel free to check if it's in the UDisc disc golf course directory. If it's not, here's how to add a course to UDisc.
