On Monday, April, 8, 2024, people along a 115-mile/185-kilometer-wide line in Mexico, Canada, and the U.S. could see a rare total solar eclipse. The chance to glimpse another one in North America won't happen until 2044, and millions of people put work and other responsibilities aside to enjoy the spectacle.
However, since the phenomenon's peak lasted at most about four minutes, people were filling up their days with plenty of other activities. More than a few had disc golf on the agenda.
Some companies created special eclipse discs to celebrate the totality.
Curious, we checked out how many disc golf rounds were recorded with UDisc at courses along the path of totality on April 8. We then compared those numbers to averages from other Mondays, weekdays in general, as well as weekend days in 2024 since Daylight Saving Time (DST) began (March 10) to see if heightened disc golf activity was a symptom of eclipse fever.
You can scroll on down and see all the stats we've put together or jump to the section you're most interested in by clicking or tapping below:
All the disc golf courses in the path of totality.
Overall Disc Golf Activity Along the Path of Totality
Rounds Recorded at Courses in POT
Difference On Eclipse Day
Eclipse Day: Monday, April 8, 2024
9,381
N/A
Average Monday
4,990
▲ 88.0%
Average Weekday
5,533
▲ 69.5%
Average Weekend Day
8,329
▲ 12.6%
The "average" numbers are based on plays in 2024 since the start of DST.
The differences in the table above are impressive. Eclipse day blew Mondays and general weekdays out of the water and also outperformed weekend days by a significant amount. Still, we did some work to rule out coincidence as much as possible by examining play counts at courses outside the path of totality but in U.S.states and Canadian provinces with regions along the POT. Those courses saw roughly average traffic across the board.
That suggests the round spikes shown in the table were due to courses' locations along the POT and not just people enjoying particularly nice weather across a state or region generally.
It seems, too, that courses in the POT were busier than usual not just on eclipse day but the weekend leading up to it:
While courses not in the POT had traffic levels similar to the two previous weekends, courses within it were significantly busier.
Disc Golf Activity Along the Path of Totality: U.S. States
Twelve states had at least one disc golf course in the POT. In all of them, POT courses saw more plays on April 8 than on an average Monday. The vast majority also had more traffic that day than on typical general weekdays and weekends.
Just a reminder: Our averages are based on plays since the start of DST in 2024.
States with More Rounds on Eclipse Day
States with Fewer Rounds on Eclipse Day
Vs. Average Monday
12
0
Vs. Average Weekday
10
2
Vs. Average Weekend Day
9
3
As we mentioned before, we checked, and courses outside the POT but in states with regions within it didn't see unusual traffic on eclipse day. This supports the likelihood that play count increases at courses in the POT were due to courses' front row seats to the total eclipse.
We also have stats specific to each state. Scroll through to see the numbers from all 12 (listed alphabetically) or click or tap below to jump to one:
Disc Golf Activity Along the Path of Totality by Canadian Province
Five Canadian provinces had at least one course in the POT. Due to factors like population difference and harsh winters throughout the Great White North, plays on them accounted for just 5% of the total rounds recorded in the POT on April 8.
The 472 recorded rounds on eclipse day at Canadian POT courses was more than the average Monday (383) and average general weekday (378). However, it was lower than the average weekend day (553). Reminder: Our averages are based on plays since the start of DST in 2024.
Here are stats specific to Canadian provinces. Scroll through all five provinces (listed alphabetically) or click or tap below to jump to one:
